Workspace

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Who Is This For?

The Workspace is built for modpack developers — people who create and maintain modpacks.

If you imported someone else's modpack, you don't need this feature. Your import/ folder is the pack source and the game runs from build/ as usual. The only time you might open the workspace is to restore an original file from import/ into the working copy if something broke — but that's rare.

The Problem

When you develop a modpack, you configure things in-game: video settings, mod configs, world generation options. Those changes land in the working copy under build/ — the runtime state of files that came from import/. The import/ tree itself stays untouched.

You changed configs but don't know which files moved or how to promote them back into the modpack. That's what Workspace solves: it lets you sync between the working copy and import/.

Opening the Workspace

1. Select your instance.
2. Switch to the Workspace tab.

The workspace compares import/ (source) with the working copy under build/.

Understanding the Diff

The workspace looks at files that belong to the import working copy:

Example: Config Tweaks

You launched the game and adjusted performance settings for your modpack. The changes are in the working copy under build/config/ while the originals sit in import/config/. The workspace shows exactly which files changed and how they differ.

Syncing Changes

There are two sync directions, each serving a different purpose.

Promote: working copy → import (primary)

This is the main workflow. When you see a change in the working copy that you want to keep in your modpack:

1. Select the file in the workspace.
2. Click Sync to Import.
3. The file is copied from the working copy under build/ into import/.

That change is now part of your modpack's source. It will be included when you export or update the modpack.

You can select multiple files and sync them at once — useful after a tuning session where you changed many config files.

Restore: import → working copy (secondary)

If an in-game change went wrong and you want the original file back:

1. Select the file in the workspace.
2. Click restore.
3. The file is copied from import/ into the working copy under build/, overwriting your local change.

This restores the modpack's original version of that file.

Modpack Author Workflow

This is the primary use case for the workspace:

1. Build a modpack and add initial configs to import/.
2. Launch the game and configure everything in-game (changes go to the working copy under build/).
3. Open the workspace and review what changed.
4. Promote confirmed changes from the working copy to import/.
5. Export or commit to Git.

Repeat this loop as you iterate on your modpack.

Relationship to Git

If you use Git for your modpack (see Modpack Development), the workspace fits naturally into version control:

1. import/ is tracked by Git.
2. build/ and persist/ are in .gitignore.
3. Promote from the working copy → import/ → then git commit.

Think of the working copy under build/ as your working tree for pack files, import/ as your staged changes, and git commit as the final step.