A Fallout 4 mod manager, in Rust.
The Mod Organizer 2 model, done right.
Overseer follows the Mod Organizer 2 model of explicit, non-destructive mod and load-order management, and builds in the pieces MO2 leaves to third-party plugins: root-folder deployment (script extenders, ReShade, ENB), in-app plugin grouping, native tool integration (xEdit, Complex Sorter, BethINI), and setup diagnostics. One UI-agnostic Rust core drives every front end.
Deployment is non-destructive and crash-safe. Any pre-existing files a mod would overwrite are
backed up first and restored exactly on purge. The apply is journaled as a transaction, so an
interrupted run is rolled back on the next command instead of leaving Data/ half-written.
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Crash-safe deployment | Non-destructive hardlink deploy, journaled as a transaction. Overwritten files are backed up first and restored exactly on purge; an interrupted run rolls back cleanly. |
| Real load order | Writes the actual Plugins.txt through libloadorder on deploy and restores it on purge, so the game and external tools see exactly what you set. |
| Root-folder deployment | Script extenders, ReShade and ENB files that live beside the executable are handled first-class, not just what lands in Data/. |
| In-app plugin grouping | Organise your load order into named groups inside the app, with no external plugin needed to keep a large setup readable. |
| Setup diagnostics | overseer doctor runs read-only health checks on your install and surfaces the same results in the terminal UI. |
| TUI-first, scriptable CLI | A ratatui terminal UI for daily driving, plus a one-shot CLI for automation, both over the same core. |
Launch the terminal UI:
cargo run -p overseer-tuiOr drive a full Fallout 4 workflow from the CLI:
# create an instance pointing at your game
overseer instance init --path <instance-dir> --game-dir "<FO4 install>"
# install a mod archive, then inspect the mod list and plugin order
overseer install <mod.7z> --instance <instance-dir>
overseer mod list --instance <instance-dir>
overseer plugin list --instance <instance-dir>
# deploy into the game's Data/ (writes the real Plugins.txt), check status, then undo
overseer deploy --instance <instance-dir>
overseer status --instance <instance-dir>
overseer purge --instance <instance-dir>
# run the setup health checks
overseer doctor --instance <instance-dir>Under active development. The UI-agnostic core (overseer-core) and the CLI (overseer-cli)
already support a full Fallout 4 workflow: create an instance, install mods from archives, manage a
profile's mod list and plugin load order, and deploy or purge into the game's Data/ directory.
The setup health checker (overseer doctor) runs the diagnostics from the command line, and the
terminal UI (overseer-tui) presents the mods and plugins and surfaces the same checks in an
in-app panel. The TUI is the primary interactive front end; a desktop GUI (Tauri) is a possible
later addition over the same core.
Workspace layout (crates)
overseer-core: UI-agnostic domain logic. Modules:deploy(the hardlink engine behind aDeployertrait),install(archive extraction and staging),instance(instances, profiles, mod lists),plugins(metadata, discovery, load order, the realPlugins.txt),apply(the orchestrator that turns a profile into a live deployment),patch(BA2 header patching and pure-Rust VCDIFF edition conversion), plusgame,launch, andsettings.overseer-frontend: shared support for the front ends (file logging, theming, path helpers).overseer-cli: command-line front end (scriptable and one-shot).overseer-diagnostics: read-only setup health checks, surfaced byoverseer doctor.overseer-tui: the interactive terminal UI, built onratatui, with a mods and plugins view and an in-app diagnostics panel.
Contributions are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for setup and the gate every change must pass:
cargo build
cargo test
cargo clippy --all-targets # warnings are treated as failures in CI
cargo fmt --check