Universal Modder Windows and WSL Guide

The project README says Windows games can be driven natively or from WSL. It does not provide a compatibility matrix for every game or tool. This page separates the general requirements from one example’s setup and individual problem reports. Use single-player games you own, with save backups.

Choose the environment for your task

For general setup, follow the agent installation guide. The README supports both native Windows driving and WSL driving; it does not say that the build dependencies are identical.

The Minecraft–GTA V example README specifically calls for Windows 10/11 with WSL. Its shell scripts run from WSL, while its Minecraft build mirror uses a Windows JDK. The example also documents a native Windows batch build with dependencies already fetched. That example’s setup should not be generalized to every mod.

Practical requirements checklist

Git available on PATH. The README requires Git. In #109, the maintainer says Gemini’s clone fails if Git is absent or cannot be found. Install Git for Windows and reopen the terminal after installation.
Python 3.10+ and ffmpeg. Both are general README requirements. The GTA passthrough example separately specifies Python 3.12 for host tools; its Windows recording and Linux cutting tools have different roles.
uv recommended. Use the exact CLI installation command on the install page.
Blender for 3D-to-sprite work. The README ties this requirement to sprite renders, rather than every mod.
C++ tools when the example needs them. The GTA example specifies Visual Studio 2022 or newer with x64 C++ desktop tools. In #88, the maintainer recommends the Desktop development with C++ workload or an explicit compiler setup path.
A safe test setup. Back up saves before changes and use one small single-player slice first. The README workflow is the source for this order.

Windows-specific problems to recognize

The Git clone failure and missing C++ compiler have maintainer replies. The cp1252 Unicode search crash has only a reporter’s Python UTF-8 workaround in the supplied thread. Keep these evidence levels separate; see the exact errors and replies.

The safe-driving note records another locale issue when process output was decoded as GBK. It recommends setting PYTHONUTF8 to 1 and PYTHONIOENCODING to utf-8 before using the affected Windows tools. The same note warns that screenshot pixels and input coordinates may differ under display scaling. These are observations from particular machines.

What the Linux-tools note establishes

Running xEdit and Windows modding tools on Linux is about Wine/Proton, not a general WSL installation recipe. It records a 64-bit tool failing in a 32-bit/WoW64 prefix and a local fix using a 64-bit prefix.

It also describes missing Wine RichEdit behavior and a window-system stub that required local patches. Those patches were not submitted upstream in the note. Their exact game-build and Proton-version coverage remains an open question. Treat this as diagnostic prior work, not blanket Linux compatibility.

Local agents: an untested boundary

In #126, the maintainer says LM Studio Bionic’s Agent Skills support should mostly work, but Bionic itself was not tested. Reading AGENTS.md and connecting to the fal MCP server were unchecked. The reply suggests starting with mod-any-game and game-recon, and identifies OpenCode with LM Studio’s local server as a setup they had tested. This does not establish full Bionic support.

Before your first run

Ask the agent to identify the installed game version, consult matching notes, describe the required environment and propose one observable test. Use the prompt templates and mashup planning guide; for a documented WSL example, read Minecraft in GTA V.