MoDiscover User Guide
This page explains every feature of MoDiscover in plain language. MoDiscover is a tool for Arma Reforger server admins. It helps you find mods, build mod lists, and keep your server up to date.
This guide uses five labels to show who can use a feature. For list features, three of these labels form a strict order: a Primary Owner can do everything an Owner can do, and an Owner can do everything a Collaborator can do — never the other way around.
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Public | Anyone can use this. You do not need an account. |
| Sign-in | You need an account and must be signed in. No special role on the list is needed. |
| Collaborator | The list owner, a co-owner, or a collaborator with the matching permission can do this. |
| Owner | Only the list owner or a co-owner can do this. A regular collaborator cannot, even with every permission turned on. |
| Primary Owner | Only the one person who created the list can do this. Not even a co-owner can. |
A collaborator is a user the list owner added by hand, with specific permissions (add mods, remove mods, deploy). A co-owner has every permission a collaborator can have, plus full management rights — the same as the owner, except a co-owner cannot delete the list and cannot add or remove other co-owners.
Your Account Public
You do not need a password to sign in. MoDiscover creates your account automatically on your first sign-in.
Sign in by email
Type your email address and click Send Magic Link. Open the email and click the link inside it. The link stays valid for 15 minutes.
Sign in with Discord
Click Sign in with Discord. Approve the request on the Discord page. MoDiscover signs you in and returns you to the site.
Mod Catalog Public
The catalog holds every mod MoDiscover has found on the Arma Reforger Workshop. Open it from the Catalog link in the top menu.
On the catalog page, you can:
- Search mods by name or Workshop ID.
- Filter mods by author or by tag.
- Sort mods by popularity, size, name, or update date.
- Hide mods that need a specific other mod as a dependency.
- Copy a mod's Workshop ID with one click.
- Click Check Updates on a mod card to rescan it now.
- See how many players currently use each mod.
Item Search Public
Item Search looks inside every mod for a specific weapon, vehicle, piece of gear, or mission. Use it when you know an item's name but not which mod contains it.
On the Item Search page, you can:
- Search by item name across all mods.
- Switch between tabs for weapons, vehicles, gear, and missions.
- See the source mod, faction, and version for each result.
- Copy an item's exact Arma GUID.
- Suggest the source mod for a list, if you are signed in.
A Mod Page Public
Click any mod name to open its own page. This page shows full details about that one mod.
On a mod page, you can:
- Read the author, version, size, license, tags, and description.
- Browse screenshots in a gallery.
- Open the Items tab to see every weapon, vehicle, and gear piece the mod adds.
- Compare two versions of a mod to see what items changed.
- View a graph of the mod's dependencies, and of mods that depend on it.
- See where the mod typically sits in the load order: a consensus built from the real mod order of every public server, weighted by each server's player count. Dependencies always load first.
- See which live servers currently run this mod.
- Click Add to List to add the mod to one of your lists.
- Click Watch to get notified when the mod updates.
Mod Lists
A mod list is a set of mods for one server. Lists are the main tool in MoDiscover. Open the Lists link in the top menu to browse public lists or manage your own.
Create a list Sign-in
Click + Create List. Type a name and description. Turn on Publicly visible if you want other users to see the list.
On the Lists page, you can also:
- Switch between Public lists and My Lists.
- Filter your lists by Public, Community, or Private.
- Sort your lists into folders. Click + New to make a folder.
- Pin a list for quick access with the 📌 icon.
- Click 🔄 on a list card to check all its mods for updates.
- Delete a list you own with the 🗑 icon.
Add and Remove Mods Collaborator
Open a list to see its full mod set. The owner, a co-owner, or a collaborator with the add or remove permission can change it.
- Search for a mod by name and click it to add it to the list.
- Paste a Workshop URL or a Workshop ID to add a mod directly.
- Remove a mod from the list with one click.
- Drag mods to set a custom order.
- Click Optimize order to reorder the whole list by the community load-order consensus. Dependencies always end up before their dependents.
- Click the ⚓ next to a mod to lock its position, so Optimize order leaves it where it is.
- If a mod is loaded before something it depends on, a warning appears above the list with a one-click fix.
- If an added mod needs another mod, the sidebar shows the missing dependency. Click it to add that mod too.
- Switch to the Mod Items view to see every weapon, vehicle, and gear piece across the whole list.
- Switch to the Dependency Graph view to see how the mods connect.
Versions and Locking Collaborator
MoDiscover checks mods for new versions and shows them in the Updates Available panel. You decide when to apply an update.
- Click Update All to move every listed mod to its newest version.
- Click the 📌 icon next to a mod to lock its version.
- A locked mod never appears in Updates Available and never changes when you click Update All.
- A locked mod also keeps its own version during a template push or a list sync.
- Click the 📌 icon again to remove the lock.
Import and Export
Import replaces or updates your list from an existing server.json file.
- Open the list, click Import server.json, and paste the file content or a mod ID list.
- MoDiscover shows a preview: which mods it will add, remove, and update.
