Oxygen Not Included How To — Install Mods Manually

Copy the mod folder into:

Start the game. Check log at:

Notes:

This is the most critical step. ONI stores its manually installed mods in a specific folder that is not the game's installation directory.

Manually moving files is only half the battle. You must now activate the mod inside ONI. oxygen not included how to install mods manually

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The Steam Workshop is still the largest repository. To manually download mods from Steam without the Steam client:

Launch the game once, then close it. Klei’s engine creates the folder automatically. If not, create a new folder named exactly mods (lowercase) inside the OxygenNotIncluded directory. Copy the mod folder into:

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Oxygen Not Included (ONI) is a deep, complex colony sim where failure is a learning experience. While the base game offers hundreds of hours of challenge, the modding community has created a wealth of additions—from quality-of-life tweaks (like the beloved "Pliers" mod) to entirely new buildings, critters, and world traits. While the Steam Workshop offers one-click installation, there are several reasons you might need to install mods manually: you own the game on a different storefront (Epic, GOG), you want to use a mod that isn't on the Workshop, or you need to troubleshoot a broken mod. This essay provides a clear, methodical guide to manual mod installation.

Cause: Incompatible mod, corrupt download, or conflicting with another mod. Start the game

Fix:

Once you have your downloaded mod file (usually .zip, .rar, or a folder containing .dll files), follow these steps: