Install NPC Helper 2

NPC Helper 2 is the framework that NPC mods run on. It adds no characters of its own. Install it once, then add NPC mods (next page).

Requirements#

• Stardew Valley 1.6 or later.
• SMAPI 4.0 or later.

Step 1: Install SMAPI#

SMAPI is the mod loader. If you already launch the game through SMAPI, skip to step 2.

1. Open the SMAPI installation guide and follow the steps for your system.
2. Start Stardew Valley once through SMAPI. A console window opens next to the game, and a Mods folder exists inside the game folder.

Step 2: Download NPC Helper 2#

1. Open the NPC Helper 2 page on Nexus Mods.
2. Download the main file. Use your mod manager's download button, or the manual download.

Step 3: Put it in the Mods folder#

Pick one method.

With a mod manager (Vortex, Mod Organizer, and similar): install the downloaded file through the manager, as you do for other mods.

By hand:

1. Extract the downloaded archive.
2. Copy the NpcHelper folder into the game's Mods folder.
3. Check the result. The folder Mods/NpcHelper must contain the mod's files directly, not another NpcHelper folder inside it:

Stardew Valley/
└── Mods/
    └── NpcHelper/
        ├── manifest.json
        └── ...

Step 4: Start the game and check#

1. Start Stardew Valley through SMAPI (not the plain game launcher).
2. Watch the SMAPI console while the game starts. NPC Helper 2 writes one grouped summary that lists the NPCs found in each pack, the language in use, and any errors or warnings.
3. With no NPC mods installed yet, the summary has no NPCs. That is normal.

If NPC Helper 2 does not appear in the SMAPI console at all, see Fix problems as a player.

Updating#

1. Close the game.
2. Download the new version.
3. Replace the old NpcHelper folder with the new one (delete the old folder first so no old files remain), or update it through your mod manager.
4. Start the game through SMAPI and check the console again.

NPC mods can require a minimum NPC Helper 2 version. If a mod needs a newer version than you have, SMAPI tells you in the console.

Uninstalling#

Close the game and delete the NpcHelper folder from Mods. NPC mods that need it will not load without it, and SMAPI will say so.