- Check the preview, then click Apply to save the changes.
- Every import creates one entry in the audit log, so you can undo it later.
Export downloads a ready-to-use server.json mod block. Choose one of three formats:
- Fixed — locks each mod to the version stored in the list.
- Latest — writes each mod's current version.
- IDs only — no version numbers; your server always fetches the newest version.
Snapshots and History
A snapshot saves the exact state of a list at one point in time. Use it to mark a known-good configuration.
- Open the list settings, go to Versions, and click Save Snapshot.
- Add a name, a tag, and notes. Mark it as a release if it went live on your server.
- Compare any snapshot against another snapshot, or against the live list.
The audit log records every change to a list: added mods, removed mods, version updates, and imports.
- Open the list settings and go to Audit Log to see the last 100 changes.
- Click Undo next to an entry to reverse that one change.
Templates
A template is a starter mod set that other lists can copy from. Templates help a community keep many servers on the same base mod set.
- Sign-in Open the list settings, go to Templates, and click Save as Template.
- Collaborator From another list, click Import Template to copy in the mods one time.
- Collaborator Click Link & Import instead to subscribe. Your list then receives future updates automatically.
- Owner As the template's list owner or a co-owner, click Push Updates to send your current mods and versions to every subscribed list.
- A locked mod (📌) in a subscribed list keeps its own version during a push.
List Sync Collaborator
List Sync links two lists directly, without a template. Open the list settings and go to Sync with List to set it up. The owner, a co-owner, or a collaborator with the add or remove permission can manage a sync link.
- Paste a link or pick one of your own lists as the source.
- In the default mode, your list mirrors the source: mods are added, removed, and updated to match.
- Turn on Versions only to keep the mod set unchanged. Only shared mods' versions then align.
- Turn on Auto mode so every change on the source list applies to your list right away.
- With Auto mode off, click Sync Now to pull changes on demand.
- A locked mod (📌) in your list always keeps its own version, even during a sync.
- On the source list, view your Followers and click Push to send updates to all of them at once.
- Click Unlink to remove the sync. Mods already copied over stay in the list.
Collaborators and Groups
These three tools add other people to a list, but they sit at different permission levels. Watch the badges closely: only the Primary Owner — the one person who created the list — can add or remove a co-owner. A co-owner has almost the same power as the primary owner everywhere else.
A collaborator can help manage one list. The list owner or a co-owner can add, edit, or remove a collaborator. A collaborator cannot add other collaborators.
- Open the list settings, go to Collaborators, and search a user by name or email.
- Set that user's permissions one by one: can add mods, can remove mods, can deploy.
- Remove a collaborator at any time.
A co-owner has full control of a list, the same as the primary owner, except a co-owner cannot delete the list and cannot add or remove other co-owners.
- Open the list settings, go to Community, and add a co-owner by name or email.
- Only the primary owner sees this option. A co-owner cannot add or remove another co-owner, even though a co-owner can do almost everything else on the list.
Instead of adding users one by one, the list owner or a co-owner can assign a whole permission group to a list. See Permission Groups below for how to build a group.
- Open the list settings, go to Community, and assign a group.
- Every member of that group gains access to the list.
- You can set permission overrides for this one list, or leave them as the group default.
Deploy Approval Owner
Deploy approval adds a review step before a collaborator's deployment reaches a live server.
- Open the list settings and turn on Require deploy approval.
- A collaborator's deploy click then creates a deploy request instead of an instant deploy, even if that collaborator has the deploy permission.
- Open Deploy Requests in the list settings to see pending requests.
- Click Approve or Reject for each request.
Blocking Users Owner
If a user sends unwanted suggestions to your list, you can block that user from suggesting again.
- On a suggestion, click 🚫 Block next to the suggester's name.
- Click Blocked Users at the top of the suggestion page to see and remove blocks.
Mod Suggestions Sign-in
A list owner can share a suggestion link. Other users open this link to suggest mods for the list and to vote on suggestions from other users.
As a suggester, you can:
- Click Suggest a Mod, search for a mod, and add a reason.
- Answer any extra questions the list owner has added to the form.
- Vote a suggestion up or down.
- Click 🔫 Items on a suggestion to see what weapons, vehicles, and gear the mod adds.
Collaborator As the list owner, a co-owner, or a collaborator with the matching permission, you can also:
- Click Accept to approve a suggestion. MoDiscover adds the mod to the list right away.
- Click Reject and add a reason.
- Click Reopen to undo an accept or reject decision.
- Delete a suggestion.
Custom suggestion questions Owner
Open the list settings and go to Suggestion Form to add your own questions.
- Add a text question, a yes/no question, or a multiple-choice question.
- Mark a question as required or optional.
Permission Groups Sign-in
A permission group manages access to many lists at once. Build a group one time, then assign it to any list instead of adding each collaborator by hand. Open the Groups page from your community menu.
A group has its own owner and its own co-owners, separate from any single list. The Owner and Primary Owner badges below apply to the group itself, not to any one list the group is later assigned to.
