Project Zomboid Mod Creator

Project Zomboid Mod Creator is a VS Code extension for scaffolding, maintaining, and building Project Zomboid workshop projects for Build 41 and Build 42 layouts.

Recommended Extensions

This repository uses VS Code Workspace Recommendations to set up the development environment.

Essential Extensions

EmmyLua (tangzx.emmylua) - Required for Lua autocomplete, type checking, and code intelligence.

Optional Extensions

Project Zomboid Scripts (SimKDT.project-zomboid-scripts) - Highly recommended for specialized script syntax and automation.

How to Install

Open the Extensions view in VS Code (Ctrl+Shift+X or Cmd+Shift+X).
Search for @recommended in the search bar.
Install the extensions listed under the Workspace Recommendations section.

Features

Create new Project Zomboid workshop projects with the correct folder structure.
Manage multiple mods in one project from the PZ Mods explorer tree.
Update mod metadata, rename mod IDs, or delete mods with confirmation prompts.
Add or copy official translation language files.
Build projects into your local Workshop output directory and keep them synced with Build and Watch.
Configure Lua IntelliSense and download Umbrella definitions.

Commands

Command	Description
`PZ Mod Creator: New Project`	Create a new workshop project, scaffold the first mod, and configure IntelliSense.
`PZ Mod Creator: Create Mod`	Add a new mod to the current project.
`PZ Mod Creator: Update Mod`	Edit mod metadata and rewrite `mod.info`.
`PZ Mod Creator: Delete Mod`	Remove a mod directory and its project entry after confirmation.
`PZ Mod Creator: Rename Mod`	Rename a mod ID, its folder, and nested Lua folders.
`PZ Mod Creator: Add Translation Language`	Create the five standard translation files for an official language.
`PZ Mod Creator: Copy Translation Language`	Copy one language to another and rewrite the table headers.
`PZ Mod Creator: Clean Output`	Delete this extension's generated output folder for the current project.
`PZ Mod Creator: Build`	Copy the project into the configured output directory.
`PZ Mod Creator: Build and Watch`	Toggle continuous file sync into the output folder.
`PZ Mod Creator: Update Definitions`	Refresh Umbrella Lua definition stubs.

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`pzModCreator.outputDirectory`	`""`	Output path for builds. Empty resolves to `<home>/Zomboid/Workshop/`.
`pzModCreator.buildTarget`	`b42`	Default project build target for new projects.
`pzModCreator.watchDebounce`	`300`	Debounce delay for Build and Watch.
`pzModCreator.cleanBeforeBuild`	`false`	Delete the generated output folder before each build.
`pzModCreator.ignoreGlobs`	`[`
	`"/.git/",`
	`"/node_modules/",`
	`"**/.pzmodcreator.json",`
	`"/.vscode/",`
	`".types/**"`
	`]`	Glob patterns skipped during build and watch sync.
`pzModCreator.defaultAuthor`	`""`	Suggested author name for new projects and mods.
`pzModCreator.intellisense.enabled`	`true`	Enable generated Lua workspace settings and recommendations.
`pzModCreator.intellisense.autoUpdate`	`true`	Refresh definition stubs automatically when a project is opened.

IntelliSense configuration

When you create a new project, the extension generates both editor-level and language-server-level Lua config files:

.vscode/settings.json for VS Code Lua workspace settings.
.vscode/extensions.json with recommendations for tangzx.emmylua and simkdt.project-zomboid-scripts.
.emmyrc.json for EmmyLua analyzer configuration.

The generated .emmyrc.json points the EmmyLua workspace at Umbrella and your project's mod root. For example (Build 42):

{
  "workspace": {
    "library": [".types/umbrella/library", "Contents/mods"]
  },
  "diagnostics": {
    "enable": true,
    "disable": [],
    "enables": ["undefined-global", "global-in-non-module"],
    "globals": [
      "Events",
      "SandboxVars",
      "getPlayer",
      "getSpecificPlayer",
      "ProceduralDistributions",
      "Perks"
    ],
    "severity": {
      "undefined-global": "warning",
      "global-in-non-module": "warning"
    }
  }
}

For Build 41 projects, the second library entry is mods instead of Contents/mods.

You can customize .emmyrc.json per project to add extra local libraries; the extension only rewrites it when IntelliSense configuration runs.

PZ Mod Creator: Update Definitions fetches Umbrella stubs from the latest GitHub release tag when available, and falls back to the repository default branch if release metadata is unavailable.

Generated project structure

<project-root>/
  workshop.txt
  preview.png
  .pzmodcreator.json
  Contents/
    mods/
      <ModID>/
        mod.info
        poster.png
        media/
          lua/
            client/<ModID>/
            server/<ModID>/
            shared/<ModID>/
            shared/Translate/EN/
          textures/
          scripts/

Build 41 projects use mods/<ModID>/ at the project root instead of Contents/mods/<ModID>/.

Steam Workshop publishing

Build the project into your configured Workshop output directory.
Open the Project Zomboid Workshop uploader and select the generated project folder.
Review workshop.txt, poster art, preview image, and translations before publishing.
If you changed a mod ID, warn players because existing saves can break.

Extension Development

npm install
npm run compile
npm test

Project Zomboid Mod Creator

Daniels Labs

Project Zomboid Mod Creator

Recommended Extensions

Essential Extensions

Optional Extensions

How to Install

Features

Commands

Settings

IntelliSense configuration

Generated project structure

Steam Workshop publishing

Extension Development