Modsmith Cycle

Modsmith Cycle provides a faster restart cycle for Valheim on Windows. From a world you host—or a server you joined—open the Escape menu and choose SAVE & RESTART MODDED.

It will:

• give you five seconds to cancel;
• use Valheim's normal save-and-quit path;
• wait until Valheim has fully exited;
• ask Steam to relaunch Valheim through the same -applaunch 892970 route used by r2modman;
• rebuild the active profile's Doorstop/BepInEx arguments from the currently loaded profile;
• skip Valheim's opening cinematic by default;
• select the same character and reopen the same local world;
• restore the world's hosted-server, public-listing, crossplay, and password-verifier settings so friends can reconnect; or
• if you were a guest, reconnect your client to the same Steam, crossplay, or direct-address server.

The active profile is preserved through its absolute Doorstop/BepInEx launch arguments. Modsmith Cycle does not click through or automate the r2modman interface. Version 0.1.3 uses Steam for the relaunch because launching Valheim.exe directly can start an unmodded session.

By default, Modsmith Cycle skips Valheim's opening cinematic on every launch. During a valid Modsmith restart, it also advances from the title menu as soon as Valheim has finished initializing it. Any engine or publisher splash displayed before BepInEx loads is outside the plugin's control.

If the remote server requires a password, Valheim displays its normal password prompt after relaunch. Modsmith Cycle does not store the readable password.

Host and guest behavior

• Local host: reopens the same world and restores its hosted-server settings.
• Guest player: restarts only that player's client and reconnects it to the same server. It does not restart or alter the host's world.
• Remote or dedicated host: cannot be restarted by a guest; only the guest's own client is cycled.
• By default, a local host's restart is blocked while another player remains connected.
• If friends are playing in your locally hosted world, have them return to the main menu before restarting. Once the world reloads, they can reconnect normally.
• Each auto-resume uses a unique one-use token.
• Resume requests expire after three minutes by default.
• A detached helper waits for Valheim to exit before starting the replacement process.
• If character, world, or remote-server resolution fails, the cycle stops safely at Valheim's menus.

Requirements

• Windows 10 or 11
• Valheim 1.0.12
• BepInExPack Valheim 5.4.2350
• An active local-world or multiplayer-server session

The small restart helper targets .NET Framework 4.8, which is included with supported Windows 10/11 installations.

Installation

Keep both files together in the same plugin folder:

BepInEx/plugins/ModsmithCycle/ModsmithCycle.dll
BepInEx/plugins/ModsmithCycle/ModsmithCycle.Restarter.exe

Start Valheim with Start modded in r2modman. Enter a world, press Escape, and use the button in the lower-right corner.

You can also use Left Ctrl + F9 while the Escape menu is open.

Configuration

Settings are written to BepInEx/config/MaddCatter.ModsmithCycle.cfg.

• Restart.CountdownSeconds — cancel window, from 1 to 30 seconds.
• Restart.AutoResumeLocalWorld — restart to the menu instead of reopening the world when disabled.
• Restart.ResumeHostedSession — restores the current hosted-server settings so friends can reconnect; enabled by default.
• Restart.AutoReconnectRemoteServer — reconnects a guest client to the same remote server after restarting; enabled by default.
• Startup.SkipOpeningCinematic — skips Valheim's opening cinematic; enabled by default.
• Startup.SkipTitleScreenOnResume — advances through the title menu immediately during a valid auto-resume; enabled by default.
• Safety.RequireNoOtherPlayers — blocks restart when a peer is connected; enabled by default.
• Safety.MaximumResumeAgeSeconds — rejects delayed resume requests.
• Hotkeys.Restart — optional shortcut used only while the Escape menu is open.
• Compatibility.SteamExecutableOverride — optional full path to Steam.exe if automatic detection cannot find a nonstandard Steam installation.

Scope

Version 0.1.3 supports Windows, locally hosted worlds, Steam-hosted friends, crossplay hosts, and direct-address servers. It reloads the mods and configuration already present in the active r2modman profile; it does not install, stage, or replace mod files itself.

The save, modded Steam relaunch, active-profile preservation, character selection, and same-world resume sequence has been verified on a live Valheim 1.0.12 installation. Version 0.1.3's cinematic skip, hosted-session restoration, and guest reconnect paths have also been checked against Valheim 1.0.12's current startup, matchmaking, and server-registration APIs.

