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Releasing a Mod default ../.. 7.5 /en/chapters/releasing.html

Introduction

Releasing, or publishing, a mod allows other people to make use of it. Once a mod has been released it might be used in singleplayer games or on servers, including public servers.

  • License Choices
  • Packaging
  • Uploading
  • Forum Topic

Before you release your mod, there are some things to think about:

  • Is there another mod that does the same thing? If so, how does yours differ or improve on it?
  • Is your mod useful?

License Choices

You need to specify a license for your mod. Public domain is not a valid licence, as the definition varies in different countries.

Your code and your art need different things from the licenses they use. For example, Creative Commons licenses shouldn't be used with source code, but can be suitable choices for artistic works such as images, text and meshes.

You are allowed any license; however, mods which disallow derivatives are banned from the official Minetest forum. (Other developers must be able to take your mod, modify it, and release it again.)

LGPL and CC-BY-SA

This is a common license combination in the Minetest community, and is what Minetest and minetest_game use. You license your code under LGPL 2.1 and your art under CC-BY-SA. This means:

  • Anyone can modify, redistribute and sell modified or unmodified versions.
  • If someone modifies your mod, they must give their version the same license.
  • Your copyright notice must be kept.

WTFPL or CC0

These licenses allows anyone to do what they want with your mod. This means they can modify, redistribute, sell, or leave out attribution. These licenses can be used for both code and art.

It is important to note that WTFPL is strongly discouraged and people may choose not to use your mod if it has this license.

MIT

This is a common license for mod code. The only restriction it places on users of your mod is that they must include the same copyright notice and license in any copies of the mod or of substantial parts of the mod.

Packaging

There are some files that we recommend you include in your mod when you release it.

README.txt

You should provide a readme file. This should state:

  • What the mod does.
  • What the license is.
  • Current version of mod.
  • How to install the mod.
  • What dependencies there are / what the user needs to install.
  • Where to report problems/bugs or get help.

See appendix for an example and a generator.

description.txt

This should explain what your mod does. Be concise without being vague. It should be short because it will be displayed in the content installer.

Good example:

Adds soup, cakes, bakes and juices

Don't do this:

(BAD)  The food mod for Minetest.

screenshot.png

Screenshots should be 3:2 (3 pixels of width for every 2 pixels of height) and a minimum size of 300 x 200px. This is displayed in the mod store.

Uploading

So that a potential user can download your mod, you need to upload it to somewhere publicly accessible.\ There are several methods you can use, but you should use the one that works best for you, as long as it meets these requirements:\ (and any other requirements which may be added by forum moderators)

  • Stable - The hosting website should be unlikely to shut down without warning.
  • Direct link - You should be able to click a link on the forum and download the file without having to view another page.
  • Virus Free - Mods with malicious content are not wanted.

Github, or another VCS

It is recommended that you use a Version Control System because this:

  • Allows other developers to easily submit changes.
  • Allows the code to be previewed before downloading.
  • Allows users to submit bug reports.

However, such systems may be hard to understand when you first use them.

The majority of Minetest developers use GitHub as a website to host their code, but other alternatives are possible. For information on how to use GitHub, please see:

Forum Attachments

You can use forum attachments instead. This is done when creating a mod's forum topic (covered below).

First, you need to zip the files into a single file. How to do this varies from operating system to operating system.

On Windows, go to the mod's folder. Select all the files. Right click, Send To > Compressed (zipped) folder. Rename the resulting zip file to the name of your mod's folder.

On the "Create a Topic" page (see below), go to the "Upload Attachment" tab at the bottom. Click browse and select the zipped file. It is recommended that you enter the version of your mod in the comment field.

Upload Attachment
Upload Attachment tab.

Forum Topic

You can now create a forum topic. You should create it in the "WIP Mods" (Work In Progress) forum.\ When you consider your mod no longer a work in progress, you can request that it be moved to "Mod Releases."

Content

The requirements of a forum topic are mostly the same as the recommendations for a README.txt file:

  • What the mod does.
  • What the license is.
  • Current version of mod.
  • How to install the mod.
  • What dependencies there are.
  • Where to report problems/bugs or get help.
  • Link to download, or an attachment.

You should also include screenshots of your mod in action, if relevant.

Here is an example. The Minetest forum uses bbcode for formating.

Adds magic, rainbows and other special things.

See download attached.

[b]Version:[/b] 1.1
[b]License:[/b] LGPL 2.1 or later

Dependencies: default mod (found in minetest_game)

Report bugs or request help on the forum topic.

[h]Installation[/h]

Unzip the archive, rename the folder to to modfoldername and
place it in minetest/mods/minetest/

(  GNU/Linux: If you use a system-wide installation place
    it in ~/.minetest/mods/minetest/.  )

(  If you only want this to be used in a single world, place
    the folder in worldmods/ in your worlddirectory.  )

For further information or help see:
[url]http://wiki.minetest.com/wiki/Installing_Mods[/url]

If you modify the above example for your mod topic, remember to change "modfoldername" to the name of the folder your mod should be in.

Title

The subject of topic must be in one of these formats:

  • [Mod] Mod Title [modname]
  • [Mod] Mod Title [version number] [modname]
  • eg: [Mod] More Blox [0.1] [moreblox]

Profit

Profit
Profit

Appendix: Readme and Forum Generator

Title:
Modname:
Description:
Version:
License:
Dependencies:
Download:
Additional:

Report bugs or request help on the forum topic.
My Super Special Mod
====================

Adds magic, rainbows and other special things.

Version: 1.1
License: LGPL 2.1 or later
Dependencies: default mod (found in minetest_game)

Report bugs or request help on the forum topic.

Installation
------------

Unzip the archive, rename the folder to mysuperspecial and
place it in minetest/mods/

(  GNU/Linux: If you use a system-wide installation place
    it in ~/.minetest/mods/.  )

(  If you only want this to be used in a single world, place
    the folder in worldmods/ in your worlddirectory.  )

For further information or help see:
http://wiki.minetest.com/wiki/Installing_Mods
Adds magic, rainbows and other special things.

[b]Version:[/b] 1.1
[b]License:[/b] LGPL 2.1 or later
[b]Dependencies:[/b] default mod (found in minetest_game)
[b]Download:[/b] http://example.com/download.zip

Report bugs or request help on the forum topic.

[h]Installation[/h]

Unzip the archive, rename the folder to mysuperspecial and
place it in minetest/mods/

(  GNU/Linux: If you use a system-wide installation place
    it in ~/.minetest/mods/.  )

(  If you only want this to be used in a single world, place
    the folder in worldmods/ in your worlddirectory.  )

For further information or help see:
http://wiki.minetest.com/wiki/Installing_Mods