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🏷️Guide version: 1.0.0 (📅02/27/2026)
🐉Skyrim versions: SSE 1.5.97 | SSE 1.6.x | VR
Full 🗒️changelog available at end of guide
Mod Manager Fundamentals (Vortex)
An infernalryan Skyrim Modding Guide
¶ Overview
This guide provides an overview of mod managers and how they are used in Skyrim modding. It covers what a mod manager is, common modding terminology, and basic concepts and procedures used when managing mods. This is not a full tutorial, but should provide all context required to follow the steps and instructions used throughout my other guides. It is intended to serve as a reference rather than a complete walkthrough to read from start to finish. Feel free to skim the sections for anything new or useful, and 🔖Bookmark this page so you can quickly return later as needed.
This is the fundamentals guide for 🔶Vortex. See below for other versions:
- For 🔷Mod Organizer 2 users, 🔗click here.
🎯Guide Contents:
- What a mod manager is, why it is recommended, and how it benefits a modded setup
- Modding terminology and how it is used in my guides
- How mods are loaded and the order different files are processed
- Mod manager usage covering the user interface, common tasks, conflict resolution, and plugin sorting options
- Additional notes and considerations for modding and mod manager behavior
- Changelog including full revision history of this document
Please consider 👍ENDORSING if you found this guide helpful!
🧠IMPORTANT NOTE – In this guide, there are references to your 📁[🐉Skyrim] folder as well as your Skyrim 📁[🐉Data] folder. These are special folders (denoted by brackets and a dragon icon) that refer to your specific root Skyrim game folder and its 📁Data folder inside. For example, if you install Skyrim into 🖥️C:\Games\Steam, 📁[🐉Skyrim] would refer to 🖥️C:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition, and 📁[🐉Data] would refer to 🖥️C:\Games\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition\Data. Paths will vary for GOG and VR users.
¶ 1. What is a mod manager?
A mod manager is a tool that installs, organizes, and controls mods for a game without permanently mixing them into the game's files. Instead of copying files directly into your game directory, it acts as a middle layer between the game and your mods and manages how they are added and the order in which they are applied. Each mod manager handles this differently, but the underlying function is largely the same—Mods are stored in a staging folder outside of the game directory, and then deployed to the game based on user defined conflict rules and priorities. In addition, mod managers also support profiles for switching between different setups or testing changes without affecting your main game.
The primary purpose of a mod manager is to manage plugin load order and file conflicts, showing which mods override others and giving you control over the final result. Understanding file and plugin interactions and conflict resolution is a normal and expected part of modding. Without a mod manager, your mod list can become difficult to maintain, especially as your mod list grows. While all mod managers provide this core functionality, their other features and how they are implemented are what give each its own distinct feel or flavor (it's why some users prefer one over the other).
While it is possible to perform modding without a mod manager, manually installing mods hides conflicts, makes changes difficult to undo, and makes it much harder to troubleshoot when something breaks. A mod manager keeps your base game folders clean, makes conflicts visible, and allows you to safely experiment without permanently committing changes. For anything beyond the simplest setups, a mod manager becomes a necessity.
¶ 2. Modding terminology
Modding uses a number of common terms, and some of them are used a little differently depending on the mod manager or context. For consistency, this section clarifies how they are used throughout my guides. The entries are short and formatted to be easy to skim, so feel free to ⏩️Skip to section 3 if you're already familiar with them.
¶ 2.1. Basic terms
These are the most common terms used when modding Skyrim.
- Mod – A package that changes or adds content to the game. A mod can include files, plugins, or both.
- Plugin / game plugin – A file that contains data records loaded by the game and used to change gameplay, quests, items, NPCs, or other game data. Plugins have .esm, .esp, or .esl file extensions. The term plugin is sometimes used interchangeably with mod, but more specifically refers to this type of game file. Below are the plugin types used by Skyrim:
- ESM (Elder Scrolls Master) – A plugin file type intended to load early in the load order. While ESM files are typically used as masters for the purpose of dependencies, being an ESM does not inherently require other plugins to depend on it.
- ESP (Elder Scrolls Plugin) – The standard plugin file type used to make changes to the game.
- ESL (Elder Scrolls Light) – A lightweight plugin file type designed to reduce load order usage. These plugins do not count toward the traditional plugin limit, but they are limited in how many records they can contain, which is what makes them light.
- ESPFE (ESL-flagged ESP) – An ESP file that has been flagged as ESL, allowing it to behave like a light plugin while still using the ESP file format.
- SKSE plugin – A special type of plugin designed to work with the Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE) that expands the game's functionality beyond what is possible with standard plugins. SKSE plugins are .dll files. Despite the name, these are different from typical game plugins and do not appear in the plugin list.
- Assets – Other (non-plugin) game files that control how things look and behave in-game. This can include meshes (.nif—which are 3D models), textures (.dds), scripts (.pex), sounds (.wav, .xwm), interface files (.swf), and configuration files (.ini), to name a few.
- Archive / BSA – This is a .bsa archive file (similar to .zip) that packages game assets.
- Master – Masters are game plugins that another plugin depends on, and they must be loaded before that plugin in order for it to function correctly.
- Mod list – A general term used to refer to a collection of installed mods. This also refers to the literal list of mods in your chosen mod manager.
- Plugin list – A term used to describe the list of game plugins loaded by the game.
- Executable / tool – These are external programs launched by the mod manager, such as SKSE, xEdit, or DynDOLOD. Though these terms can be used interchangeably, officially, these are known as executables in Mod Organizer 2, and tools in Vortex.
