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Quick start guide

This guide will walk you through the essential steps to get BD2 Mod Manager up and running with your first mod. By the end, you’ll have added a mod, enabled it, and synced it to your game.
Before starting, make sure you’ve installed BD2 Mod Manager and have Brown Dust 2 installed on your system.

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First launch setup

1

Launch BD2 Mod Manager

Double-click BD2ModManager.exe to start the application. On first launch, the app will create its data directory in your AppData folder:
C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Bruhnn\BD2ModManager\
2

Set your game directory

BD2 Mod Manager will attempt to automatically detect your Brown Dust 2 installation. If it doesn’t find it automatically, you’ll need to select it manually:
  1. Click the Settings or configuration icon
  2. Browse to your Brown Dust 2 directory (where BrownDust II.exe is located)
  3. Example path: F:\Neowiz\Browndust2\Browndust2_10000001
Make sure to select the directory containing BrownDust II.exe, not the launcher directory.
3

Verify BrownDustX is installed

BD2 Mod Manager works with BrownDustX, a mod loader for Brown Dust 2. The app will check if BrownDustX is installed in your game directory.If BrownDustX is not installed, you’ll need to install it separately before you can sync mods.

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Add your first mod

You have two ways to add mods to BD2 Mod Manager:
The easiest method is to drag and drop:
  1. Download a mod file (usually a .zip, .7z, or folder)
  2. Drag the file or folder directly into the BD2 Mod Manager window
  3. The app will automatically extract archives and validate the mod
  4. Your mod will appear in the mod list
If you’re using Symlink mode, drag and drop is disabled due to Windows administrator restrictions.

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Choose your sync method

Before syncing, you need to choose how mods are copied to your game:

Copy method

Best for most users
  • No admin rights required
  • Slower sync speed
  • Uses more disk space
  • Drag & drop works

Symlink method

Best for power users
  • Requires admin rights
  • Much faster sync
  • Saves disk space
  • Drag & drop disabled
To select your sync method:
  1. Go to Settings → Sync Method
  2. Choose either Copy or Symlink
  3. If you choose Symlink, you’ll need to run BD2 Mod Manager as administrator
For your first time, use Copy mode. You can always switch to Symlink later once you’re comfortable with the workflow.
See the Sync methods page for a detailed comparison with performance benchmarks.

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Enable and sync your mod

1

Enable your mod

Find your mod in the mod list and check the box next to it to enable it. You can enable multiple mods at once.
Enabling a mod doesn’t immediately affect your game. You must sync to apply changes.
2

Sync to game

Click the Sync button. BD2 Mod Manager will:
  1. Create a BD2MM folder inside your BrownDustX mods directory
  2. Copy (or symlink) all enabled mods into this folder
  3. Display a success message when complete
Your mods are now active in Brown Dust 2!
3

Launch the game

Start Brown Dust 2 normally. BrownDustX will automatically load your mods from the BD2MM folder.
After making any changes (enable, disable, delete, rename), you must sync again to update the game folder.

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Using mod profiles

Mod profiles let you save different configurations of enabled mods and switch between them instantly:
1

Create a profile

  1. Click the Profiles tab
  2. Click New Profile
  3. Name it something descriptive (e.g., “Cutscene Mods Only”)
  4. Your current enabled mods will be saved to this profile
2

Switch profiles

Click on any profile to activate it. BD2 Mod Manager will automatically enable/disable mods to match that profile’s configuration.
Remember to sync after switching profiles to apply the changes to your game!
Learn more in the Managing profiles guide.

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Preview mods (optional)

BD2 Mod Manager includes a Spine animation viewer so you can preview character mods before syncing them:
  1. Select a character mod from the mod list
  2. Click the Preview button
  3. The Spine viewer will launch showing the character animation
  4. Use the controls to change animations and view different states
See Mod preview for more details.

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Common tasks

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Disable all mods

  1. Uncheck all mods in the mod list (or use bulk actions if available)
  2. Click Sync to remove them from the game folder

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Remove a mod

  1. Right-click the mod in the list
  2. Select Delete
  3. Click Sync to update the game folder

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Change game directory

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Update the Game Directory path
  3. The app will re-validate your installation

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Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:
  • Make sure BrownDustX is installed
  • Verify your game directory contains BrownDust II.exe
  • Check that your mod has a valid .modfile
  • Try switching between Copy and Symlink modes
  • See the Troubleshooting guide for specific errors

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Next steps

Core features

Explore all the features of BD2 Mod Manager

Finding mods

Discover where to get mods for Brown Dust 2

Advanced usage

Learn about symlink mode and command-line options

FAQ

Find answers to common questions

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