Steam Workshop

Version

This article is timeless and should be accurate for any version of the game.

Steam Workshop is a feature of Steam that simplifies mods discovery and installation for players.

Installing a mod[]

Find a mod on the Stellaris Steam Workshop
Click "Subscribe"
In the Stellaris launcher, click the "Mods" tab and check the box.

Uploading a mod[]

Mod upload is managed from the game launcher:

(Optional) Define an image banner and tags in .mod file.
Launch the game launcher and go to the "Mods" tab
Click on the "Mod tools" button and select "Upload mod" within the window that opens
In the menu, select the mod you wish to upload and click on "Upload"
After upload is finished, mod page will open inside the Steam client. Copy the URL (ex: steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=123456) and open in your favorite browser, as it's easier than using the Steam client integrated browser.
Add a description, screenshots or videos, and edit change notes.
Once everything looks fine, make the mod public!

Mod file before upload (MyMod.mod):

name="MyMod"
path="mod/MyMod"

Mod file when downloaded from Workshop (mymod.mod):

name="MyMod"
archive="mod/MyMod.zip"

MyMod.zip will contain a generated descriptor.mod which is identical to mymod.mod.

In order to update a mod, hit the "Fetch Info" button before uploading the mod.^[1]

Troubleshooting[]

Manage button is always greyed out: activate Steam Cloud Synch' for Stellaris (Steam -> Settings/(Preferences on mac) -> Cloud -> Enable cloud sync), it is required to upload mods.

Limitations[]

The workshop has a few limitations, making it currently unsuitable for large mods:

Modular mods that allow selecting modules at installation steps cannot be managed
Maximum file size prevents large mods from using the Workshop.

Mods installed via the Steam Workshop will auto-update, so be careful about non-backward compatible changes as previous saves may become unplayable.