¶ 2.2. Load order terms
The term load order can be ambiguous as it is commonly used to describe multiple things. It may refer to the order in which plugins are loaded, to mod priority for Mod Organizer 2 users, or more generally to a mod setup as a whole (for example, "My load order has over 1,000 mods"). To avoid confusion, when this term is used in my guides, additional context will be provided where needed to make the meaning clear, or one of the more specific terms below may be used instead.
- Plugin load order / plugin order – Refers specifically to the order in which .esm, .esp, and .esl plugin files are loaded.
- Priority (MO2 only) – In Mod Organizer 2, priority refers to the numeric value that determines load order, from lowest to highest. In the mod list, priority controls loose file conflict resolution. In the plugin list, priority reflects plugin load order. In my guides, this term may also be used in conjunction with the list it refers to, such as mod list priority or plugin list priority, to provide clarification when needed.
¶ 2.3. Conflict resolution terms
A conflict occurs when two or more mods attempt to modify the same files or plugin records. Since the game can only use a single version, one must take precedence over the others. Which version wins depends on the type of conflict. Loose file conflicts are resolved by the mod manager's priority or rule system, while plugin records and BSA-based conflicts are determined by plugin load order. Throughout my guides, instructions are provided to resolve conflicts that arise when adding mods or files to your mod list, and the terms below are used in those steps.
- Overwrites – This is the most direct term used to describe one mod replacing another mod's files or records and winning the conflict (e.g., Mod A overwrites Mod B).
- Before / after – Indicates the relative order in which mods or plugins are applied. Something that loads after another entry takes precedence and wins the conflict, while something that loads before another entry loses the conflict and has its data overwritten. These terms are applicable to both files and plugins, and are used directly in Vortex's conflict resolution dialog.
- Lower / higher priority (MO2 only) – Refers to the priority value in Mod Organizer 2. Something with a higher priority loads after another entry, takes precedence, and wins the conflict, while something with a lower priority loads before another entry and loses the conflict. These terms are applicable to both file conflicts and plugin load order in MO2.
- Positional language – Positional terms such as top, bottom, higher, or lower can be ambiguous on their own, as their meaning depends on how plugin or mod lists are sorted. If one of these terms is used in my guides, it will always be accompanied by additional context (such as explicit sorting assumptions) to ensure the intended meaning is clear. These terms are NOT the same as lower / higher priority (above).
¶ 3. How mods are loaded
Mod managers control which files the game sees and in what order, but different types of files are handled differently by the game engine itself. See below.
- Plugin files (.esm, .esp, .esl) – The mod manager updates the 📄plugins.txt file to reflect your configured load order of these plugins. This order is used to resolve record conflicts as well as BSA-level file conflicts. When multiple plugins modify the same record, the plugin that loads last takes precedence.
- Archive files (.bsa) – These files (e.g., 📄PluginName.bsa) are loaded alongside their associated plugin (e.g., 📄PluginName.esp) and follow that plugin's position in the load order. This means that file conflicts between mods contained within these archives are resolved based on plugin load order, NOT by mod list priority or loose file conflict rules. In fact, Vortex doesn't even have a way to display BSA-level conflicts. If you need the contents of one BSA file to overwrite another, its plugin must load after the other plugin, or you can use loose files to override them instead.
- Loose files – These are handled separately and always take precedence over files inside BSA archives, regardless of plugin load order. Loose file conflicts are resolved entirely within the mod manager itself, using mod list priority in MO2 or conflict rules in Vortex, rather than plugin order.
- INI files (.ini) – The base configuration files 📄Skyrim.ini and 📄SkyrimPrefs.ini are loaded when the game starts, followed by 📄SkyrimCustom.ini if it exists, which also loads at startup and allows you to override any values from the other two without permanently modifying them. Skyrim also supports plugin specific INI setting overrides, where a plugin such as 📄PluginName.esp will automatically load a matching 📄PluginName.ini if one exists and apply its values when loaded. These INI files follow the same rules as record conflicts, so a value from the last loaded file wins when the same setting is defined in multiple files. This is important to know because if a change to your base configuration files or 📄SkyrimCustom.ini does work as intended, another mod may be overriding that value with its own INI file.
¶ 4. Mod manager usage
This section covers common tasks when using 🔶Vortex, along with an overview of the interface, handling Nexus downloads, adding external tools, profile management, and other helpful information.
¶ 4.1. Main interface overview
⏩️Skip to section 4.2 if you are already familiar with the Mod Organizer 2 interface, otherwise, proceed below (↕️Expand the 📖Continue reading block). This section provides a (very) brief, high-level overview of some key interface elements for definition and orientation-purposes only. Not all areas are covered here, as some elements are simply shortcuts or menus, or are otherwise not used in my guides, while others are explained in more detail later when referenced. This list is not intended to be exhaustive.
📖Continue Reading: (↕️Expand for details)
- Active game panel – This is the panel at the top left of the main application window that displays the currently active game and profile, along with tool shortcuts if enabled.
- User & notifications panel – This is the panel in the top right of the main application window that shows the current Nexus user and Vortex notifications.
- Tab bar – This is the main navigation bar used to switch between major sections in Vortex. It is located on the left side of the main application window.
- Key elements include:
- Dashboard tab – This tab is primarily used for managing your list of external tools.
- Profiles tab – This is where all profile management is performed.
- Downloads tab – Shows a list of files downloaded from Nexus. Most common actions can also be performed from the Mods tab.
- Mods tab – Covered below.
- Plugins tab – Covered below.
- Saves Games tab – Shows a list of save games associated with the current profile.
