Modlet Load Order in 7 Days to Die: How Folders Decide

7 Days to Die loads modlets in alphabetical order based on their folder names inside the Mods folder. When two mods touch the same setting, the one whose folder name comes later in the alphabet applies its change last, so it wins. That is the whole trick behind load order, and once you understand it you can fix most conflicts yourself just by renaming a folder.

This matters because modlets do not install over each other in the normal sense. They patch the game’s XML config files one after another as the game starts up. If mod A and mod B both edit the same stat on the same item, whichever one runs second is the version you actually see in game.

Why folder names control everything

The game does not care about a mod’s title, its author, or what order you downloaded things in. It scans the Mods folder and processes modlets in plain alphabetical order, the same way a file browser would sort them. A folder named Zombie_Loot loads after one named Armor_Rework, simply because Z comes after A.

This is exactly why Vortex adds letter prefixes like AAA- to folder names when it manages your mods. Vortex cannot reorder files inside the game’s own loading logic, so it fakes an order by renaming folders with prefixes that push them earlier or later alphabetically. If you look inside your Mods folder and see names starting with odd letter combinations you didn’t choose, that’s Vortex doing its job.

Later load, last word

Think of each modlet as a patch script that runs in sequence. Mod A sets a value, then mod B loads and changes that same value, then mod C loads and maybe changes it again. By the time the game finishes processing the Mods folder, only the last change survives for that specific entry. Everything else either mod did that doesn’t overlap stays intact, since conflicts only happen on the exact lines two mods both touch.

This is a simple, mechanical rule. It has nothing to do with which mod is “better” or more popular, and the game itself doesn’t try to merge conflicting changes intelligently. Last one to patch the file wins that line, full stop.

Changing the order by hand

If you’re not using Vortex, or you want to override what it chose, you can force an order yourself by renaming the folder inside Mods.

1. Open your game’s Mods folder and find the folder for the modlet you want to load earlier or later.
2. Add a short prefix to the folder name, such as a number or a letter sequence, to push it earlier or later alphabetically. Something like 01_ModName or ZZZ_ModName works fine, as long as it changes where the name sits in the alphabet.
3. Write down the mod’s original folder name somewhere before you rename it. This matters because when the mod gets updated, the new download usually comes packaged under its original name, not your renamed one.
4. If you forget the original name, you’ll end up with two folders for the same mod after an update, one old and renamed, one new and unrenamed, which causes its own conflicts.

Keep a simple text note or a spreadsheet of “original name, renamed to” pairs if you manage more than a handful of modlets this way. It saves a lot of guesswork later.

What load order can and can’t fix

Load order only matters where two modlets actually overlap, meaning they edit the same specific value, item, or recipe. If two mods never touch the same thing, their folder order makes no difference at all and you don’t need to think about it.

What load order cannot do is make two mods compatible when they both rework the same system from the ground up. Renaming folders won’t merge two different crafting overhauls or two different loot rebalances into something that works together. You’ll just get whichever one loaded last, and the other mod’s work on that system is effectively gone, sometimes leaving broken references behind.

A good rule to follow: treat any overhaul mod as incompatible with other modlets unless the overhaul’s own author has specifically said otherwise or published a patch for it. Overhauls typically touch so many systems and values that a modlet written independently has almost no chance of sitting alongside it cleanly.

Leave 0_TFP_Harmony alone

Inside the game’s own Mods folder you’ll find a folder called 0_TFP_Harmony. This is not something you installed and it is not a user mod. It’s a vanilla folder that ships with the game, and C# based mods depend on it to patch game code at runtime.

Don’t rename it, don’t delete it, and don’t move it out of the Mods folder. If you ever do delete it by accident, or it goes missing for any reason, verifying the game files through Steam will restore it.

Checking your work after a reorder

Once you’ve changed a folder name or two, don’t just assume it worked. Start the game and check properly.

1. Launch the game and press F1 to open the console.
2. Look through the console output for red text. Red lines usually point to a loading error, a missing reference, or an XML patch that failed to apply.
3. If the console is clean, go test the actual feature the two mods both touch, in game, not just in a menu. Craft the item, check the stat, open the loot container, whatever the overlap was about.
4. If the result still isn’t what you expected, swap the order the other way and test again. Sometimes the “wrong” mod winning is obvious once you see both outcomes side by side.

This small loop, rename, launch, check console, test the feature, is really the whole workflow for sorting out modlet conflicts without having to read through XML files line by line.

Questions people ask

Does Vortex actually move mod files when it sets load order?

No, it renames the mod's folder by adding a letter prefix such as AAA-, which changes its position in the alphabetical scan the game performs on startup.

Why did my renamed mod folder disappear after an update?

Updates download under the mod's original folder name, so your renamed copy and the fresh download end up as two separate folders unless you clean up the old one first.

Can I fix incompatibility between two overhaul mods by changing load order?

Not reliably. Load order only decides which value wins when two mods edit the exact same line, it cannot merge two mods that each rebuild the same system differently.

What does it mean if the F1 console shows red text after I reorder mods?

Red lines usually mean an XML patch failed to apply or a reference is missing, which often happens right after a load order change, so check that output every time you rename a folder.

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