Support

For help, bug reports, or compatibility feedback, visit the Mod Support channel.

Privacy and networking

Modsmith Cycle makes no network requests of its own and collects no data. The helper receives only the current process ID, executable path, launch arguments, working directory, and one-use resume token through a temporary local request file. The temporary marker stores either local-world resume data or the previous server's connection identifier. When resuming a hosted world, it stores Valheim's salted password verifier—not the readable server password—and is deleted after use.

Changelog

0.1.6

• Hotfix: corrected the restart helper to read the V2 launch-request format written by the current plugin.
• Preserved every repeated Argument= entry so the active r2modman/BepInEx launch arguments are passed back to Steam correctly.
• Restored the save → shutdown → Steam relaunch → character/world resume sequence.
• The main ModsmithCycle.dll behavior is unchanged from 0.1.5; this hotfix replaces the mismatched helper packaged with 0.1.5.

0.1.5

• Reworked the Escape-menu restart control to use Valheim's native button styling.
• Added a matching native gold ornament above the Modsmith Cycle restart button.
• Moved restart status and cancellation messages directly below the button and stabilized their layout.
• Fixed inherited native-button behavior that could trigger the original Settings action.
• Removed temporary UI diagnostics after final placement was verified.
• Cleaned obsolete fields from the plugin-to-restarter launch contract.
• Removed the retired opening-cinematic skip functionality and stale configuration references.
• Disabled unfinished automatic remote-server reconnect behavior while preserving the framework for future co-op work.
• Preserved same-character and same-local-world automatic resume.
• Preserved locally hosted-session settings so friends can reconnect normally after the host restarts.
• Revalidated the full save, shutdown, Steam relaunch, character restore, and local-world resume cycle on Valheim 1.0.15.

0.1.4

• Updated the packaged Modsmith Cycle plugin to build 0.1.4.
• Updated the support link to https://discord.gg/ZxJ8wRtxhQ.
• Bundled the restart helper and Thunderstore package metadata for the 0.1.4 release.

0.1.3

• Reissued the cinematic-skip and same-server reconnect update under a fresh Thunderstore version after the removed listing retained version 0.1.2.
• Kept the same ModsmithCycle package identity so existing installations can update normally.
• Added the Mod Support Discord channel to the package documentation and metadata.

0.1.2

• Added a configurable skip for Valheim's opening cinematic, enabled by default.
• Added immediate title-menu advancement when a valid Modsmith auto-resume is pending.
• Restores hosted-server, public-listing, crossplay, and salted password-verifier settings so friends can reconnect after the world reloads.
• Added guest-client restart and automatic reconnection to the same Steam, PlayFab/crossplay, or direct-address server.
• Uses Valheim's normal password prompt for guest reconnection; readable server passwords are not stored.
• Kept ordinary title-menu access unchanged when no auto-resume request exists.
• Left engine and publisher splash screens that occur before BepInEx initialization untouched.

0.1.1

• Changed relaunching from direct Valheim.exe execution to Steam -applaunch 892970, matching r2modman's Windows launch route.
• Rebuilds the active profile's Doorstop 3 or Doorstop 4 arguments from the currently loaded BepInEx directory.
• Added automatic Steam.exe discovery from the running Steam process and standard installation folders.
• Added an optional Steam executable override for nonstandard installations.
• Increased the post-exit delay to give Steam time to release the previous game session.
• Corrected an empty launch-argument request edge condition found by the helper smoke test.
• Verified the complete save, modded relaunch, active-profile preservation, and same-local-world resume cycle on Valheim 1.0.12.

0.1.0

• Added an Escape-menu save-and-restart button.
• Added a configurable five-second countdown and cancel action.
• Added a hidden Windows helper that waits for Valheim to exit before relaunching.
• Preserved the current r2modman profile through the existing Doorstop/BepInEx launch arguments.
• Added same-character and same-local-world automatic resume.
• Added private-session enforcement for automatic local-world resume.
• Added connected-player blocking, expiring requests, one-use tokens, and restart-loop protection.
• Added an optional Left Ctrl + F9 menu shortcut.