- Main toolbar – This is the orange (with the default theme) bar at the top of the screen which contains shortcuts to some commonly accessed menus, panels, or actions. In Vortex, this is different depending on the tab selected (if visible), and is covered in each applicable section below.
- Mods tab – This is the list of mods managed by Vortex. All mod management is performed here along with file conflict resolution. Most actions are performed from the main toolbar, shown below.
- Key elements include:
- Manage Rules – This is where all loose file conflict rules are managed.
- Deploy Mods – This will install all managed mods to Skyrim game folders based on your selected deployment method (hardlinks by default).
- Purge Mods – This will remove all deployed mods from Skyrim game folders. This does not delete mods—your files will still exist in the staging folder.
- Reset to manifest – Reverts the enabled/disabled status for mods in the mod list to their status when mods were last deployed. This is useful if you make changes and need to revert them. This feature does not revert conflict rules.
- History – Shows the event history for actions performed on your mod list, such as when mods are installed, uninstalled, enabled, and disabled.
- Open… – This is a shortcut menu for important folders. Of note, from here you can quickly open the following:
- Mod Staging Folder – This is the staging folder where your mods are installed and managed.
- Game Folder – This is your 📁[🐉Skyrim] folder.
- Game Mods Folder – This is your 📁[🐉Data] folder.
- Game Settings Folder – Your Skyrim folder in 📁Documents.
- Plugins tab – This is the list of installed game plugins. Additionally, you can 🗃️Sort mods with LOOT, and create and restore backups from this tab.
- Key elements include:
- Autosort – Enables or disables the LOOT autosort feature.
- Sort Now – Sorts the list using LOOT. Only effective if autosort is disabled.
- Manage Rules – Manual plugin sorting rules are managed here.
- Manage Groups – Plugin groups are managed here. These provide a method of manual sorting based on
- History – Shows the event history for actions performed on your plugin list, such as when mods are enabled, disabled, or sorted.
- Total enabled mods – This appears at the top right of the toolbar and provides the current count of enabled Active (ESM/ESP) mods and Light (ESL/ESPFE) mods.
- Mod details panel – Opens when you double-click a mod entry in the mod list or plugin list. This panel provides additional info and settings for the selected mod or plugin.
- This panel can be closed by clicking the orange ❯ button (with the default theme) at the bottom.
¶ 4.2. Handle download links on Nexus
⏩️Skip to section 4.3 if you are already familiar with this process, otherwise, proceed. The steps below ensure the option to download directly to your mod manager are enabled. By default, every time Vortex is opened, it will (re-)associate nxm:// links to itself, so in most cases, you will not have to do anything, however, if this option was changed, or if you use Chrome and links are not working, you may have to perform the steps below manually.
- Ensure you are logged into Vortex. This should be done automatically during installation, but if your Nexus username and profile image are not displayed in the top right corner, click the profile icon and follow the directions to authenticate your account (this will open a web browser).
- Logging in is required for mod manager downloads to work.
- After verifying login, click the Settings tab on the left of the main Vortex window.
- Within the Download tab of the settings page, ensure the ☑️ Handle Mod Manager Download buttons on nexusmods.com (nxm:// links) option is enabled.
- If you are a Chrome user and later discover that download links are not working, you may have to come back to this setting and click the Fix Now button.
- ✔️You are done!
¶ 4.3. Adding new tools to Vortex
⏩️Skip to section 4.4 if you already have an understanding of how to add tools to Vortex, otherwise, proceed. While this process is not required when using Vortex (outside of SKSE, which should be added automatically), it is still recommended so that all of your external tools and shortcuts are managed in one place. This is the approach used throughout my guides.
- Select the Dashboard tab on the left of the main Vortex window.
- Click the plus (➕) button at the very bottom row (and furthest to the right, if applicable) of the Tools section and select New… (the number of columns shown may differ, and depends on the width of your Vortex window).
- Fill in all necessary fields and click the Save button.
- NOTE – When adding tools in my other guides, all necessary fields or exceptions will be included in each respective step's instructions.
- As an additional tip, selecting the ☑️ Enable toolbar option will display all of your tools as shortcuts in the top left of the main Vortex window next to the launch game icon.
- This looks like this (your shortcuts may vary):
- ✔️You are done!
¶ 4.4. Launching Skyrim
⏩️Skip to section 4.5 if you already know how to launch Skyrim from Vortex, otherwise, proceed. Note that when using mod managers, you MUST launch the game via its respective SKSE loader location. This is how you will launch the game each and every time you wish to play (with mods).
- Ensure you have Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE) installed and configured as the primary tool that Vortex uses.
- SKSE installation is covered in my Skyrim initial setup guides (🔗Steam | 🔗GOG | 🔗VR).
- To make sure SKSE is configured as the primary tool used to launch Skyrim (which it should be by default), in the Dashboard tab under Tools, find the SKSE entry. If it does not have a star on its icon, click the vertical ellipses (i.e., kebab) next to the entry, and select Set as Primary.
- 🌀Deploy mods.
- Review and address any active warnings in the notification panel.
- Do NOT start the game if missing masters are indicated. These are likely to cause a crash during gameplay.
- Click the Play button icon in the main Skyrim graphic at the top of the Vortex Application to launch Skyrim (SSE shown, but this is the same for Skyrim VR).
- ✔️You are done!
¶ 4.5. Mod list
The mod list is where mods are installed, managed, and configured, and loose file conflicts are handled. The steps below explain how mods are managed in the mod list, with references to other panels and dialogs as needed.
