How to Install GTA San Andreas Mods: Cars, Skins and CLEO

San Andreas has been modded for more than twenty years, and almost all of that work was built around one specific file: the original 2005 PC executable, version 1.0. That’s why the first job on a modern copy is to make it look like the old version again. After a short one-time setup, installing a car or a skin means dropping files into a folder, not rebuilding the game’s archives by hand.

The short version

1. Back up the game folder and your saves.
2. If you bought the game on Steam or the Rockstar Games Launcher, downgrade it to 1.0.
3. Install an ASI loader, SilentPatch, Mod Loader and CLEO.
4. Put every mod into its own folder inside modloader.
5. Start the game with the 1.0 executable, gta_sa.exe.

First: which San Andreas do you have?

Mods don’t carry over between the three versions people play today, and every San Andreas mod on CrashMods is tagged with the one it was made for.

• Original PC edition: the 2005 disc release and the copies sold on Steam and the Rockstar Games Launcher. This guide is about this version, and it’s the one most mods target, such as the Lamborghini Terzo.
• Definitive Edition (2021). It runs on Unreal Engine, so classic mods don’t work in it at all. Mods made for it, like the Immersive Weapons Pack, usually come as .pak files that go into Gameface\Content\Paks\~mods. Create the ~mods folder if it isn’t there.
• Android. The mobile port uses different files altogether. There’s a short section on it further down, and a separate list of Android mods.

One-time setup for the PC version

1. Make a backup. Copy the whole game folder somewhere safe, plus your saves from Documents\GTA San Andreas User Files.
2. Downgrade to 1.0 if you need to. The Steam and Rockstar Games Launcher copies are newer builds that CLEO and most plugins don’t recognise. A San Andreas downgrader puts the 1.0 files back. Afterwards, always start the game with gta_sa.exe (with an underscore), not the store’s own launcher file. Steam saves don’t always load after a downgrade, which is one more reason for step 1.
3. Install an ASI loader. Silent’s ASI Loader or Ultimate ASI Loader goes into the game folder and lets the game load .asi plugins. Nearly everything else on this list depends on it.
4. Add SilentPatch. It fixes a long list of original bugs and makes version 1.0 behave on modern Windows, from frame-rate problems to random crashes.
5. Install Mod Loader. Copy modloader.asi and the modloader folder into the game folder.
6. Install CLEO. CLEO 5 is the current version and runs most older scripts. It needs the ASI loader too.

That’s the whole foundation. Start the game once to make sure it still reaches the main menu before you add anything else.

Where the files go

With Mod Loader installed, the only folder you’ll touch from now on is modloader:

Each mod gets its own subfolder, named however you like: modloader\Lamborghini Terzo, modloader\New HUD and so on. Mod Loader reads those folders at start-up and feeds the files to the game as if they’d always been part of it. Nothing inside models\gta3.img is changed, so removing a mod is as simple as deleting its folder.

Installing a car mod

San Andreas has a fixed list of vehicles, so most car mods replace one of them. The Suzuki Swift 4×4 takes the Sultan’s place, for example, and the K.I.T.T. Mustang replaces the Bandito. The readme or the mod page tells you which car gets swapped out.

1. Extract the download into a temporary folder.
2. Create a new folder inside modloader and name it after the car.
3. Copy the car’s .dff and .txd files into it, along with any other files that came with them.
4. If the readme contains a handling line, leave the readme in that folder too. Mod Loader picks up handling and vehicle data lines from text files on its own. The old alternative is opening data\handling.cfg and replacing the line that starts with the car’s name.
5. Start the game and look for the car wherever the original one usually appears, or spawn it with a trainer.

Changed your mind? Delete the folder, and the original car is back the next time you start the game.

Skins, weapons and maps

• Character skins are .dff and .txd pairs, just like cars, and go into a modloader subfolder. Outfits for CJ work the same way: the mod’s files share their names with the originals and simply take their place.
• Weapons also come as model and texture files, sometimes with a line for weapon.dat. The mod’s notes say when that’s needed.
• Maps and new locations bring their own collision and placement files (.col, .ipl, .ide). Mod Loader handles most of them, but map mods are where the readme matters most, so read it before you copy anything.

CLEO scripts and ASI plugins

Scripts add things the game never had: new missions, menus, police behaviour, car spawners. They come in two kinds:

• CLEO scripts (.cs) go into the CLEO folder in the game directory. Most of them are switched on with a key or a cheat-style code from the readme. If an old script misbehaves under CLEO 5, renaming it from .cs to .cs4 runs it in CLEO 4 compatibility mode.
• ASI plugins (.asi) go into the game folder or into a modloader subfolder. They only work with the ASI loader from the setup.

The old way: editing gta3.img

Older readmes tell you to open models\gta3.img in an IMG editor, replace files inside it and rebuild the archive. That still works, but it’s slow, one wrong click can damage the archive, and undoing it is a pain. If you go that route anyway, keep a copy of the original gta3.img. With Mod Loader you can skip all of it: anything that would have gone into gta3.img goes into a modloader folder instead.

GTA San Andreas mods on Android

The Android version reads its files from the app’s data folder, and most Android mods ship as replacement files for Android/data/com.rockstargames.gtasa/files. Newer Android versions hide that folder from ordinary file managers, so you’ll need one that can open it, or a PC connected over USB. Android mods vary a lot more than PC mods, so follow each mod’s own instructions, for example those of the Golf 8 R Android add-on, and back up every file you replace.

Common mistakes

• Starting the wrong executable. After a downgrade, use gta_sa.exe. Otherwise Mod Loader and CLEO complain about an unknown game version.
• Skipping the ASI loader. Without it, .asi files, including Mod Loader and CLEO themselves, are never loaded.
• Two mods replacing the same car. Only one of them can win. Mod Loader can set priorities, but the simple fix is to keep one.
• Classic mods on the Definitive Edition, or the other way round. Under the hood they’re different games.
• Hitting the original limits. Huge vehicle packs can exceed what the 2005 engine allows and need a limit adjuster such as Open Limit Adjuster or fastman92 Limit Adjuster.

Quick troubleshooting

The game crashes while loading? Move the folder of the last mod you added out of modloader and check whether the crash goes away. A car that’s invisible or shows white textures usually has a .txd whose name doesn’t match what the .dff expects. A car that handles strangely is missing the handling line from its readme. And if nothing loads at all, check the game version first: CLEO 5 and most plugins only support the 1.0 US executable.

Frequently asked questions

Do I really have to downgrade the Steam version?

For CLEO scripts and most ASI plugins, yes. Simple texture and model swaps sometimes work without it, but you’ll hit a wall soon after.

Can I get banned for using mods?

No. San Andreas has no official online mode, so single-player mods carry no ban risk. Multiplayer projects such as SA-MP set their own rules about which mods are allowed on their servers.

Will mods break my save games?

Replacing cars, skins and weapons is generally safe. Scripts and map mods can leave data in a save that causes crashes once you remove them, so keep a backup of GTA San Andreas User Files.

Are mods for the Steam version different from the disc version?

Not once you’ve downgraded. Both then run the same 1.0 executable, so the same mods work in both.

Want something to install first? Browse all GTA San Andreas mods, or head to cars, skins, weapons, bikes, maps and airplanes.