Start · SDK 1.11.0

Make mods for OpenRAC

Change how Ratchet & Clank plays in OpenRAC: new moves, swapped buttons, tweaks to enemies. These docs teach the mod SDK one piece at a time, with code you can copy

Make your first mod Try the manifest builder Browse hook points

Your first mod in two minutes

1Make a folder with these two files. No compiler, no SDK download.

main.luau

-- Each hit passes 0 on: none hurts.
openrac.hook("rac1.player.take_damage", function(original, amount: number)
    original(0)
end)

openrac-mod.json

{
  "format": 2,
  "id": "no-damage",
  "name": "No damage",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "author": "You",
  "description": "The hero takes no damage.",
  "type": "script",
  "api": "1.11",
  "scripts": ["main.luau"],
  "games": {"rac1": ["pal", "ntsc"]},
  "hooks": ["rac1.player.take_damage"]
}

2In the launcher's Mods tab, Add a mod and pick the folder. Switch it on and press Play.
3Walk into an enemy: Ratchet's health stays full (a fall still costs a life). If it drops, the mod is off or did not load; see troubleshooting.

Next: make it a real mod with the template and share it, or pick another hook point in the hook points.

Pick your way in

LuauScript modA text editor is all you need. Runs on every platform, Android too, in a sandbox.CNative mod in CA small library the game loads. Full speed, full reach. You build it for each platform.C++Native mod in C++The same, with less code: hooks as lambdas, typed settings, no manual cleanup.

Reference

C interfaceopenrac_mod.h: the table every native mod gets C++ layermod.hpp: hooks as lambdas, typed settings Luau APIthe openrac table a script mod sees

In this release New 1.11

SDK 1.11.0, released 2026-11-01, describes mod interface 1.11. Since 1.10.1: 34 new names in the API. What changed

OpenRAC plays Ratchet & Clank natively on a PC. A mod changes how the game behaves: a new way to strafe, swapped buttons, a tweak to an enemy. Players install mods from the OpenRAC launcher's Mods tab, by pasting the address of your repository, and switch them on and off there.

There are two kinds of behaviour mod:

	Script mod	Native mod
Written in	Luau (a typed Lua)	C or C++
You need	a text editor	a C/C++ compiler and CMake
Runs on	every platform, Android included	the platforms you build it for (the template's workflow builds Windows, Linux and macOS)
Safety	sandboxed: it sees only what OpenRAC gives it	runs as code on the player's computer
Since	interface 1.1 (SDK 1.1)	interface 1.0

Start with a script mod unless you need the speed or the reach of native code. Mods of textures, models and levels are made with the level editor instead (editor/MODDING.md).

Guides#

Getting started: from the template to a mod players can install.
The manifest: openrac-mod.json, field by field.
Settings: options players change in the launcher.
Hooks: how a mod changes what the game does, and the hook ids that never change.
Writing the code:
Packaging and releases: the archive, the workflow, tags.
Install from a link: what the launcher does with your repository.
Where mods live: the folders and files on a player's computer.
Troubleshooting: a mod that does not load, purist mode, crash reports.
Views of the game: extra views for a VR headset or another display, with OpenGL or Vulkan (native mods, interface 1.4).

Reference#

Generated from the SDK's headers, tables and type files by OpenRAC's sdk/tools/gen_reference.py; never edited by hand:

C interface (include/openrac/openrac_mod.h)
C++ layer (include/openrac/mod.hpp)
Luau API (types/rac1.d.luau)
Ratchet & Clank's hook points and fields

What is stable#

Stable, and kept working by every OpenRAC of the same interface major version: the C interface, the manifest, packaging, install from a link, the repository templates, hook ids, and the openrac script API.

Experimental: anything that names the game's internals: the behaviour catalogue (moby classes, their update functions and pvars), the fields exposed to scripts, and the game functions and addresses a native mod looks up itself. They follow the decompilation and may change. A hook id stays, even when the function behind it is renamed (hooks).

How OpenRAC is built inside will get guides of its own after the port's move to C++. The design notes are in docs/port/MODS.md (docs/MODS.md in the SDK archive, beside these pages).