¶ 4.5.1. Basic operations
⏩️Skip to section 4.5.2 if you already familiar with how to 🛠️Install, 💣Uninstall, ✅Enable, and ⛔Disable mods, 🗑️Delete archive files, and use 🌀Deploy and 💥Purge functions in the mod list, otherwise, proceed.
- Ensure you have the Mods tab selected on the left of the main Vortex window.
- Mods are automatically added to this mod list when downloaded from Nexus via the Mod manager download button.
- By default, they are also automatically installed and enabled.
- To manually add a mod to the list, 👆Drag a file to the Drop File(s) area at the bottom of the window. This can be any file or folder. If this is not an archive file (.zip, .7z, .rar, etc.), Vortex will create one automatically.
- NOTE – This process of adding files manually to Vortex is required in several steps throughout my guides, as well as anytime you need to add your own custom mods or manually downloaded files, or modify an existing mod (to remove files, for example). Alternative methods which circumvent Vortex's automatic archive creation may be covered in my guides where appropriate, but these aren't typically required for most setups and are used only when more efficient.
- The easiest way to 🛠️Install a mod is by simply clicking the Never Installed⏷ button (or Uninstalled⏷ if it was installed previously) in the Status column of the mod list for the mod entry. By default this is the left-most column in the list.
- Alternatively, this can also be performed by right-clicking the mod entry and choosing Install from the menu, or by clicking the dropdown arrow on the mod entry's Remove button (found in the Actions column) and selecting Install.
- Some mods include a FOMOD installer that allows you to select specific options or patches. Follow the on-screen prompts to choose your preferences and click the Finish button (or similar) on the final screen to complete the process.
- Once complete, the button in the Status column will change to reflect the current status (either Enabled or Disabled). By default, mods will be automatically enabled when installed.
- To ✅Enable, ⛔Disable, or 💣Uninstall a mod, click the dropdown arrow on the button in the Status column and select the preferred option.
- If a mod has the Enabled or Disabled status, you can click the button itself (not the dropdown arrow) to toggle this option.
- Alternatively, to 💣Uninstall a mod, you can simply click the Remove⏷ button in the Actions column, or right-click the mod entry and choose Remove from the menu. On the Confirm removal dialog, ensure the ☑️ Remove Mod checkbox is checked and click the Remove button. If you have not deleted the archive, the mod entry will remain in the list so you can reinstall it later, otherwise, it will be removed.
- To 🗑️Delete an archive file (the .zip or .7z file downloaded from Nexus), 💣Uninstall the mod using the steps above, but instead of selecting the Remove Mod option, select the ☑️ Delete Archive option instead.
- To 🌀Deploy mods, click Deploy Mods in the main application toolbar. This process installs files from the mod staging folder into the 📁[🐉Skyrim] game folder using your conflict and sorting rules. You don't have to do this after every change, but it must be done before you launch Skyrim.
- NOTE – This process can be time-consuming for larger mod lists. To prevent deployment from triggering automatically after enabling or disabling mods, it is recommended to disable the ☑️ Deploy Mods when Enabled option under Settings > Interface.
- To 💥Purge mods, click Purge Mods in the main application toolbar. This process removes all mod-related files/links from your 📁[🐉Skyrim] game folder without deleting the mods themselves. This process is used primarily for troubleshooting to return the game folder back to a vanilla state.
- Multiple entries can be selected using the Shift and Ctrl keys, allowing you to select ranges of entries with Shift or individual entries with Ctrl. When this is done, the following toolbar appears at the bottom of the list, where you can apply changes to all selected mods at once:
- In the mod details panel, you can rename a mod, set a category, change the mod type (for example, using Engine Injector when files need to install into the root 📁[🐉Skyrim] game folder instead of 📁[🐉Data]), and view timestamps for when the mod was downloaded, installed, and enabled, where applicable, as well as other mod information.
- The dropdown boxes and text boxes at the top of each column allow filtering of the mod list.
- To toggle which columns are visible in the mod list, click the gear (⚙️) icon in the top right of the list and select or deselect your desired options.
- The Downloads tab in Vortex is used to manage downloaded mod archives and is generally self-explanatory to use, though most actions needed in my guides are handled directly from the mod list.
- Additional tips
- If you need to change your original FOMOD selections for a mod you've installed—such as after adding a new mod which that FOMOD also has a patch for—perform a 🛠️Reinstall. This can be performed by right-clicking the mod entry and choosing Reinstall from the menu, or by clicking the dropdown arrow on the mod entry's Remove button (found in the Actions column) and selecting Reinstall.
- It is recommended to 🗑️Delete archives for any mods that do not use a FOMOD installer to save disk space. Since these mods lack installation options, the archive is no longer necessary once the mod is installed and enabled.
- If you decide to delete archives, it is helpful to have a visual indicator to track which entries this has been done for. To enable this, enable the Archive Name column from the gear (⚙️) icon in the top right of the list. If the column is blank for a mod entry, the archive is no longer available. Just remember that when you uninstall one of these mods, it will be removed entirely from the list (and you'll have to redownload it later to reinstall)—So don't accidentally remove the mod if your intention is to just disable it!
¶ 4.5.2. Resolving file conflicts
⏩️Skip to section 4.6 if you are already familiar with how to resolve loose file conflicts in Vortex (including individual file exceptions!), otherwise, proceed. Managing file conflicts in Vortex is done on a per-mod basis and can be further refined for individual files when necessary. When a conflict is detected, you must create a rule between two conflicting mods before you are able to launch the game, so understanding this process is important. Below is some important information about Vortex's conflict handling.
