Baldur's Gate 3 Modding on OpenMods

Larian's officially-supported modding ecosystem

Baldur's Gate 3 (2023) is one of the rare modern AAA RPGs where the developer actively supported modding from early Access through release. Larian shipped the Mod Manager (their official tool) alongside Patch 7 in late 2024, and the in-game Mods menu lets players install community content without leaving the launcher. That official path coexists with the older community Script Extender + BG3 Mod Manager stack used by power users.

The result is a modding ecosystem that's accessible to casual players (in-game subscribe, just works) and deep for power users (Lua scripting via Script Extender, full Larian-style modding via the toolkit).

The toolchain

The official path:

• Larian Launcher Mod Manager: in-game mod browser. Subscribe, install, play. Uses Mod.io as the backend.
• The Toolkit: Larian's official authoring environment, released 2024. Full BG3 development environment.

The power-user path:

• BG3 Script Extender (BG3SE): community-built Lua scripting runtime by Norbyte. Required for any mod that adds real C# or Lua logic beyond what the toolkit alone exposes.
• BG3 Mod Manager: community mod manager, predates Larian's official tool but still active.
• Norbyte's LSLib: toolkit for unpacking and repacking BG3's Larian-format archives (.lsx, .lsf files).

Most players in 2026 use a mix: official launcher for content mods from Mod.io, BG3 Mod Manager + Script Extender for anything more involved.

What you'll find on OpenMods

BG3 mods live primarily on Nexus Mods and Mod.io (the latter via Larian's launcher). GitHub hosts the source for technically-substantial mods. OpenMods catalogues GitHub-published BG3 mods, typically Script Extender Lua mods, tooling, and modding-frameworks.

Practical notes

• Patches break things, predictably. Each major Larian patch (Patches 7, 8, 9...) updates the game executable, which breaks BG3SE temporarily until the team updates. Most popular mods are updated within a week of each patch.
• The official Mod Manager and BG3 Mod Manager don't perfectly coexist. Using both at once can create conflicting mod lists. Pick one path for managing the bulk of your mods; only use the other for specific exceptions.
• Save compatibility is patch-sensitive. Major content patches often invalidate older saves regardless of mods. Back up before patching.
• The DRM-free GOG version is fully mod-compatible. Same engine, same toolchain. Many BG3 modders prefer GOG for the version-pinning control.