gregWiki/docs/guides/contributor-workshop.md

id, title, sidebar_label, description, sidebar_position, tags

id	title	sidebar_label	description	sidebar_position	tags
contributor-workshop	Contributor Guide — WorkshopManager	Contributor Guide	Development setup, building, publishing workflow, and release process for the WorkshopManager.	20	audience:contributor workshop

Contributor Guide — WorkshopManager

This guide covers the development workflow for the WorkshopManager and how to publish mods to the Steam Workshop.

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio 2022 with .NET Multi-platform App UI and Windows App SDK workloads.
• .NET 9 SDK (for the WorkshopManager MAUI app).
• .NET 6 SDK (for framework, plugins, and mods targeting MelonLoader).
• Steam with Data Center installed (App ID 4170200).

Repository structure

Path	Purpose
framework/FrikaMF.csproj	Core MelonLoader framework DLL
plugins/FFM.Plugin.*/	FMF extension plugins (5 projects)
mods/FMF.*/	Standalone mods (4 projects)
WorkshopUploader/	WorkshopManager MAUI app
scripts/Deploy-Release-ToWorkshop.ps1	Package all builds into Workshop folders
scripts/Deploy-Release-ToDataCenter.ps1	Deploy to game for local testing

Building

Build everything (solution)

dotnet build FrikaMF.sln -c Release

Build standalone mods (not in solution)

dotnet build mods/FMF.ConsoleInputGuard/FMF.ConsoleInputGuard.csproj -c Release
dotnet build mods/FMF.Mod.GregifyEmployees/FMF.GregifyEmployees.csproj -c Release
dotnet build mods/FMF.Mod.HexLabelMod/FMF.HexLabelMod.csproj -c Release
dotnet build mods/FMF.Plugin.LangCompatBridge/FMF.JoniMLCompatMod.csproj -c Release

Build WorkshopManager only

dotnet build WorkshopUploader/WorkshopUploader.csproj -c Release

Workshop project structure

Each mod/plugin gets its own folder under <GameRoot>/workshop/:

<GameRoot>/workshop/
├── FrikaModFramework/
│   ├── content/
│   │   └── Mods/
│   │       └── FrikaModdingFramework.dll
│   ├── metadata.json
│   └── preview.png
├── FFM.Plugin.Multiplayer/
│   ├── content/
│   │   └── FMF/
│   │       └── Plugins/
│   │           └── FFM.Plugin.Multiplayer.dll
│   ├── metadata.json
│   └── preview.png
└── ...

The content/ folder mirrors the game directory structure and is what Steam uploads.

Deploy to Workshop folders

pwsh -File scripts/Deploy-Release-ToWorkshop.ps1

This script:

1. Builds all framework, plugin, and mod projects.
2. Creates a Workshop project folder for each under <GameRoot>/workshop/.
3. Copies the built DLL into content/<target path>/.
4. Creates metadata.json with title, description, tags, and visibility.

Publishing workflow

GUI (recommended)

1. Run the WorkshopManager app.
2. Open a project from the Projects tab.
3. Edit title, description, tags, visibility, and preview image.
4. Write change notes describing what changed.
5. Click Save and upload to Steam.
6. After upload, the app syncs your local content/ with Steam's version.

CLI (headless)

WorkshopUploader.exe --mode publish --path <project-folder>

Post-upload sync

After publishing, the app re-downloads the item from Steam and replaces your local content/ folder. This ensures your working copy matches exactly what Steam has — similar to git pull after git push.

Extending the service layer

The SteamWorkshopService in WorkshopUploader/Services/SteamWorkshopService.cs wraps the Facepunch.Steamworks 2.3.3 API. Key methods:

Method	Purpose
PublishAsync	Create or update a Workshop item with change notes
SyncAfterPublishAsync	Re-download from Steam to sync local content
BrowseAsync	Browse all Workshop items with sort/tag filters
SearchAsync	Text search across Workshop items
ListSubscribedAsync	List user's subscribed items
ListFavoritedAsync	List user's favorited items
SubscribeAsync / UnsubscribeAsync	Toggle subscription
AddFavoriteAsync / RemoveFavoriteAsync	Toggle favorite
VoteAsync	Vote up or down
GetItemDetailsAsync	Full item details with stats

Adding a new mod to the release

1. Create the mod project under mods/.
2. Add it to the $mods array in Deploy-Release-ToWorkshop.ps1.
3. Run the deploy script.
4. Open the new workshop project in the WorkshopManager and publish.