¶ 4.5.2.1. Conflicts overview
This section explains how to identify conflicts and create dependencies directly from the mod list, as well as the visual indicators shown when conflicts exist. It also covers how to open the conflicts dialog, which is where most users define and adjust their conflict rules.
- After enabling a mod, you may be presented with the following notification, indicating there are unresolved file conflicts.
- NOTE – If the notification disappears or you don't see it, you may still have conflicts. If you have a badge with a number on the notification icon, click it to display your active notifications, which may contain the message about conflicts.
- Clicking the More button in the above image will open the Unresolved file conflicts dialog, which looks similar to the image below.
- Clicking the Show button on this dialog will then open the conflicts dialog depicting all mods with active conflicts. This dialog is covered in detail in the ⬇️next section.
- To open the conflicts dialog at any time, from the mod list page, click Manage Rules in the main application toolbar.
- If you have the Dependencies column shown in your mod list, any mods with file conflicts will display a lightning bolt icon.
Conflicts with: <ModName> (red lightning bolt)- Conflict exists and a rule has NOT yet been configured.
Conflicts with: <ModName> (green lightning bolt)- Conflict exists and a rule has been configured.
- Clicking one of the above lightning bolt icons will open the conflicts dialog showing only that mod's own conflicts with other mods, rather than all conflicts.
- If an enabled mod contains either no files or the files they contain are completely overwritten by other mods, the following notification will appear indicating the mod is redundant:
- Clicking the Show button will display the mod(s).
- You can ⛔Disable redundant mods or update conflict rules to remove this message.
- With the Dependencies column shown, the following icons are also shown, and pertain to actual dependencies. Mods are only shown as having a dependency when they are instructed to load their loose files after another mod.
Drag to another mod to define dependency (white dependency tree icon)- This mod does not have any rules which tell it to load after another (it has no dependencies).
Drag to another mod to define dependency (orange dependency tree icon with default theme)- This mod has at least one rule which tells it to load after another (creating at least one dependency).
- While using the conflicts dialog is arguably more intuitive, optionally, from the Dependencies column, you can drag the dependency icon of one mod (e.g., Mod A) to the dependency icon of another (e.g., Mod B) to instruct Vortex to load all of Mod A's files after Mod B. In the example image below, the icon from LODGEN Textures is being dragged to Cathedral Landscapes, instructing Vortex to load LODGEN Textures files after Cathedral (and winning conflicts), automatically creating our conflict rule.
- One drawback of Vortex's method of conflict resolution is the possibility of creating cyclical rules. This occurs when conflict rules form a loop. For example, Mod A may be set to load before Mod B, Mod B before Mod C, but then Mod C before Mod A (creating a contradiction, since Mod A would also need to load before Mod C). In this situation, there is no valid order that satisfies all three rules. These can be confusing and finicky to troubleshoot, especially with a large mod list, as resolving them may require adjusting or removing existing rules.
¶ 4.5.2.2. Using the conflicts dialog
The most common way to view or manage file conflicts is through Vortex's conflicts dialog. Below are some tips on rule management via this method.
- The below is an example of what the dialog looks like (your list will differ depending on the conflicts you have in your specific load order).
- In this dialog, any dropdown box which contains question marks (???) indicates you have not yet set a rule for these conflicts.
- If there are lots of rules, you can reduce the number of entries in the list by clicking the Hide Resolved button. This will show only the conflicts which have not yet been resolved.
- The list is organized in sections representing each mod with file conflicts, with the text format <mod name> Before All | After All. Within each section, the corresponding file conflicts are listed, with the mod associated with that section on the left, and the conflicting mod(s) on the right.
- You'll notice (as shown in the image above) that each conflict appears twice—once under each mod's section. While setting a rule for one mod automatically applies the inverse rule to the other, the mod you choose to modify matters because the other entry will be locked, preventing direct changes, and potentially making it more tedious to locate or adjust the rule later. This system is designed to reinforce intentional rule-setting for mods with known priorities. For example, if you're unsure whether one mod's files should load before or after another, but you know that one of its conflicting mods must either precede or overwrite everything else, you should set the rule on the mod explicitly instructed with a given priority.
- NOTE – This example aligns with the approach used in my guides. Even without knowing the specific mods in your load order, instructions can still be provided for conflict resolution because the mods we will install have known priorities that guide these decisions.
- Once a rule has been assigned, it will look something like this. In this example, after was selected in the LODGEN Textures for v3 entry. Notice the lock (🔒) icon to the right of the rule in the section we did NOT modify (its dropdown also becomes disabled).
- When you are done setting all rules for file conflicts (if you click the Hide Resolved button your list should be empty), be sure to click the Save button.
- The following can also be done from this screen:
- Clear Rules – This removes ALL conflict rules you have. If saved, the process cannot be undone, so don't click this unless it is intentional and you know what you are doing.
- Use Suggestions – This sets all of the rules you have to the suggested value, if it can determine one. This includes all rules that have already been set. If there is no suggested value, it resets it to ???. ⚠️NEVER DO THIS!⚠️ Always configure rules manually.
- Before All and After All links – This sets the action for all of the rules in the section to load before or after all conflicting mod(s). This includes all rules that have already been set. It is not recommended to use these links unless you have not set conflict rules yet for a given mod or otherwise know what you are doing as it may modify some of your current rule action selections.
- Version – Vortex manages multiple versions of the same mod, so in theory, you could configure a different rule for each version. We will not be doing this in any of my guides.
