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1. Your Mod Journey Starts Here

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  Before we embark on this exciting modding journey, before we start installing anything, a quick overview of what your modded game folder structure will look like. This structure is the starting point, so let's get it right to avoid problems downstream. The screenshot below is what your GTA 5 folder structure will be after your first game install. You will have roughly 44 items (files and folders) in the installation folder . We will also refer to this folder, where GTA5.exe is located, as the root folder or the game folder . Click on the picture below for full size .   If you don't know how to find the GTA 5 folder, which might be called Grand Theft Auto V , you can read this article on our sister site called How to find GTA5.exe . We will start by installing a free program called Open IV . It is likely pronounced Open Four because it was developed originally at the same time as GTA IV but many people call it Open Eye Vee - so call it what you wish, just make s

2. Installing OpenIV

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  You can download OpenIV at their Official Site . Just click the green download now button at the top of the page and then start the installation as you would any Windows software. You can click on any picture on this website to view it full size. 1. Select your language 2. Accept the EULA (End User License Agreement) 3. Select Install the OpenIV to this computer. Note: you can't change the Installation Path. 4. Hit Ok to continue and then launch OpenIV from the shortcut on your desktop. If you don't see a shortcut you can start OpenIV.exe from this location (replacing YourUserName with your User name): C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\New Technology Studio\Apps\OpenIV 5. Once OpenIV has launched, select Grand Theft Auto V and Windows.   6.  From the next dialog, select browse and navigate to your GTA 5 folder. If you don't know where it is consult this article on our sister site: How to find GTA5.exe . 6. Click Continue when prompted, twice, and that's it. You'

3. Configuring Open IV

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  Now that you've installed OpenIV, let's do some basic setup and configuration. 1. Launch OpenIV and hit the Edit button at the top. Select Ok when you get the warning. Another message in blue will appear to install plugin for GTA V. Click on the ASI Manager button to continue. Click on the picture below for full size . 2. When the GTA V - ASI Manager pops up, install all 3 selections: The ASI Loader, OpenIV.asi, and openCamera. Notice the warning about getting banned if you play GTA online with mods. There is very little danger of that happening. Read this article: Online without Ban 3. You will also get a message to create a Mods folder, select yes and accept the defaults. Note that the folder created by OpenIV will be empty. Note: You can go back to the GTA V - ASI Manager above at any time. Just select Tools from the top menu of OpenIV and then ASI Manager . Finally, if we look at our GTA 5 root or game folder we will now see 4 additions: a Mods Folder and the 3 files

4. Essential Mods

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  We will now install 3 absolutely essential mods - one that enables us to hook into the GTA 5 game engine known as RAGE and 2 for stability. All 3 of these mods are copied to your root folder where GTA 5.exe is found and where your game was installed. Script Hook V Download Script Hook V from this link only .  Once extracted you will see a folder called bin. Install 2 of the 3 files in the bin folder of the zip archive. The 2 files to install are: ScriptHookV.dll and dinput8.dll. You don't need to install NativeTrainer.asi. Copy these files to your root folder . Note if you installed OpenIV you will already have dinput8.dll installed. ScriptHookV.dll dinput8.dll (also installed by OpenIV as ASI loader) Heap Limit Adjuster This mod which increases heap memory can be downloaded here .  It is packaged with 2 files and will generate a log file. Extract (unzip) and install in the root folder, same as the other files here. HeapAdjuster.asi HeapAdjuster.ini HeapAdjuster.log (generated a

5. Trainers

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  Our next installation project will be installing a Trainer, probably the best mods ever. Unlike our essential mods, which don't really have any alternatives, there are dozens of excellent trainers you can choose from. We will just discuss two of the most popular, Menyoo and Simple Trainer . They often are both installed and they seem to play and behave well together. You can read more here . Menyoo Download Menyoo from this link only (download lastest release).  Once extracted you will see a folder called menyooStuff and a file called Menyoo.asi. Install both the file and the folder in the root folder. In passing, all files with the  asi extension will be installed in the root folder. Menyoo.asi menyooStuff (folder) menyooLog.txt (log file generated after first run)   Note: Menyoo also has a configuration file, menyooConfig.ini, in the menyooStuff folder. Simple Trainer This trainer mod, which is very popular as well, can be downloaded here .  It is packaged with 2 files. Extra

6. The Mods Folder Part 1

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  With most of the essential files out of the way, let's now look at setting up and configuring the Mods Folder. In passing, you can name it mods or Mods , Windows doesn't care. Why are we creating a Mods folder rather than modding the game directly? We do it for two main reasons.  First it prevents us from damaging, deleting, or corrupting game files. If we did damage the original game files we would need to do a verify integrity or a full reinstall to fix our game - both taking time.  Secondly, it allows us to keep all our mods intact after each Rockstar GTA 5 patch/update. It doesn't guarantee our game will work, but at least none of our mod files will be overwritten or replaced by the update. Finally, we can think of the game folder as a backup for our Mods folder, in case we screw up and we definitely will along the way. Now let's look at what goes into our Mods folder. We will take the minimalist approach for simplicity and to save disk space. Contrary to what

7. The Mods Folder Part 2

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Here is a step by step installation guide, done manually so you can familiarize yourself with the file and folder structure. Step 1. We create a sub folder called Update inside the Mods folder. It will look, depending on your own installation, something like this: Grand Theft Auto V\Mods\update Step 2. We now create a sub folder called x64 inside the Update folder. It will look, depending on your own installation, something like this: Grand Theft Auto V\Mods\update\x64\ Step 3. We create a sub folder called dlcpacks inside the x64 folder. It will look, depending on your own installation, something like this: Grand Theft Auto V\Mods\update\x64\dlcpacks Step 4. We go back to our folder called Update inside the Mods folder. There we are going to copy update.rpf from the game to our Update sub folder. It will look, depending on your own installation, that we are copying from this folder: Grand Theft Auto V\update\update.rpf To this folder: Grand Theft Auto V\Mods\update.rpf