How to ask a mod author for permission to convert, modify or reupload their mod, with a message template

24 Oct 2026 · 3 min read · ModsDrop

Pictured: Subaru Impreza 1992-2001 – Revamp with Police Configurations, from the ModsDrop library.

You want to convert a mod to another game version, build a config pack that includes its files, make a lite version for others, host it on another site, or use its model as the base for your own. All of these need the author’s permission, and most authors say yes to a clear, respectful request. Here is when to ask, how to find the author, what to write, and what to do with the answer.

When you need to ask

Redistributing the mod anywhere the author did not publish it, including another site, a server pack or a shared drive, unless the licence says redistribution is allowed.
Converting it to another game or game version.
Modifying and sharing: a lite version, a fix, a reskin that includes the original’s files, a “remastered” version.
Using parts of it (a model, textures, sounds, JBeam) in your own mod.

You do not need to ask to use the mod yourself, to share a link to the author’s page, to post screenshots or videos with credit, or to share a config pack that contains only your own .pc files and requires the original mod. Licences and reuploads covers the common licence phrases.

Finding the author

Start with the files: JBeam information blocks, info.json, modDesc.xml, manifest.sii, readme and credits files name the author more reliably than the page you downloaded from. Then look for the author’s own channel: the official repository or Workshop page, a Discord server, a forum profile, a Patreon. Ask there, not in the comments of a site that reuploaded the mod.

What to write

Short, specific, polite, and in English unless you know the author’s language. Say who you are, exactly what you want to do, where it will be published, how you will credit them, and that it will be free. A template:

Hi [name],

I really like your [mod name]. I'd like to make a lite version
with 2K textures for players on 8 GB graphics cards, and publish
it on [site] with your name in the title and description and a
link to your page. It would stay free, and I'd keep it in sync
with your updates or take it down if you ask.

Would that be OK with you? Happy to send it to you before release.

Thanks,
[your name]

For a conversion, say which game version and what you will change. For a reupload to another host, say why (a host that is reachable where theirs is blocked, a mirror for a large file) and offer to put it under their name or upload it to an account they control.

Keep the answer

If the author agrees, keep a screenshot or copy of their message with the date, and note any conditions: credit wording, no paid access, keep it updated, remove on request. Put a line in your description: “Published with permission from [author], [date].” If anyone questions it later, including the host after a report, the screenshot ends the discussion.

If the answer is no

Then it is no. Thank them and leave it. Authors refuse for reasons that are rarely personal: they plan their own version, they had bad experiences with reuploads, a model in the mod is licensed to them under terms that do not allow sharing. Arguing or publishing anyway turns a no into a takedown and a reputation that follows you.

If there is no answer

Silence is not permission. Wait a couple of weeks, try a second channel once, and if there is still nothing, do not publish. Old mods by authors who have left the scene are the most tempting case and the most common source of disputes, because authors come back, and so do their friends.

Paid mods

A paid mod is not yours to convert or share, whatever you paid for it. Ask the author if you want a conversion; many sell versions for other games themselves. Paid mods may not be uploaded to ModsDrop at all, with or without permission to anyone else.

Credit even when it is not required

Name the people whose work you used, with links, even when the licence does not demand it. It costs a line, it is how communities stay friendly, and it is what gets you a yes the next time you ask.