SE Dev Mod Skill
Mod development for Space Engineers version 1.
⚠️ CRITICAL: Commands run in a UNIX shell. Use bash syntax. On Windows this is BusyBox; on Linux use the native shell.
Examples:
- ✅
test -f file.txt && echo exists - ✅
ls -la | head -10 - ❌
if exist file.txt (echo exists)- This will NOT work
Actions:
- prepare: Run one-time preparation (
Prepare.baton Windows,prepare.shon Linux) - bash: Run UNIX shell commands via busybox
- search: Search mod code using
search_mods.py
Routing Decision
Check these patterns in order - first match wins:
| Priority | Pattern | Example | Route |
|----------|---------|---------|-------|
| 1 | Empty or bare invocation | se-dev-mod | Show this help |
| 2 | Prepare keywords | se-dev-mod prepare, se-dev-mod setup, se-dev-mod init | prepare |
| 3 | Bash/shell keywords | se-dev-mod bash, se-dev-mod grep, se-dev-mod cat | bash |
| 4 | Search keywords | se-dev-mod search, se-dev-mod find class, se-dev-mod lookup | search |
Getting Started
⚠️ CRITICAL: Before running ANY commands, read CommandExecution.md to avoid common mistakes that cause command failures.
If Prepare.DONE file is missing in this folder, you MUST run one-time preparation steps first. See prepare action.
Essential Documentation
- CommandExecution.md - ⚠️ READ THIS FIRST - Windows command execution details; on Linux keep bash syntax and use
prepare.sh
Mod Development
Use only names matching Mod API whitelist: ModApiWhitelist.txt
Whitelist exported from game version 1.208.015 using MDK2's Mdk.Extractor.
Mods released on Steam Workshop or Mod.IO, mostly the former. Game compiles mods on world loading with Mod API whitelist enforced, supposed to guarantee safety and security. Mods may still crash game with an exception.
Use se-dev-game-code skill to search game's decompiled code. May need this to
understand how game's internals work and how to interface with it properly. Stick to
game code searches corresponding to names on Mod API whitelist for efficiency.
Graphify Graph
Preparation builds a separate Graphify graph for the local mod folder (or
SE_DEV_MOD_PROJECT_ROOT). With the fast Rust clustering backend (Python 3.12 via uv,
provisioned automatically) prepare builds it automatically; this corpus is small so it
is quick either way. Where the fast backend is unavailable it stays opt-in with
SE_DEV_GRAPHIFY=1; SE_DEV_GRAPHIFY=0 disables it. Read on demand — skip for normal
search work: build via GraphifyPrepare.md, query via
GraphifyUsage.md.
Folder Structure
Data/— junction/symlink to per-user persistent mod data folder (%USERPROFILE%\.se-dev\modon Windows,~/.se-dev/modon Linux). Persistent skill data lives here:Data/mods.json— quick inventory of all installed mods (workshop_id, path, has_scripts, ...).Data/mod_hashes.json— per-mod aggregate sha1 used by indexer for change detection.Data/CodeIndex/— full Tree-sitter C# index (one CSV per category, plus hierarchy trees).
LocalMods/— junction/symlink to game's local-mod folder (%AppData%\SpaceEngineers\Modson Windows, Proton appdata equivalent on Linux).- Steam Workshop content read in-place from Steam folder; not copied or symlinked
into skill. Workshop folder resolved from
SE_GAME_ROOT(env var) or Steam registry entry for app id 244850.
References
- Mod Template repo Mod template repository to start a new mod project which will include scripts. See ModTemplate.md
- Mod API for script mods Structured Mod API documentation
- Mod API documentation by Keen Software House May be outdated
- Mod Development Kit (MDK2) Mod development tooling mostly for VS2022
Mod Code Search
Search source code of Steam and local mods for examples and patterns:
# Search for patterns
uv run search_mods.py class declaration MyBlock
uv run search_mods.py method usage Update
uv run search_mods.py class children MyGameLogicComponent
# Count results before viewing (useful for large result sets)
uv run search_mods.py class usage Init --count
# Limit number of results
uv run search_mods.py class usage Init --limit 10
Before searching, ensure index exists. If Data/CodeIndex/ missing, run:
uv run list_mods.py # quick inventory (always cheap)
uv run index_mods.py # full code index (incremental: only changed mods reparsed)
Re-indexing after new subscriptions: When you subscribe to new mods on Steam Workshop,
load them in a world once (so game downloads them), then re-run the two commands above
(or just Prepare.bat). Indexer hashes each mod's .cs files and only reparses mods
whose hash changed since previous run, so reruns are fast.
See search action for complete documentation.
Action References
Follow detailed instructions in:
- prepare action - One-time preparation
- bash action - Running UNIX shell commands via busybox
- search action - Search mod code for examples
Remarks
Original source of this skill: https://github.com/CometWorks/skills