The mod lifecycle

RSMM is, at its core, a reversible install-time file applier. Knowing the lifecycle explains why mods are safe to add and remove at will.

flowchart LR
    A["mods/&lt;id&gt;/<br/>manifest.toml + assets"] --> B["rsmm apply"]
    B -->|"back up original"| K["&lt;file&gt;.rsmm.bak"]
    B -->|"install override"| C["_Cooking/&lt;encoded&gt;"]
    B --> S[".rsmm_state.json"]
    R["rsmm restore --all"] -->|"restore from .bak"| C
    R --> S

The stages

1. Stage — you author a mod under mods/<id>/ (a manifest.toml plus assets). The SDK can emit cooked assets for you; see Mods ship data, not code.
2. Apply — rsmm apply resolves each decoded asset path to its encoded cooked path, backs the original up as <file>.rsmm.bak, then copies the override into place. The applier is transactional.
3. Track — active overrides are recorded in <install>/DarkTalesResources/_Cooking/.rsmm_state.json.
4. Restore — rsmm restore --all copies every .rsmm.bak back and deletes the backups, returning the game to vanilla.

Why this is safe

The engine accepts any byte-compatible file at the encoded path — no checksum, signature, or embedded path. RSMM never patches Ravenswatch.exe and loads no DLL for asset mods, so no anti-tamper code path runs. Full threat model: Architecture overview.

Common problems

Caution

• Game updated and a mod vanished. A patch re-cooked the file your override replaced; re-run rsmm apply. Backups are per-file, so this is safe.
• Leftover .rsmm.bak files. Means a restore was interrupted. Run rsmm restore --all again — it is idempotent.
• apply reports a path it can’t resolve. Your decoded_path isn’t in data/asset_map.json; check the exact path (forward slashes) against the glossary entry for asset_map.json.