This file contains common questions for the manager.
- Help
- Table of Contents
- How do I use this?
- Website buttons aren't working
- How do I use this on Mac?
- How do I use this on Linux?
- How do I uninstall it?
- How do I update it?
- The game won't launch on Linux
- I made a mod! How do I submit it?
- I have a question about modding
- I want to contribute to the manager
- My issue isn't listed here
(See below for non-Windows instructions)
- Download the Outer Wilds Mod Manager from the mods website;
- Run the downloaded .msi (you might need to ignore some Chrome / Windows warnings);
- Shortcuts are added to the desktop and start menu, use them to run the manager;
- Run the manager;
- Install OWML;
- Head to the "Get Mods" tab to install any mods you want;
- Press the top right play button to launch the game;
- You won't believe what happens next.
If you're getting an error message like this (or the manager isn't doing anything at all):
The manager encountered a fatal error when starting: Runtime(CreateWebview(WebView2Error(WindowsError(Error { code: 0x80070002, message: The system cannot find the file specified. }))))
This is most likely a result of not having the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime installed. If you've used a "Window debloat" script, it's likely that this was removed, even though it's a component of Windows. To try and reinstall it, you can download the evergreen bootstrapper and let it install.
The manager's installer is supposed to install Webview2 for you, but depending on how programs uninstall Webview2, it may have left bad registry keys that make the Webview2 bootstrapper think it's already installed. If you're still having issues, try inspecting the registry keys mentioned in this Webview2 article to see if they're pointing to bad folders. Most likely the one in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
will be defined and the one in HKEY_CURRENT_USER
won't, if so only inspect the one in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
.
If either of these keys contain a path that's invalid set the subkey pv
to 0.0.0.0
and run the Webview2 installer again, this should make it realize it's not installed.
This may be due to an update from 0.14.2 to 0.15.0. The path for the procotol handler changed.
- Uninstall the manager entirely.
- In
regedit
, deleteHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Classes\owmods
andHKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\owmods
. - Re-install the manager, the registry keys should now point to the right executable.
On Linux you may need to delete a file in ~/.local/share/applications
called something along the lines of outer-wilds-mod-manager-handler.desktop
. The old version used to make this desktop entry on launch but it is not needed anymore as the .desktop file in the package should be setup to handle the scheme for you.
The manager can be used on MacOS with some caveats:
- We haven't setup code signing because Apple moment:
- Try to open the DMG for the manager at least once
- System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> General -> Allow apps downloaded from -> Outer Wilds Mod Manager -> Open anyway
- Seeing as how Outer Wilds isn't available on MacOS, OWML will not be able to find the game on its own. You'll need to manually set it in the settings menu (Gear in the top-corner, scroll down to OWML Settings -> Game Path). This folder should contain the game's
.exe
file and theOuterWilds_Data
folder. - The manager needs Mono to be installed in order to run OWML. The manager assumes the default location of Mono at
/Library/Frameworks/Mono.framework/Versions/Current/Commands/mono
however this path can be overridden with theMONO_BINARY
environment variable - The manager will not be able to launch the game directly. After you see a "Client Disconnected From Console" message in the logs window your game will be patched to run modded, just launch the game directly.
- Note if you see a message along the lines of "Current game path not valid", this means that the game hasn't been patched. You'll need to set the game path in the settings menu and try again.
MacOS support is experimental and not well-tested. If you need help troubleshooting or have a suggestion for improving the MacOS experience, please open an issue or come chat with us on the Discord server.
Using the manager on Linux should be easy, proton and wine are not required. The manager requires Mono 6 to be installed and available on the PATH. If you're using the Flatpak, AUR, or Nix versions, Mono will be installed and set up automatically.
This is an issue with sharing the manager's folder with Steam, as OWML will be running from within Steam's flatpak container it won't be able to access the mods folder. See this issue for details. tl;dr:
- Move the OWML folder from
~/.local/share/OuterWildsModManager/OWML
to~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.local/share/OuterWildsModManager/OWML
, this will make it available to the Steam container - Change your OWML path in the manager settings to
~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.local/share/OuterWildsModManager/OWML
to point to the new OWML location - Reverify your game files in Steam, this is to remove any possibly bad versions of OWML that still point to the old path
- Try to launch the game again through the manager
The manager can be installed on Steam Deck in Desktop Mode in the Discover app.
The mod manager requires that the game is installed in ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Outer Wilds
or ~/Games/Heroic/OuterWilds
.
When selecting game path DO NOT use the browse button, on Flatpak this tries to open a portal which won't work, you'll need to enter the path manually or copy it.
Note that you won't be able to launch the game from the manager when in steam deck's game mode. But so long as you've pressed "Launch Game" at least once, you can launch the game directly and it will still be modded.
You'll also need to change your controller layout to the "Mouse Only" template.
You can uninstall the Mod Manager by searching for "Add or remove programs" in the start menu (or in the control panel) and then finding "Outer Wilds Mod Manager" in the list. However, this won't uninstall your mods.
To revert the game to its original state, verify the game files' integrity:
- Steam: Library > Right-click Outer Wilds > Properties > Local Files > Verify integrity of game files.
- Epic: Library > Click three dots under Outer Wilds > Verify.
The manager will automatically check for updates when you launch it. If an update is available, you will be prompted to download it. On the Flatpak, AUR, and Nix versions, your system's package manager will handle updates.
Please ensure you have Mono installed and available on your PATH.
To debug issues with mono set the MONO_LOG_LEVEL
variable to debug
. and look at the logs.
On steam deck, keep in mind the game won't launch if you click Launch Game from the manager while in game mode. You need to launch the game directly from the steam deck's game mode.
Also, ensure the game is located in ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Outer Wilds
, otherwise the manager won't be able to find the game as it only has access to that folder.
Make sure you set the Game Path to ~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Outer Wilds/
and the OWML path to ~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.local/share/OuterWildsModManager/OWML
. You may have to make the ~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.local/share/OuterWildsModManager
directory in order for this to work.
The mod database is stored in a separate repository. Go here to find out how to add your mod to the list.
Please refer to the OWML documentation for information about creating mods.
Depending on which package you want to contribute to, please refer to the following:
- The main CONTRIBUTING (read this first)
- The CONTRIBUTING for the Core package
- The CONTRIBUTING for the GUI
- The CONTRIBUTING for the CLI
You can also take a look at The Architecture Doc for more info above the manager's behavior.
If you're encountering issues or have questions, please open an Issue. You can also view closed issues to see if your issue has already been resolved.
We also have a Discord server available if you want to chat.
You can also email [email protected]
if your issue is sensitive / security related.