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7 Days to Die Modding Kata: From Your First Tweak to a Full Overhaul

A kata is a small, repeatable exercise you do to build a skill. This series is eight of them for 7 Days to Die modding, in order, each one a self-contained mod you actually build and load. Kata 1 changes a single number. Kata 8 is the shape of a full overhaul. By the end you understand every layer the big mods are made of, because you will have built a small version of each.

Every command, file name, and example in this series is checked against the official 7 Days to Die wiki and the V3.0 "Dead Hot Summer" release notes, not guessed. Where 3.0 changed something (it changed a lot for mods), the kata says so and shows both.

In a hurry? If you just want a server tweak - bigger stacks, tougher tools, bigger craft batches - without hand-writing XML, the 7 Days to Die Server Tweak Mod Generator builds the modlet for you in seconds. This series is for when you want to understand every layer and go further.

Before you start

  • PC only. XPath modding loads from the game's Mods/ folder, and that is a PC feature - console cannot load custom mods.
  • Find your Mods folder. It lives next to the game install (.../steamapps/common/7 Days To Die/Mods), and the same path exists on a dedicated server. Create the Mods folder if it is not there yet. If you have never installed one, do the mod installation walkthrough first.
  • A plain-text editor. Notepad++, VS Code, or any editor that does not add smart quotes. XML is unforgiving about curly quotes.
  • EAC stays ON for everything in Katas 1-4 (pure XML). It only has to come off at Kata 7, where code mods enter. That is the rough line between "anyone can run it" and "everyone needs the files + EAC off."

The kata ladder

Do them in order - each one assumes the skill from the last.

#KataWhat you learnLayer
1Your First ModletThe Mods folder, ModInfo.xml, the config folder, and one <set> XPath edit. Load it and see the change.XML
2The XPath ToolkitAll seven XML commands (set, setattribute, append, insertAfter, insertBefore, remove, removeattribute) and the XPath predicates that target exactly the node you mean.XML
3Add an Item, Recipe & Localizationappend a brand-new item and recipe, name it with Localization, and give it an icon.XML
4Server-Side Content: Zombies & Spawnsentityclasses.xml + entitygroups.xml to add a custom enemy and make it spawn - the EAC-friendly, server-only content pattern.XML
5Custom Assets: Icons, Models & BundlesThe Resources folder, custom icons, and Unity AssetBundles - where mods stop being pure XML.Assets
6UI Mods with XUiThe XUi window system and the V3.0 overhaul (templates.xml, the new binding model, visible).UI
7Code Mods with Harmony (C#)A compiled DLL, a Harmony patch, the EAC-off requirement, and V3.0's single publicized assembly.Code
8From Modlets to a Full OverhaulLoad order, dependencies, distribution, and why overhauls take months to re-port to a new game version.All

All eight katas are live. Do them in order - each one assumes the skill from the last.

How the layers stack

Almost every 7DTD mod is one or more of four layers, and this series climbs them in difficulty order:

  • XML (Katas 1-4) - the largest category by far. XPath edits in the Mods/ folder. No compiling, no Unity, EAC-friendly. Most "modlets" never leave this layer, which is exactly why the server-side packs that re-port to a new version fastest are XML-only.
  • Assets (Kata 5) - new icons, models, sounds packaged as Unity AssetBundles. Needs the client to download them.
  • UI / XUi (Kata 6) - the in-game windows and HUD, defined in XML but their own dialect. V3.0 reworked this layer the most.
  • Code / Harmony (Kata 7) - C# that changes game behaviour the XML cannot reach. Requires EAC off.

A full overhaul (Kata 8) is all four at once, which is why it is last - and why a game-version jump like V3.0 takes overhauls months to clear while a one-file XML modlet clears it in an afternoon. See the 2026 Mod Status Tracker for who is where on that curve, and what V3.0 changed for modders.