Start here

Start here

You do not need to understand the whole WorldBox API before you begin. Your first job is much smaller:

NeoModLoader is running
        ↓
your mod compiles and loads
        ↓
your own marker appears in Player.log
        ↓
one small feature works
        ↓
only then: bigger systems

Finish lineYou can prove “the loader sees my mod, my code ran, and one feature works” without guessing.

START

Use the interactive first-mod checklist

Six small checkpoints. Progress is stored only in your browser and can be reset whenever you want.

Open beginner journey →

Before you touch code

You only need a few things at the start:

• a WorldBox installation where NeoModLoader already starts;
• a text/code editor;
• Player.log, because it is your evidence that compile/load/runtime stages actually happened;
• a disposable test save whenever a recipe mutates world state.

You do not need Harmony, custom UI, a framework, a database, or a giant folder tree for the first successful load.

The five things you keep seeing

If mod.json, Main.cs, NML and runtime all blur together, read the beginner mental model first. It explains what each piece does and which problem belongs to which layer.

MAPWhat is NML, mod.json, Main.cs and Player.log?Build a mental model before memorizing APIs. MODGenerate the smallest skeletonTwo files, one load marker, no unnecessary systems. RUNVerify the first launchKnow exactly what success should look like. FIXIt did not workChoose the first check from what you actually observe. ABCPlain-language glossaryShort explanations for common modding terms. HOWAdd one featureTask-first recipes after the skeleton is proven.

A useful debugging habit

When something fails, describe the stage, not just “my mod is broken”:

NML not visible
→ loader/setup stage

C# error / mod compilation failed
→ compile stage

mod loads, but marker never appears
→ load / entry-point assumption

marker appears, feature fails
→ feature/runtime stage

works now, disappears after reload/restart
→ persistence/lifecycle stage

That separation is more useful than changing several unrelated files at once.

After the first success

Pick one goal from Recipes. If the recipe depends on version-sensitive behavior, check the Compatibility Matrix and its evidence status before treating it as universal.

Beginner ruleFirst make it load. Then prove one thing works. Only then make it clever.