Packages

A package is a publishable slice of a project — a bundle of files you pick out, version, and share so other people can install it into their own projects. Where publishing a project shares a whole playable world, a package shares one reusable piece of it: just the spells, just the bestiary, just a combat system with its sheets and rules. Installing a package copies its files into your project, where they behave like files you made yourself.

Where packages live

Packages are managed inside the project workspace, so you need a project open to author or install them (see Starting Your First Project). The third sidebar tab — Packages, after Files and Search — lists this project's packages in two sections: Authored, packages created from this project, and Installed, packages brought in from elsewhere. Expand a row to see the files inside, click a name to open the package in a tab, or right-click for actions like uninstall and delete.

The Discover Packages button at the top of the panel opens the full package browser, which has three views: Project Packages (this project's authored and installed packages as cards), Community Packages (a searchable list of everything published publicly on Craft), and Your packages (every package you've created across all your projects — handy for reusing your own content in a new project without making it public).

Installing a package

Click a community package's card to open its detail page, where you can read the description and preview every file it ships before committing. Click Install and a dialog shows which release you're getting, how many files it adds, and any file type conflicts (next section). Confirm, and Craft merges the package into your project:

• Files come in with the folder structure they had in the source project. Folders you already have with matching names are reused; the rest are created.

• The file types those files need are added too, so a bestiary arrives with its monster sheet intact.

• If you already have a file with the same name under the same file type, the package's copy is skipped instead of duplicated — the completion summary lists anything skipped.

Installed files are ordinary files: open them, edit them, link to them, let the GM use them in play. Craft remembers which files each install brought in, which is what makes clean updates and uninstalls possible later.

File types and compatibility

The delicate part of an install is file types: the package's files were built against the author's schemas, and your project may already have types with the same names. Craft checks every file type in the package against yours before anything is written:

• New — you don't have a type with that identifier, so the package's type is added.

• Compatible — you have the same type with the same fields, so the package simply uses yours. Differences that don't affect stored data (display name, layout, category, computed-field expressions) never count as conflicts.

• Conflict — you have a type with the same identifier but genuinely different fields. Craft installs the package's type under a numbered name (like character-1) and leaves yours untouched. The install dialog lists these renames before you confirm.

The rule underneath: installing a package never modifies a schema you already have. Worst case you end up with a second, suffixed type that you can merge or clean up on your own terms.

Updating an installed package

When the author publishes a new version, your installed copy shows an Update button on its card and detail page, along with the new version number. Updating replaces the files from your previous install with the new release's files. If you've edited any of the installed files, Craft stops and lists exactly which edited files would be overwritten, so you can cancel and copy your changes somewhere safe first. Files you created yourself are never touched by an update.

Uninstalling and deleted packages

Uninstall from a package's card menu or its right-click menu in the sidebar. The confirmation dialog lists every file the install brought in — all of them are permanently deleted, including ones you've edited (those are flagged in the list). If you want to keep an installed file, move its content into a file of your own before uninstalling.

If a publisher deletes a package you've installed, nothing disappears from your project. The install becomes a Deleted package card: its files stay and keep working, you just can't receive updates anymore. Open the card to review the leftover files, or uninstall to clear them out.

Creating your own package

Use the plus button in the sidebar panel's Authored section, or New package in the Project Packages view. A package starts as an empty draft with an editor for its name, description, and cover image — edits save automatically. Then add content:

• Drag files or folders from the sidebar anywhere onto the package editor.

• Or click Add files to open a picker of your project's folder tree, with checkboxes for whole folders or individual files.

The editor groups the package's contents by file type and keeps live counts of its files, file types, and installs; remove a file with the x on its row. The craft in packaging is choosing a slice that stands alone: include what your files reference — a spell list isn't much use without the classes it points at — and leave out anything that only makes sense inside your world.

Publishing versions

A draft package is yours alone until you version it. Click Create Version to snapshot the current files and metadata as v1 (then v2, v3, …), with optional release notes. Anything you change after that stays in your draft — the editor shows a Draft marker until you create the next version — so you can keep working without affecting what installers receive. The Release history section lists every version with its notes.

Versions are immutable snapshots. Someone who installed v2 keeps exactly v2's files until they choose to update, even if you change or remove files from the package afterwards.

Visibility, sharing, and reporting

Each package has its own visibility, independent of the project it came from: Private (only you can view it), Unlisted (anyone with the link), or Public (anyone can discover it in Community Packages). Flip it inline in the package editor, or open the Share dialog, which pairs the visibility switch with the package's link — a public page where anyone can preview the files and install from their own project. The link works once the package has at least one version and isn't private.

If a community package breaks the content guidelines, open its public page — the one its share link points to — and choose Report Package from the actions menu. Pick a reason, add any details, and submit; the Craft team reviews every report.