- Sign-in Click + Create Group. Set a name and default permissions: can add, can remove, can deploy. You become the group's primary owner.
- Owner Add or remove members: the group's primary owner or any co-owner can do this.
- Primary Owner Add or remove a co-owner. A co-owner cannot do this, even though a co-owner can add and remove members.
- Primary Owner Rename the group, change its default permissions, or delete it.
- Primary Owner Assign the group to a whole community at once, so it applies to every list in that community.
Communities
A community groups your public lists and live servers under one page. This gives your player base one place to find everything.
Create a community Sign-in
Open the Communities page and click + Create Community. Set a name, a URL, and a description.
On a community page, you can:
- Browse the community's public mod lists.
- See the community's assigned live servers and a combined player-activity chart.
- Assign a server to the community from that server's own page.
- Members see a shortcut to Manage Permissions.
Discord Dashboard Webhook Owner
Only the community owner can set this up. This is a separate role from being a list owner: it belongs to whoever created the community. This keeps one Discord message updated with your community's servers and lists. You do not need to repost it by hand.
- Paste a Discord webhook URL into the community page.
- Choose to show servers, mod lists, or both.
- Choose to show open suggestion counts on each list.
- Click Refresh now to update the message right away.
- Click Remove to stop the automatic updates.
Live Server Browser Public
The Servers page lists every Arma Reforger dedicated server that MoDiscover has found. Data updates continuously.
On the server list, you can:
- Search servers by name.
- Filter by mods used, minimum player count, official status, password protection, or tags.
- Sort by player count, mod size, or name.
On one server's page, you can:
- View a chart of player and queue counts over a chosen time range.
- Browse the server's current mod list, with size and version for each mod.
- View the mod changelog: which mods were added, removed, or updated, and when.
- Search the items inside the server's mods.
- Click Watch to get notified when the server's mods change.
- Click Copy Modlist to copy this server's mods into a new or existing list of yours.
- Assign the server to one of your communities.
Deploy to a Server
Deploy sends a list's mods straight to your game server. This saves you from copying the
server.json file by hand.
Register a server Owner
Only the list owner or a co-owner can register a server or change its settings.
- Open a list, click Deploy to Servers, then Add Server.
- Choose a connection type: Pterodactyl or SFTP.
- Enter your panel or SFTP credentials. MoDiscover stores them encrypted and never shows them again.
- Click Test Connection to check the setup.
Collaborator Once a server is registered, the list owner or a co-owner can always deploy. A regular collaborator can deploy only with the can-deploy permission turned on. You can:
- Click Deploy to send the current list to that server now.
- Choose to restart the server after the deploy finishes.
- Turn on Auto-deploy so every list change deploys by itself.
- View the deployment history, with status and any error message.
- If deploy approval is on for the list, a collaborator's click creates a request instead of an instant deploy. See Deploy Approval.
Webhooks Sign-in
A webhook sends a message to Discord, or to your own server, whenever something you track changes. Manage your webhooks from your Profile page.
- Click + Add Webhook. Choose Discord or Custom as the type.
- Paste the target URL.
- Choose which events send a message: new suggestion, suggestion accepted or rejected, mod items changed, mod updated, watched server changed, or list changelog.
- Set the scope to personal, or to one specific server.
- Limit the webhook to specific lists or watched servers, if you want.
- Click Test to send a sample message and check the setup.
Notifications Sign-in
MoDiscover shows notifications in the bell icon at the top of every page. It can also send them by email.
- Click the 🔔 bell icon to see your recent notifications.
- Open your Profile page to turn email notifications on or off.
- Choose which event types trigger a notification: mod updates, suggestion activity, server changes, and more.
- Watch a mod or a server to start receiving notifications about it.
Profile and Settings Sign-in
Open the Profile page from the top menu to manage your account.
- Change your display name.
- Add and verify an email address.
- Manage your notification preferences.
- Manage your webhooks.
- Manage your API keys. See API Keys below.
- Export all your personal data as a file.
- Delete your account and all its data.
API Keys Sign-in
An API key lets a script or another program act on your account without a browser sign-in. Most users do not need one. Developers should also read the API Reference.
- Open your Profile page and click + Create New Key.
- Name the key and choose its permissions: read, write, or both.
- Set an expiry date, or leave the key active forever.
- Copy the key now. MoDiscover shows it only one time.
- Delete a key at any time to stop it from working.
Platform Stats Public
Open the Stats page to see live numbers for the whole platform.
- Tracked mods, total storage, users, and lists.
- A chart of catalog growth over time.
- The mods with the most dependent lists.
- The most active mods and authors in the last seven days.
- Global player and server counts over time, across every tracked server.
- The servers with the highest average player count or wait time.
Your Data Sign-in
MoDiscover follows the GDPR. You control your own data at all times.
- Open your Profile page.
- Click Export My Data to download a file with everything MoDiscover stores about you.
- Click Delete My Account to remove your account and its data.
- Read the full Privacy Policy for details.