My mods folder stopped working

Get GTA V reading your mods folder again after an update or a file verify removed the loader or left update.rpf out of date.

Applies to
  • V
Last checked

If every vehicle and texture mod vanished at once and the game looks stock, the game has stopped reading the mods folder. Your mods are still there. There are two usual causes, and both follow a game update or a file verify.

Check what is missing

Look in the game folder, next to GTA5.exe, for:

  • dinput8.dll, the ASI loader
  • OpenIV.asi, the plugin that redirects the game to mods

The game reads mods only when both are present. If either is gone, go to the first fix. If both are there, go to the second.

Put the loader back

An update or a verify can remove or replace these files.

  1. Close the game and open OpenIV.
  2. Open the Tools menu and choose ASI Manager.
  3. Install ASI Loader and OpenIV.ASI. If they show as installed, uninstall and install them again.
  4. Start the game.

If you use ScriptHookV, copy its dinput8.dll and ScriptHookV.dll in again as well.

Also check that BattlEye is still off. An update can turn it back on, and with it on the game loads no added files.

Refresh an out-of-date update.rpf

A game update replaces update\update.rpf. Your copy at mods\update\update.rpf stays as it was, from the old version. The game then loads old data over new, which can crash it, or it shows a corrupt data error.

Compare the two files' dates in Windows Explorer. If the game's copy is newer than the one in mods, rebuild yours:

  1. Open mods\update\update.rpf\common\data\dlclist.xml in OpenIV and copy the lines you added into a text file.
  2. Note any other files you changed inside update.rpf, such as gameconfig.xml or a vehicles.meta.
  3. Close OpenIV and rename mods\update\update.rpf to update_old.rpf.
  4. Open OpenIV, go to the game's update folder, and copy update.rpf to the mods folder.
  5. Turn on edit mode and add your dlclist.xml lines to the new copy.
  6. Put back your other changes. Use a gameconfig.xml made for the new game version, not your old one.
  7. Start the game. Once it works, delete update_old.rpf.

Do the same for any other archive in mods that the update changed. The newest patchday pack is the usual one. Your add-on packs in mods\update\x64\dlcpacks\ don't need rebuilding.

Other causes

  • The folder was renamed. It must be named mods, in lower case, directly inside the game folder.
  • The launcher moved the game. If you moved or reinstalled the game, the mods folder may be in the old place.
  • You are starting the other edition. GTA V Legacy and Enhanced install to separate folders. A mods folder in one does nothing for the other.
  • Scripts stopped too. Then the cause is ScriptHookV and the game version. See The game crashes after a Rockstar update.

Make the next time quicker

Keep a text file with your dlclist.xml lines and a list of the archives you've changed. With that and a copy of your add-on packs, rebuilding after an update is a few minutes' work. Backing up your game files before you start covers what else to keep.