Tool stack
The Cyberpunk 2077 modding toolkit
The six tools that form the base of Cyberpunk 2077 modding — manager, scripting frameworks, and asset loading. The infrastructure nearly every modern mod requires.
REDengine 4 exposes no public modding API, so the community built a stack of frameworks the rest of the mods assume as given. Before installing any content mod, it pays to understand —and have installed— that base. This six-tool stack is exactly that infrastructure: the setup that shows up in the "requirements" of nearly any Cyberpunk mod.
The layers of modding
Everything is managed from Vortex: it installs, organizes, and resolves dependencies without you copying files into the game folder by hand. It's the comfortable entry point.
Beneath it live the two base frameworks, solving different layers. Cyber Engine Tweaks (CET) translates internal functions to Lua and brings an in-game console; it's the base of Lua-written mods. RED4ext does the same for C++: it loads native plugins and is the base of intermediate dependencies like TweakXL and ArchiveXL.
Those intermediate dependencies complete the stack. ArchiveXL lets you load new assets —clothing, items, NPCs— without replacing base files, which avoids conflicts. TweakXL edits the TweakDB to change stats, prices, and balance in a mod-compatible way. And Native Settings UI provides the in-game menu where those mods expose their options, without you editing config files.
Why these six
These aren't content mods; they're the foundation:
- Management → Vortex
- Lua scripting → Cyber Engine Tweaks
- Native plugins → RED4ext
- Asset loading → ArchiveXL
- Balance editing → TweakXL
- In-game settings → Native Settings UI
With this base installed, installing content mods becomes a one-click affair. Each tool has its full analysis in the codex.
What's in this stack
- Vortex Mod ManagerFree
The mod manager: installs, organizes, and resolves dependencies from one place instead of copying files by hand.
Nexus Mods' official mod manager — install, order, and disable Cyberpunk 2077 mods with one click
- Cyber Engine TweaksFree
The Lua scripting layer with an in-game console; the base most Lua mods run on.
Lua scripting framework that most Cyberpunk 2077 mods depend on to function
- RED4extFree
The native C++ layer that TweakXL, ArchiveXL, and other intermediate dependencies load on.
Native C++ framework extending REDengine 4 — the foundation TweakXL, ArchiveXL, and Codeware build on
- ArchiveXLFree
Loads new assets (clothing, items, NPCs) without replacing the game's base files.
Framework for loading custom archives — enables new meshes, textures, and assets without overwriting the game's
- TweakXLFree
Edits the TweakDB to change stats, prices, and balance in a mod-compatible way.
Framework for modifying TweakDB — Cyberpunk 2077's database of items, perks and mechanics
- Native Settings UIFree
An in-game settings menu where mods expose their options, no config-file editing.
Lets other mods add their settings to Cyberpunk 2077's in-game menu — without this, you configure mods through text files