¶ 4.5.2.3. Individual file rules
At some point you may need to create file-specific exceptions to your conflict rules. For example, if one mod should overwrite another, but some files from the overwritten mod must still take priority, you'll need to create an exception. This is done with individual file rules, which become available after first setting a default rule between two mods, as in the examples above. To create rules for individual files, follow the steps below.
- In the conflicts dialog, click the orange text (with the default theme) on the right side of the rule that says <num> conflicting files, then in the pop-up window, scroll down to the bottom and select Edit individual files.
- NOTE – You must first set a default action for the rule (before or after) and click the Save button before you are able to view the list of individual files!
- From here, you can preview each conflicting file and manually choose which mod should take priority for the final overwrite by selecting it from the dropdown list on the right.
- Click the Save button.
- ✔️You are done!
¶ 4.6. Plugin list
The plugin list contains a list of your plugins along with the order in which they load. Plugin load order is used specifically for record conflicts, as well as BSA-level file conflicts (loose file conflicts are handled in the mod list, not the plugin list). See below for more information.
📣NOTICE – In normal use, this view is mainly used for 🗃️Sorting plugins and other LOOT-related actions. In most cases, you should not need to enable or disable plugins independently of the mod that provides them. Plugin-level toggling is primarily intended for optional plugins, patches, or troubleshooting, and is rarely something you'll need to do regularly.
¶ 4.6.1. Basic operations
⏩️Skip to section 4.6.2 if you are already familiar with how to ✅Enable, ⛔Disable, 👻Ghost, and perform other common tasks for mods in the plugin list, otherwise, proceed.
- Ensure you have the Plugins tab selected on the left of the main Vortex window.
- To ✅Enable, ⛔Disable, or 👻Ghost a mod, click the dropdown arrow on the button in the Status column and select the preferred option.
- If a mod has the Enabled or Disabled status, you can click the button itself (not the dropdown arrow) to toggle this option.
- The 👻Ghost option just simply renames the file. This is essentially the same as disabling a mod, but since the file is renamed, there is no possibility for it to get enabled accidentally (or automatically) by any means. Under normal circumstances, this shouldn't be required. Its functionality is similar to 🙈Hide in Mod Organizer 2.
- Ghosted files will be given the extension .ghost.
- For example, if you hide 📄PluginName.esp, the filename will become 📄PluginName.esp.ghost.
- Multiple entries can be selected using the Shift and Ctrl keys, allowing you to select ranges of entries with Shift or individual entries with Ctrl. When this is done, the following toolbar appears at the bottom of the list, where you can apply changes to all selected plugins at once:
- In the plugin details panel, you can view and change the assigned plugin group, view all required masters, manually lock the mod index, as well as view other plugin information.
- To toggle which columns are visible in the mod list, click the gear (⚙️) icon in the top right of the list and select or deselect your desired options.
¶ 4.6.2. Adjusting plugin load order
⏩️Skip to section 4.6.3 if you are already familiar with how to 🗃️Sort plugins in Vortex to adjust load order, otherwise, proceed. Vortex comes pre-installed with 🔗LOOT, which automatically sorts plugins using required masters and established load order rules maintained by the LOOT team and the wider modding community. This is usually sufficient for smaller mod lists, but larger or more complex setups may require some manual sorting to handle record conflicts correctly.
📣NOTICE – Before adjusting plugin order manually, the plugin list should always be sorted by ascending load order (lowest to highest), indicated by a ^ symbol in the Load Order column header and a dark gray highlighted column (with the default theme). This is the default Vortex sorting method. This order reflects the actual plugin load order from top to bottom, ensuring that the visual position of plugins in the list directly corresponds to when they load, with lower entries loading later and taking precedence for record and BSA-level file conflicts.
¶ 4.6.2.1. Overview of sorting methods
This section outlines the methods available in Vortex for sorting plugins in the plugin list.
- Auto sorting is enabled by default. This is controlled by the Autosort icon in the left of the main application toolbar.
- It is recommended to keep auto sorting enabled at all times, as it helps keep plugins ordered correctly and prevents common load order problems. Auto sorting should only be disabled temporarily when you are experimenting with plugins or troubleshooting specific overrides that require full control over the order.
- If auto sorting is disabled, you can still manually sort the list using LOOT by clicking the Sort Now icon in the main toolbar.
- Vortex has 3 ways of performing manual sorting of plugins in the plugin list:
- By creating sorting rules which define whether a plugin will load before or after another (similar to mod list conflict rules).
- By assigning plugins to plugin groups that control their relative priority.
- By assigning an explicit index for the mod to load.
- Manual sorting rules do NOT disable LOOT autosort and instead work alongside it by applying your specific overrides once the initial sorting is complete.
- A plugin should never be instructed to load before one of its masters! Vortex does not always prevent plugins from being placed before their required masters when using manual sorting methods, and in some cases, such as with index-based sorting, no warning is displayed when this occurs. Always verify a plugin's required masters (which can be done via the plugin details panel) when setting manual sorting rules.
¶ 4.6.2.2. Sorting rules
This is the most common and intuitive method of manual sorting in Vortex, as it mirrors how users usually think about load order and works well when resolving conflicts between specific plugins that share the same masters.
- Sorting rules are created by clicking Manage Rules in the main application toolbar.
- This will open a dialog which shows all your current sorting rules, which looks like the image below (a sample rule has been added, yours will look different). Rules appear below the Filter by plugin editbox.
- Creating a rule is as simple as selecting a plugin from each of the Select Plugin… dropdown boxes and an action between the two. The middle action can be one of the following:
- Must Load After – Simply states the plugin on the left must load after the plugin on the right. If you need one plugin to load before another, select that plugin on the right side.
