Sandustry Answers
Sandustry Early Access 0.5.5Sources checked 22 August 2026Unofficial player-run reference
Home / Answers / MODSEarly Access 0.5.5Checked 23 August 2026Developer statement

I subscribed to a mod and nothing loaded. How do Sandustry mods install?

Subscribing is not installing. The developer put mod loading on a separate, unstable branch.

Quick answer

Subscribing on the Workshop does not load a mod. In the Update #2 announcement of 19 August 2026 the developer states that you need to be on the mods branch in order to load subscribed mods, and warns in the same sentence that the branch is unstable and not up to date, so it should not be used if you only want to play vanilla. Branch selection itself is a Steam client feature, reached through the game's properties in your library. The developer also states that no proper API documentation has been published yet.

Steps

  1. Subscribe to the mod on the game's official Workshop hub.
  2. Open the game's properties in your Steam library, the same place the developer points to for launch options.
  3. Switch to the branch the developer names: mods. Branch selection is a Steam client feature, not a Sandustry menu, and no branch password is mentioned anywhere.
  4. Read the developer's warning before you do it: that branch is described as unstable and not up to date, and is explicitly not meant for vanilla play.
  5. If a mod ships its own installer instead, follow that mod's own instructions rather than this route.

Requirements / limits

  • The branch instruction is the developer's, published 19 August 2026, and is the only public statement on how subscribed mods load.
  • No step list, screenshot or branch password is published by the developer. The branch name is all that is stated.
  • The developer states that no proper API documentation has been published yet, so mod behaviour is not documented first-party anywhere.
  • One Workshop mod states the game has no mod loader yet and installs itself by patching the game. That sits awkwardly beside the branch instruction and is recorded here rather than merged into one story.
  • This site has not installed, run or tested any mod.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming a subscribed mod loads on the default branch. The developer's instruction says it does not.
  • Switching to the mods branch for a normal playthrough. The developer specifically advises against that.
  • Expecting mods to survive an update. One mod author describes element type ids being assigned in registration order, so adding or removing a type between mod versions can shift every id after it while a save still holds the old ones.
  • Reading a mod's description as documentation of the game. It documents the mod.

Still unverified

  • Can a Workshop mod load on the default branch?Not verifiedThe developer's instruction implies not, while one mod ships its own installer for the release build. No source states the general rule.
  • Is the mods branch still behind the release build?Developer statementThe warning is dated 19 August 2026 and has not been repeated or withdrawn since.
  • Which mods survive a game update?Not verifiedOne mod author describes version drift breaking saves, but no compatibility policy is published by anyone.