How to Customize Collections
Personalize your Stardew Valley mod collections. Learn how to add mods, create custom configurations, and preserve personalizations through collection updates.
Last updated: 2026-01-19 Applies to Stardew Valley: 1.6.15+
Want to make your Stardew Valley experience truly your own? This guide will show you how to customize your collections by adding or disabling mods, adjusting configurations, and making personal tweaks - all while keeping your customizations safe through collection updates!
Need more advanced customization?
Creating Personal Mods - Create custom mods and patches
Creating Collections - Create your own mod collections
Table of Contents
Overview
Customization allows you to personalize your collection while maintaining compatibility with collection updates. You can:
Add or disable mods from your collection
Customize mod configurations (settings, keybinds, etc.)
Adjust UI and visual preferences
Make gameplay tweaks and adjustments
The best part? When done correctly, your customizations will persist even when the collection updates!
Adding and Disabling Mods
Always read the mod page before adding or disabling any mod. Mod pages contain crucial information about compatibility, conflicts, and requirements.
You can absolutely add or disable mods from your collection! However, it's important to be informed about the mods you're working.
Learning About Mods in Your Collection
To learn more about a mod before removing it:
In Vortex, go to the Mods tab
Right-click on any mod in the collection
Select "View on Nexus Mods" to open the mod's page
Read the mod description, requirements, and compatibility notes
Understanding Mod Conflicts
Most mods will mention if they conflict with major mods in the collection (like Stardew Valley Expanded). When adding mods:
Check for conflicts - Read the mod page for known incompatibilities
Similar functionality - Adding any mod that does something similar to an existing mod (like managing time, or replacing portraits) will require that the existing mod in the collection be disabled
Vortex alerts - Vortex may alert you if a required mod is disabled, but you should be able to still deploy and play normally
Be cautious - Test thoroughly and be prepared to disable conflicting mods if needed. Check the SMAPI log if you encounter issues
Adjusting Configurations
You can customize mod settings and configurations in two main ways:
In-Game Configuration (GMCM)
Many mods support Generic Mod Config Menu (GMCM), which provides an in-game menu for adjusting mod settings:
Press the configured hotkey (usually shown in the mod's description) to open the config menu
Adjust settings directly in-game without editing files
Changes are saved automatically
Some mods may require restarting the game for changes to take effect
Backing Up Configuration Files
Before updating your collection or making major changes, it's important to back up your configuration files. This ensures you can restore your settings if something goes wrong during updates or modifications.
Using Sync Mod Configurations
Vortex provides a built-in feature to backup and restore your mod configurations:
In Vortex, locate the "Sync Mod Configurations" button
Click the button to create a backup of your current configuration files
This will save your current configurations and prevent them from being lost
The Sync Mod Configurations feature creates a virtual "configuration mod" in Vortex that contains a snapshot of your current config files. When you update your collection or mods, you can use this backup to restore your personal settings so your customizations stay intact.
The Sync Mod Configurations feature may occasionally attempt to back up smapi-internal in error. See Sync Mod Configurations Backs Up smapi-internal for the fix.
Using the Collection Configuration Manager FOMOD
The Collection Configuration Manager FOMOD allows you to customize which configuration files are deployed and remove premade configurations you don't need. This is especially useful when combining multiple collections or when you want more control over your configuration setup.
How to use it:
Install the Collection Configuration Manager from Nexus Mods
The FOMOD installer will open during installation, allowing you to:
Select which configuration files to deploy
Remove premade configurations you don't need
Customize your configuration setup
Automatic greenhouse configuration:
The FOMOD includes automatic handling for greenhouse configuration. When you select your farm map and greenhouse preferences, it will automatically disable conflicting greenhouse options to prevent conflicts. This is particularly helpful when combining collections with different farm maps and greenhouse mods.
If you're combining multiple collections, using the FOMOD can help you avoid configuration conflicts and ensure your preferred settings are applied correctly.
What Configs Actually Change
Configuration files control:
Mod settings - How mods behave (automation ranges, display options, etc.)
Keybinds - Keyboard shortcuts and controller mappings
Visual preferences - UI scaling, color schemes, display options
Gameplay tweaks - Difficulty settings, quality-of-life features
Most configs can be changed safely without breaking saves. However, some changes can affect save compatibility.
When Mods Cause Trouble
Some changes can cause major issues with existing saves. Adding or disabling major expansion mods, NPC mods, farm map mods, or core gameplay mods may require special cleanup tools or starting a new save.
Test changes on a test save before applying to your main save. For detailed information about installing collections to existing saves and the cleanup tools needed, see Installing Collections to Existing Saves.
See Also
Troubleshooting & FAQ - For issues with personalizations
Creating Collections - For creating your own collections
Installing Multiple Collections - For combining collections
Last updated