- Requires – This creates a hard dependency between two mods, not an ordering preference. When Plugin A requires Plugin B, Plugin B will be treated as mandatory. If it is missing or disabled, Vortex will indicate a dependency issue and mods cannot be deployed correctly until both plugins are enabled.
- Is Incompatible With – This means that the two plugins cannot be enabled at the same time. If both are active, Vortex will indicate a dependency issue and mods cannot be deployed correctly until one of the plugins disabled.
- If either of the above dependency issues are detected, Vortex will display a Plugin dependencies unfulfilled notification, and the issue must be resolved before the plugins can be deployed properly.
- To remove a rule, click the minus (⛔︎) sign to the right of an existing rule. This action cannot be undone.
- The switch (left and right arrow) icon next to the right Select Plugin… dropdown can be used to swap the left and right plugins for the rule you are adding. This is useful if the logic is reversed from what you intended.
- You will need to 🌀Deploy mods to ensure there are no issues with any sorting rules that exist. Some notifications do not appear until this is performed.
- The Dependencies column in the plugin list functions exactly the same as in the mod list. The dependency icon of one plugin (e.g., Plugin A) can be dragged to the dependency icon of another (e.g., Plugin B) to open the rules window with the plugin names prepopulated.
- Using sorting rules, it is possible to configure a rule that attempts to load a mod before its required masters. When this happens, Vortex will display a Plugins not sorted because of cyclic rules notification. The rule should be considered invalid and must be removed before the issue can be resolved.
¶ 4.6.2.3. Sorting using plugin groups
Plugin groups let you influence load order by assigning plugins to groups that are ordered relative to each other, rather than setting rules for individual plugins. This is useful for broad organization, but it is less precise than normal sorting rules and is usually used alongside them. These groups are predefined by Vortex, but you can also create custom groups if needed.
- Assigning a plugin group is as easy as double-clicking the plugin entry in the list to open the mod details panel, and selecting your preferred group from the Group dropdown. These are listed in the order they are processed.
- To unset a group after one has been set, using the same process as above, click the small x icon in the right of the Group dropdown menu.
- The Group column in the plugin list shows the currently assigned group for each plugin. If the text is grayed out, the default group is being used. If the text is white (with the default Vortex theme), the group has been manually overridden.
- Plugin groups can be viewed by clicking Manage Groups in the main application toolbar.
- This will open a dialog which shows all the current plugin groups and more importantly the order in which they load (starting from the top left). Use this as a visual aid when needed. This should look like the image below.
- Instructions are provided in the bottom left of the window if you would like to create new groups, or re-order groups to your liking. You can always revert back to the default by right-clicking and selecting Reset… from the menu.
- Using plugin groups, a plugin will never be allowed to load before any of its required masters. If this is attempted, the plugin will load as early as possible while still respecting its master requirements.
¶ 4.6.2.4. Sorting by index
Index-based sorting allows you to assign a plugin a specific position in the load order by setting an explicit index value, rather than defining a relative before or after relationship. This method offers very precise control but is less flexible than other sorting options, as index positions can change when plugins are added or removed, making it best used sparingly for temporary testing or highly specific cases.
- Assigning an explicit index is as easy as double-clicking the plugin entry in the list to open the mod details panel, scrolling to the bottom Lock Mod Index section, and selecting the 🟣 Locked to index option. From here, enter the index value in the editbox.
- This value must match an existing mod index present in your plugin list.
- It will take a second or two to re-sort to the updated position, if valid.
- Not all index values are valid. For example, if an index does not exist in your list, or you attempt to use a reserved index, such as those intended for game masters or Creation Club content, the following error will be shown:
- Setting an explicit index value can be dangerous because Vortex does NOT enforce master dependencies when sorting is performed this way. As a result, a plugin could be configured to load before one of its required masters, and unlike sorting rules, there is no notification that this has occurred when mods have been deployed. These configurations should be considered invalid and can lead to unstable or unpredictable behavior, even if the game appears to run normally when launched.
¶ 4.6.3. BSA-level conflicts
⏩️Skip to section 4.7 if you are already familiar with how to resolve BSA-level file conflicts in Vortex, otherwise, proceed. BSA files load alongside their associated plugin files, so plugin load order determines conflict resolution for the files they contain. In many cases, adjusting the plugin load order is enough to resolve these conflicts, however, sometimes a more specific exception may be required. The section below covers both scenarios.
- The easiest way to resolve these conflicts is to adjust plugin load order so the preferred mod loads after the conflicting plugin, following the manual sorting steps in the previous section.
- If the plugin cannot be moved due to master dependencies, intentional plugin record ordering, or other constraints, the alternative is to extract the necessary files from the archive so they are treated as loose files. Loose files follow mod priority rules and override files contained within BSAs. This can be done by following the steps below. Some steps containing instructions already covered in this guide have been abbreviated.
- 📥Download and 🛠️Install a BSA file extraction tool, such as 🔗Bethesda Archive Extractor.
- Optionally, ⚙️Configure this as an external tool within Vortex.
- Open the BSA file and 📦Extract the files you want to override.
- When finished, open the folder and create a .zip file (or similar) with the extracted files.
- 👆Drag the file to the Drop File(s) area at the bottom of the main Vortex window.
- 🛠️Install and ✅Enable the mod in the mod list.
- If conflicts are detected, ensure it overwrites all other loose files.
- 🌀Deploy mods.
