Deadlock Mod Manager: The Easy Way to Install Deadlock Mods

Deadlock Mod Manager is a free, open-source desktop app that makes modding Valve's 6v6 hero shooter Deadlock simple. Built by Stormix with Tauri, React, and TypeScript, it lets you find, install, and update mods in a couple of clicks without touching your game folders. The latest release is v2.1.1, and the app runs on Windows and Linux.

The same app handles far more than basic mod installs. It also manages hero skins, crosshairs, themes, and autoexec configs from a single interface. Below we cover what the tool does, how to install it, and how to fix the most common problems.

What is Deadlock Mod Manager?

Deadlock Mod Manager is a small desktop application built to make Deadlock modding simple. It lets you browse, install, and manage mods without opening your game folders. The tool is free and open source, licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0, and it has been open source since day one.

The project is not affiliated with Valve, and the website notes that Deadlock and related marks are trademarks of Valve Corporation. The source code is hosted on GitHub, where the repository showed 514 stars, 90 forks, and 49 contributors at the time this material was collected. The community helps translate the app on Crowdin. Support is available through the project's documentation, GitHub Issues, and a Discord community.

The desktop app is built with Tauri, React, and TypeScript. Version 2.1.1 is the latest release, and the project has published 41 releases so far. Across every release, the developers report 1.3M+ app downloads and 179.9K registered users.

Key features

The Mods Store lets you browse the GameBanana catalog of mods, sounds, maps, and work-in-progress content. It includes search, hero and category filters, favorites, and sorting. One-click installs let you download mods, pick files or variants, and pause, resume, or retry downloads. You can also import local mod files. The dashboard also surfaces featured, trending, and new mods, with a featured mod of the week highlighted.

The Mods Library is where you enable, disable, reorder, update, and reinstall mods. It shows conflict warnings and keeps backups so you can recover easily. Profiles let you keep separate mod setups and share them with friends using a Profile ID.

A Mod Foundry lets you edit and build hero skins inside the app. The customization area includes a crosshair editor, an autoexec config editor with a command library, and themes. A Server Browser and Stats panel helps you find community servers and view match, hero, and item stats, checking required maps and addons before you join.

Version 2 introduced mods that survive game updates, a faster store, and clash detection. The app also supports Discord game presence, showing what you are playing in Deadlock. Its partners include GameBanana, Deadlocker, Deadlock API, and Deadworks.

How to install Deadlock Mod Manager

You can download the latest installer for Windows or Linux from the releases page. Available formats include .exe, .deb, .rpm, and .flatpak, and the website offers a signed Windows installer. A "Download for Windows" button is available at deadlockmods.app.

Several package managers are supported. On Windows you can run winget install --id=Stormix.DeadlockModManager. Arch Linux users can install from the AUR with yay -S deadlock-modmanager.

Ubuntu and Debian users can add the apt repository from apt.deadlockmods.app and install deadlock-mod-manager. Nix users can run nix-shell -p deadlock-mod-manager --run deadlock-mod-manager, and a nightly build is available through a Cachix cache. A third-party Gentoo overlay is also documented.

Linux support is best-effort. The maintainer notes limited experience distributing software across the many distributions, so you may hit packaging issues or missing dependencies on Linux. If you run into problems, the project welcomes Linux contributors who want to improve packaging.

Installing and enabling mods

To install mods, open the Mods Store from the left sidebar and pick a mod you like. Choose "download mod" and, if asked which files to download, check "select all" and then "download selected." Wait for the download to finish.

Next, open your Mods Library and check the box to enable the mod. Once it is enabled, go to the top of the app and choose "launch modded." The app also offers a "launch vanilla" option so you can play without mods anytime. The Mods Library shows your installed mods, while the dashboard tracks your installed, update, and in-queue counts.

The website includes a live preview of the app, so you can try it before you download. The installer asks you to confirm that you understand mods are third-party content.

How it handles your game

The app copies .vpk mod files into your addons folder. It backs up your files before making changes, so you can restore them in one click. You can launch the game in a vanilla state at any time.

There are several things the app never does. It does not patch the Deadlock executable. It does not change what other players see, and it does not send analytics unless you opt in. The site lists what it does and never does directly, so you know exactly how your game files are treated.

Hero skins are client-side only, so other players still see the default models. This matters for anyone concerned about fairness or account risk, and the FAQ confirms other players cannot see your installed skins.

Themes and hero skins

The app ships with community themes such as Default, Bloodmoon, Nightshift, Lovelock, Tea, Arcane, and OLED. You can make your own theme in the theme builder and share the file with friends. The theme builder lives in Settings. Bloodmoon is described as a dark theme with black-red gradients and crimson accents.

Hero skins are applied per hero, with a 3D preview so you can check the skin before applying it. You can manage variants and toggle sounds and other hero mods separately. To make your own skin, import a model into the Mod Foundry. Featured skins on the site include Yamato remodel by thiagolima13D, Jacket (Billy Overhaul) by amperesevere, and Holliday Remodel by Kirill Senzu.

The website also hosts free tools: a Randomizer to roll a hero for your next match, a crosshair generator, a VPK analyzer, and a KV parser for Valve KeyValues files.

Troubleshooting common issues

If the mod manager is not working, first try running it as administrator. A frequent cause of errors is that the addons folder or gameinfo.gi is set to read-only. Right-click Deadlock in Steam, browse local files, and uncheck the read-only attribute.

If there is no addons folder, create one and restart the mod manager. If a game update broke your mods, verify the integrity of the game files in Steam and restart your PC.

You can also reset the app state. In Settings, use "reset to vanilla" to restore gameinfo to its vanilla state. In the Tools section, you can clear all mods, state, and data. As a last resort, uninstall the app, delete its files in %localappdata%, and reinstall. After reinstalling, download the latest release again and set up your mods from scratch.