# Updating game via launcher causes mods to be removed

**URL:** <https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/updating-game-via-launcher-causes-mods-to-be-removed/26495>\
**Category:** The Garage\
**Created:** [June 16, 2021, 3:02pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/updating-game-via-launcher-causes-mods-to-be-removed/26495 "2021-06-16T15:02:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bio](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/bio/32/6690_2.png) [@Bio](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Bio)\
**Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 3:02pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/updating-game-via-launcher-causes-mods-to-be-removed/26495/1 "2021-06-16T15:02:24Z")

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For some odd reason whenever I update the game via the launcher it removes any preinstalled mods. while not game breaking, it certainly is annoying

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**Author:** ![mlangsdorf](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/mlangsdorf/32/2462_2.png) [@mlangsdorf](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/mlangsdorf)\
**Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 4:51pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/updating-game-via-launcher-causes-mods-to-be-removed/26495/2 "2021-06-16T16:51:21Z")

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Hey, we’ve got a FAQ page with answers to questions this like:

> **[CleverRaven/Cataclysm-DDA](https://github.com/CleverRaven/Cataclysm-DDA/wiki/FAQ-from-Discord#The_3rdparty_Launcher)**
>
> Cataclysm - Dark Days Ahead. A turn-based survival game set in a post-apocalyptic world. - CleverRaven/Cataclysm-DDA

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**Author:** ![SpadeDraco](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/spadedraco/32/564_2.png) [@SpadeDraco](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/SpadeDraco)\
**Post date:** [June 16, 2021, 8:29pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/updating-game-via-launcher-causes-mods-to-be-removed/26495/3 "2021-06-16T20:29:11Z")

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The FAQ actually doesn’t answer this question though…

The reason the launcher scrubs pre-installed mods is because it overwrites the data\mods folder.

There’s another folder in the .exe’s root directory called mods. It shouldn’t have anything in it by default and if you put your mods there they shouldn’t get deleted.

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**Author:** ![Ness](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/ness/32/9694_2.png) [@Ness](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Ness)\
**Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 9:35am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/updating-game-via-launcher-causes-mods-to-be-removed/26495/4 "2021-06-17T09:35:46Z")

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so does that only apply to manually installed mods? I havent updated my game because of this