MelonLoader

MelonLoader is an open-source addon & mod manager for PC video games based on Unity Engine, the world’s leading multiplatform game engine capable of rendering an incredible variety of video game genres (from simple hand-drawn 2D platformers to the most detailed 3rd person AAA titles) on all major gaming platforms, including PC, home consoles, and mobile devices.

This gaming utility is focused on providing gamers with some technical knowledge, with the ability to infuse PC games with universal mods developed by the Unity community.

The core functionality of MelonLoader is to establish a connection with a base Unity game engine and provide gamers with a streamlined interface to infuse real-time app processing with a wide selection of mods that can function inside all games, regardless of genre, size, and budget.

These universal mods are focused on general use case scenarios, such as In-game exploring and debugging, run-time game visual tweaking, limiting of active CPU cores that are used for processing games, spawning brand new cameras that can be used to explore the game worlds in new ways, and much more.

In addition to universal mods developed for use with the Unity engine, users of this program can also use a limited selection of Il2Cpp Universal Mods and Mono Universal Mods that are compatible with this mod manager.

The process of installing MelonLoader is not complicated, but it does require the presence of some important .NET Framework packages (3.5 Runtime, 4.7.2 Runtime, and 4.8 Runtime) as well as Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2019 Redistributable to be fully functional.

The mod manager itself is distributed as a compressed ZIP archive of very small size, which must be unpacked in the main game directory.

Uninstallation of the app is also fully manual, requiring users to remove the main EXE and DLL files of the mod manager, as well as optionally to remove “Plugins”, “mods”, and “UserData” directories that this app creates in the game installation directory. Mod manager supports a wide array of launch options, load modes, and console display modes.

Since its base function is to alter the game processing code, users are advised to use this app only for single-player games, since online titles that have active anti-cheat measures will detect this app and flag users for potential cheating. MelonLoader is 100% FREE and is optimized for all modern versions of Windows OS.

Installation Instructions:

• Ensure the game is closed and not running before proceeding with the installation.
• Verify that all required dependencies are installed before starting the installation.
• Download MelonLoader for PC [x86] or [x64].
• Extract the contents of the app folder from the zip archive into the game's installation directory.
• Extract both version.dll and dobby.dll from the zip archive and place them in the game's installation directory.

Uninstallation Instructions:

• Make sure the game is closed and not running before attempting to uninstall.
• Delete the version.dll and dobby.dll files from the game's installation directory.
• Remove the app folder from the game's installation directory.

Optional steps for a full uninstallation:

• Delete the Plugins folder from the game's installation directory.
• Delete the Mods folder from the game's installation directory.
• Delete the UserData folder from the game's installation directory.

FAQ

Which games are compatible with MelonLoader?
MelonLoader works with most Unity games that use Mono or Il2Cpp, though some titles may block or restrict mods, so compatibility depends on the game and its developers’ policies.

How do I install or uninstall MelonLoader?
To install, use the Automated Installer (.exe) and point it to your game .exe, or manually extract the appropriate files (x86 or x64) into the game folder. To uninstall, simply remove the version.dll, dobby.dll, and MelonLoader folder, plus the Mods, Plugins, and UserData folders if you want to fully clean it.

Is MelonLoader available on platforms other than Windows?
Yes, since version 0.6.0, MelonLoader offers native support for Linux, and you can also run it on Linux systems using Proton.

What advanced features does MelonLoader offer for modding?
MelonLoader includes a customizable console with themes, detailed error and performance logging, support for launch options like no-mods and debug, analytics blocking, native library support, code assembly generation for Il2Cpp games, dependency handling, and built-in documentation to help developers and modders work efficiently.

How much does MelonLoader cost?
MelonLoader is completely free and open-source, so you can download, use, and modify it without any cost.

PROS

• Supports various mods and plugins
• Custom mod loading and management
• Real-time mod debugging and error handling
• Cross-platform mod compatibility
• Active and supportive modding community

CONS

• Frequent updates may break mods
• Steep learning curve for first-time users
• Limited documentation for some mods