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Getting started

Abiotic Editor is a save-game editor for Abiotic Factor. It reads and writes the game's GVAS save files, understands the game's own data tables (items, recipes, skills, quest flags, story progression) by mounting the installed game's pak archives, and ships both a desktop app and a command-line tool.

In plain terms: it opens the .sav files Abiotic Factor writes to disk and shows you what's inside as clickable controls (sliders for your needs, a grid for your inventory, a checklist for recipes), so you can change your run (or repair it) without a hex editor. Edits stage until you press SAVE, and every write keeps a .bak backup.

The editor with a save folder loaded

Install

Grab the latest build for your platform from the Releases page:

Each zip's name carries the release version (e.g. AbioticEditor-app-win-x64-v1.2.0.zip).

DownloadWhat it is
AbioticEditor-app-win-x64-v<version>.zipDesktop app (Windows) - a single self-contained .exe (no .NET install needed) plus a Mappings.usmap data file
AbioticEditor-app-osx-x64-v<version>.zip / -osx-arm64-…Desktop app (macOS, unsigned)
AbioticEditor-cli-win-x64-v<version>.zipCommand-line tool (Windows)
AbioticEditor-cli-linux-x64-v<version>.zipCommand-line tool (Linux)
AbioticEditor-cli-osx-x64-v<version>.zip / -osx-arm64-…Command-line tool (macOS)

Unzip and run. The app and CLI both self-update from GitHub Releases: the app from its Settings ▸ Updates card, the CLI via abioticeditor update. Each release also ships a SHA256SUMS.txt so you can verify a download.

Windows: "unknown publisher" / SmartScreen

The Windows builds are not code-signed (a certificate that clears those warnings costs money this free, fan-made tool doesn't spend), so Windows reports an unknown publisher and SmartScreen or your antivirus may warn on first run. The download is safe; the warning is just the absence of a paid signature. Two ways around it:

Install with Scoop (no warning)

A command-line install via Scoop skips the SmartScreen prompt entirely and gives you one-command upgrades. Scoop verifies each download against the SHA-256 pinned in the manifest before extracting it.

console
scoop bucket add abiotic-editor https://github.com/ChristopherVR/AbioticEditor
scoop install abiotic-editor          # desktop app
scoop install abiotic-editor-cli      # command-line tool
scoop update  abiotic-editor          # later, to upgrade

If you'd rather run the zip download directly: right-click the downloaded .zipProperties ▸ tick UnblockOK, then unzip and run AbioticEditor.App.exe. If SmartScreen still shows "Windows protected your PC", click More info ▸ Run anyway.

macOS is unsigned

The macOS builds are not code-signed, so Gatekeeper will warn on first launch. Right-click the app and choose Open, or clear the quarantine flag, to run it.

Build from source

Requires the .NET 10 SDK. Clone with submodules, since the build depends on the pinned submodules/ source projects (UeSaveGame and CUE4Parse).

console
git clone --recursive https://github.com/ChristopherVR/AbioticEditor.git
cd AbioticEditor

dotnet build src/AbioticEditor.App -f net10.0-windows10.0.19041.0   # desktop editor (Windows)
dotnet build src/AbioticEditor.Cli                                   # CLI
dotnet test  tests/AbioticEditor.Tests                               # tests

The app project also targets Android, iOS, and Mac Catalyst; building those needs the matching MAUI workloads (dotnet workload install maui). Package versions are managed centrally in Directory.Packages.props.

The CUE4Parse-Natives … 'cmake' is not recognized line during a build is benign. The native texture decoder is optional and managed parsing still works.

Where saves live

  • Client saves: %LOCALAPPDATA%\AbioticFactor\Saved\SaveGames\<steamid>\Worlds\<WorldName>
  • Dedicated server: the folder containing Worlds\<WorldName> (the editor also finds Admin.ini and each world's SandboxSettings.ini).

Save kinds you'll see: Player_<steamid64>.sav, WorldSave_<Region>.sav, and WorldSave_MetaData.sav (story/metadata).

Next steps

A fan-made tool. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the developers of Abiotic Factor.