¶ 4.7. Profile management
⏩️Skip to section 5 if you are already familiar with how to manage profiles in Vortex, otherwise, proceed. Profiles allow you to modify your load order and experiment freely without affecting your primary setup. If something goes wrong, you can easily switch back to your original settings. Note that profiles do not duplicate the mods themselves, they reference the same installed mods but allow different configurations.
🔥ADVISORY – In Vortex, file conflict rules are shared across all profiles. This means that file-specific overwrite rules made for one setup will also apply to all other profiles. To manage file conflicts differently between profiles, you must create a separate copy of the mod so its files can be handled independently.
¶ 4.7.1. Enable the Profiles tab
⏩️Skip to section 4.7.2 if you already have the Profiles tab in the left menu of the main Vortex window, otherwise, proceed.
- Select the Settings tab on the left menu of the main Vortex window.
- Under the Interface tab, click the ☑️ Enable Profile Management option in the list to enable it.
- Verify that there is now a Profiles tab in the left menu (this should be directly below the main Dashboard tab).
- Click here to perform all profile-related actions.
- ✔️You are done!
¶ 4.7.2. Basic operations
Below are some common tasks related to profiles. Profile creation is covered in the ⬇️next section.
- Your currently selected profile will have a solid orange outline (with the default theme). Additionally, the button in the bottom left will say Edit, rather than Enable.
- To switch to a different profile, click the Enable⏷ button on a profile that is not currently active.
- To modify details of an existing profile, it must first be the active profile. Once active, click the Edit⏷ button to change the name or profile-specific settings.
- To copy settings from one profile to another, drag the Dependency icon in the bottom right of the profile card to the profile you want to have the same settings.
¶ 4.7.3. Creating profiles
⏩️Skip to section 5 if you are already familiar with the process of creating profiles, otherwise, proceed. In the sections below, you will create new profiles either from scratch or by cloning an existing profile, allowing you to start fresh or build on a known working setup as needed.
¶ 4.7.3.1. Creating a new profile
- Click the Add "Skyrim Special Edition" Profile button (or similar for Skyrim VR). This button appears centered under all existing profile cards.
- The following window will be displayed:
- ⚙️Configure the following options:
- Give the profile a name.
- The ☑️ This profile has its own save games option allows the selected profile to use its own separate set of save files. Save games from other profiles will not appear in-game.
- The ☑️ This profile has its own game settings option uses separate 📄Skyrim.ini, 📄SkyrimPrefs.ini, and 📄SkyrimCustom.ini files for this profile so that configuration changes can be made without affecting other profiles.
- Click the Save button when finished.
- When creating a new profile, configuration files are copied from the currently active profile—These are not empty files or reset to default.
- NOTE – New profiles will not have any mods enabled.
- ✔️You are done!
¶ 4.7.3.2. Cloning an existing profile
- Click the down arrow icon next to the Edit or Enable button (depending on which the profile has), and select Clone from the dropdown box that appears.
- The following window will be displayed:
- ⚙️Configure the following options:
- Give the profile a name.
- Feel free to change the other options to those desired.
- Click the Save button when finished.
- ✔️You are done!
¶ 5. Additional notes
This section covers additional behaviors and considerations that are useful to understand when working with modded setups, including both general modding concepts and tool specific information which doesn't fit in the other sections of this guide.
- Skyrim has limits on how many plugins can be loaded. Full plugins (ESM and ESP) have 254 usable slots, with 2 of the 256 total slots reserved internally. Light plugins (ESL and ESL-flagged ESPs) use a separate pool that was increased from 2048 to 4096 in version 1.6.1130. For Skyrim VR users, this light plugin limit is also supported as long as 🔗Skyrim VR ESL Support is installed.
- Unlike Mod Organizer 2, the visual order of mods in Vortex's mod list does not reflect processing order of any kind and has no effect on file conflict resolution.
- By default, Vortex deploys mods using hardlinks. This means the files appear in the game's folder as if they were physically there, but they do not take up extra disk space. There is only one copy of each file, even though it appears in both the staging folder and the game folder. Because of this, the files behave like normal files, and changes made in one location will affect the other.
- Vortex also offers an experimental move deployment option, which physically moves files into the game folder instead of using hardlinks. This is not the default behavior and is generally not recommended unless hardlink deployment is not working as expected.
- With regard to INI overrides provided by mods through matching 📄PluginName.ini files, only certain INI settings can be overridden. Values that are evaluated at runtime may be affected, but settings that are only read when the game starts are applied before plugins are loaded and cannot be changed afterward. For example, grass settings are often safe to override this way, while most video settings are not.
- Vortex's integration of LOOT will provide helpful flags and messages in the plugin list about plugins in your load order, such as when cleaning is recommended, etc. This topic is outside the scope of this guide. For more information on cleaning files, see my guide on 🔗How to Clean Skyrim Game Files.
- Record conflicts between mods do not merge automatically. If multiple plugins modify the same records, the one that loads last takes precedence, and any overwritten records from earlier plugins are ignored unless a patch is used.
- Required masters only define the minimum requirements for plugin placement and do not reflect all record-level conflicts. Identifying and resolving these conflicts to achieve your intended setup may require more careful review of a mod's stated recommended load order, a tool like xEdit, and even custom patches, which are beyond the scope of this guide.
¶ 6. Changelog
See below for a full revision history of this guide (↕️Expand the 🗒️Full Changelog block).
🗒️Full Changelog: (↕️Expand for details)
- Version 1.0.1 (03/07/2026)
- Added Open… icon menu to key elements in section 4.1 (Main interface overview)
- Version 1.0.0 (02/27/2026)
- Initial release
Please ✍️leave a comment with any issues or suggestions!