Server Mod Bootstrap

Install this package once on every Valheim client and dedicated server. Clients require no configuration.

Each dedicated server sets its complete HTTPS ManifestUrl in BepInEx/config/ServerModBootstrap/bootstrap.cfg. At startup and every 60 seconds, the server downloads and validates that JSON manifest. When a client connects, the server relays its active manifest through an early peer RPC.

If the client's managed package revision differs, the bootstrap downloads and verifies the exact Thunderstore packages, stages the update, returns the player to the menu, and asks them to restart Valheim. The preloader applies the staged files before BepInEx loads plugins on the next launch. Connecting again then uses the correct mod set.

The bootstrap owns only BepInEx/plugins/XomNghienManaged and exact config paths declared by the manifest. Personal and unrelated plugins are not removed.

No signing key, account, server ID, or client configuration is required. The dedicated server trusts its configured HTTPS endpoint; clients trust the manifest relayed by the Valheim server they are connecting to. Packages must use HTTPS Thunderstore download URLs.

Packages containing BepInEx core, patchers, or monomod files are rejected because early-loader components cannot be changed safely by a running process.

2.1.0

• Added schema v2 config targets for server-only, client-only, and shared configuration files.
• Server-only configs are removed from the peer relay manifest.
• Added separate server and client revisions so server-only changes do not interrupt connected clients.
• Kept schema v1 manifests readable for backward compatibility.

2.0.0

• Replaced the hardcoded website and server ID with a generic HTTPS ManifestUrl configured only on dedicated servers.
• Added an early per-peer RPC handshake that relays the server's validated manifest to bootstrap clients.
• Uses plain JSON manifests with no signing keys or secrets.
• Clients require no configuration and stage changed mod sets safely for the next launch.
• Added an in-game restart prompt and disconnects clients before they join with an incompatible loaded mod set.
• Supports switching between independently managed servers by remembering the last relayed manifest identity.

1.1.0

• Polls the manifest every 60 seconds while running as a dedicated server.
• Installs new, updated, and removed managed mods without SSH access.
• Saves and quits after plugin changes so a process supervisor can restart Valheim with the new assemblies.
• Applies config-only updates live and allows an optional restart for mods that do not watch their config files.
• Uses manifest ETags to avoid downloading unchanged payloads.

1.0.0

• Initial live manifest synchronization.
• Transitive Thunderstore dependency installation.
• Centrally managed configuration files applied before plugin initialization.
• Isolated managed plugin directory and last-known-good failure behavior.