How to organise a big mod library: an archive outside the games, names you can search, notes, versions and backups

24 Oct 2026 · 3 min read · ModsDrop

Pictured: Nissan Skyline BNR34 – High-Detail Japanese Sports Coupe, from the ModsDrop library.

A few mods are easy to manage. A few hundred, across several games and several game versions, are not: duplicates pile up, nobody remembers which version of a map the career needs, and a game update turns the mods folder into an archaeology project. Here is a system that scales, built from habits that cost a minute each time and save hours later.

Keep the archive separate from the game

Have one folder outside the games for every mod you download, organised by game, and treat the games’ own mod folders as what is installed right now. The archive is your library; the game folder is your shelf. When a game update breaks something, you reinstall from the archive instead of searching the internet for a file that may no longer exist.

Mods\
  BeamNG\
  ETS2\
  ATS\
  FS25\
  GTA V\
  Assetto Corsa\

Name files so you can find them

Downloaded files have names like mod.zip or final_v2_fixed.zip. Rename the archive copy with the mod’s name, its version, and the game version it was tested on:

BMW_M5_F10_ClinPR_v1.2_for-0.40.zip
ProMods_2.75_for-1.61.zip

For games that refuse certain characters in mod names (Farming Simulator 25 rejects spaces and brackets), keep the installed copy’s name plain and put the details in the archive name only.

Keep a note next to each file

A small text file per mod, or one spreadsheet per game, with: where it came from (the page address, not the download link), the author, the version, the date you downloaded it, the SHA-256 shown on the page, and any requirements. Ten seconds when you download; priceless when you need to find the original page, check a file’s integrity, or report a problem to the author.

Profiles and savegames by purpose

Truck games: a main profile for your career and a scratch profile for testing. Mods are activated per profile, so the scratch profile can carry anything without risk.
Farming Simulator: a test savegame alongside the real one; mods are ticked per savegame.
BeamNG: keep the active list short and deactivate rather than delete. Inactive mods cost nothing.
GTA V: a clean installation backup, and the mods folder method for everything.

Versions: keep the one that works

When an author releases a new version, keep the old archive until the new one is proven in your game. Map mods especially: a career built on one version of a map needs that version, and the newer one may require a new savegame or a newer game. Delete old versions only when nothing depends on them.

Monthly tidy

Sort the installed mods by name and remove duplicates.
Deactivate what you have not used for a month.
Move archive files you are sure you will never need to a “retired” folder rather than deleting them at once.
Check the space: mod libraries grow faster than you think. Ours is past 600 GB.

Back it up

The archive is worth more than the games, which you can always download again. Copy it to an external drive or a second disk. Cloud storage works for smaller libraries; large map mods make it expensive. At minimum, back up the mods your saves depend on, together with the saves themselves: truck-game profiles and Farming Simulator savegames have their own guides.

Respect the files’ terms

A personal archive is for you. Sharing it, uploading it elsewhere or passing a folder to friends is redistribution, and many authors do not allow it. Share page addresses instead; they always lead to the current version and to the author.