Packaging and Publishing

The most preferred way to publish PEAK mods is through Thunderstore, where the community also hangs out.

Before uploading your mod, you need to have built it into a .dll.

Packaging With TCLI

The PEAK BepInEx Template comes with Thunderstore packaging built-in, using TCLI.

If you used the template, you can build Thunderstore packages by running:

dotnet build -c Release -target:PackTS -v d

The built package will be found at artifacts/thunderstore/.

Once you have the ZIP package, you can jump straight into Uploading to Thunderstore!

Manual Packaging

Create a new folder. Here we want to create a few files and one folder.
Your new mod folder should look like this:

LICENSE (optional)
manifest.json
README.md
CHANGELOG.md
icon.png
Directoryplugins
- com.github.YourAccount.YourMod.dll

`manifest.json`

Your manifest is crucial — without it, your mod won’t work on Thunderstore.

Here’s an example of what it should look like:

{
  "name": "Your_mod_name",
  "version_number": "1.0.0",
  "website_url": "https://peakmodding.github.io",
  "description": "A mod description",
  "dependencies": []
}

The manifest is fragile. Use this tool to validate it:
Thunderstore Manifest Validator

Notes:

Underscores in name will appear as spaces on the site.
version_number must increase with every release.
website_url is optional, but linking your GitHub page is recommended.
You can include any number of dependencies.

Example with dependencies:

{
  ...
  "dependencies": [
    "MonoDetour-MonoDetour_BepInEx_5-0.6.6",
    "MonoDetour-MonoDetour-0.6.6"
  ]
}

Dependency strings can be found on the individual mod’s page on Thunderstore.

`README.md` & `CHANGELOG.md`

README.md becomes your mod’s description on Thunderstore.
CHANGELOG.md is optional, but useful for showing update history.

Both files support Markdown formatting. Example:

Amazing feature 1

This is an amazing feature for only the best.

Amazing feature 2

Helpful resource: Markdown Cheat Sheet

`icon.png`

Your icon must be exactly 256x256 pixels.

LICENSE

Choosing a license can feel overwhelming, but here’s a simple guide:

Do you want others to use your code in their mods?
Do you want credit for your work?
Do you care if others use it in commercial/closed-source projects?

Common license options:

MIT License — Very permissive. Others can reuse your code with attribution, even commercially.
GPL-3.0 — Requires others to also open-source their projects if they use your code.
CC0 / Unlicense — No rights reserved. Anyone can use your code however they want, no credit needed.

Generate one here: choosealicense.com

Making a ZIP

Now zip up your contents.

Do NOT zip the folder itself.
Instead, select all files inside and compress them.

On Windows:

Select all files
Right-click → Send to → Compressed (zipped) folder

Uploading to Thunderstore

To upload a mod, first create a Thunderstore team by logging in and going here:
https://thunderstore.io/settings/teams/create/

Then go to: Thunderstore Upload Page

Upload your .zip
Select your team
Choose PEAK as the community
Select relevant categories
Submit!

If your mod is NSFW, make sure to mark it.

Get the Modder Role

Want that shiny Modder role in the PEAK Modding server?

Just do the following:

Join the server
Go to #mod-releases
Post your mod
Wait for the role to be assigned (if applicable)

Updating Update your mod instead of creating a new one