Steam Workshop Mod Manager: Install Mods and Collections

The Steam Workshop Mod Manager lets you browse the Steam Workshop for your game and install or remove workshop items — individual mods and whole collections — onto a server you host with Loafhosts, without touching SteamCMD or editing startup variables by hand. It is multi-game by design: your host scopes it to a Steam Workshop game, and by default it supports Squad and DayZ. In your server’s sidebar it shows up as Mod Manager (with a wrench icon), and it only appears once your host has enabled it for that server. The way it works is a little different from a Minecraft mods manager — it doesn’t drop jars into a folder, it manages the list of workshop item IDs your server downloads. This guide explains exactly how that install model works, how to search the workshop or add items by ID or URL, how to install a collection, and how applying changes differs between Squad and DayZ.

What the Steam Workshop Mod Manager Does

The manager keeps a list of Steam Workshop item IDs for your server and lets you add to it or remove from it through a browse-and-click interface. On a Steam Workshop game, those IDs live in a single server environment variable — WORKSHOP_ITEMS on Squad, MODIFICATIONS on DayZ — and SteamCMD or the game image downloads everything in that list. So when you install a mod, the manager adds its ID to that list; when you remove a mod, it takes the ID back out. That list edit saves the moment you click Install or Remove — you’ll see it on the Installed tab right away — but nothing actually downloads to (or is cleared from) the server until you apply the change. Applying is a single reinstall (Squad) or restart (DayZ), so you can add and remove several mods first and then apply once instead of one bounce per mod.

Note: The manager edits the workshop item list your server downloads — it does not copy files into a mods folder itself

Note: Squad stores that list in WORKSHOP_ITEMS; DayZ stores it in MODIFICATIONS

Note: Each add or remove saves to your mod list immediately; the mods themselves only download or get cleared when you apply (a reinstall on Squad, a restart on DayZ)

Which Games It Works On

The manager is enabled per game, so the Mod Manager item appears in the sidebar only on servers where your host has turned it on. Squad and DayZ are supported by default: Squad browses workshop app 393380 and DayZ browses workshop app 221100. (These are the workshop app IDs, which are not the same as the dedicated-server app IDs — that’s normal for Steam Workshop games.) If the plugin is open on a game your host hasn’t configured, the manager tells you it isn’t configured for that game instead of letting you make changes that would go nowhere.

Note: Squad and DayZ are supported by default; other Steam Workshop games can be added by your host

Note: If you see “The Mod Manager isn’t configured for this game,” your host needs to add that game’s egg to the plugin’s egg map

Browsing and Searching the Workshop

When your host has set a free Steam Web API key for the panel, the Browse tab gives you a full search grid: type in the search box to find mods by name, then sort the results. There are three sort orders — Trending, Most recent, and Top rated — and results come in pages, so a Load more button keeps pulling the next page. Each result card shows its workshop preview image, title, short description, and subscriber count, so you can size up a mod before adding it. A Mods / Collections toggle next to the search box switches the grid between individual items and collections.

Note: Browsing and searching the workshop require a Steam Web API key, which your host configures for the whole panel — it is not something you enter per server

Tip: Sort by Trending to see what is popular right now, Most recent for the newest items, or Top rated for the all-time best

Tip: Flip the toggle to Collections when you want to install a curated pack rather than hand-pick individual mods

Adding Mods by ID or URL

You don’t need to run a search to add a specific mod. The same Browse search box doubles as a paste box: drop in a raw workshop item ID or a full Steam Workshop URL (the steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=... link) and the manager pulls the ID out, looks the item up, and shows it as a single card you can install. This works even when no Steam Web API key is configured for the panel — only free-text search depends on the key, while resolving an ID or URL uses keyless Steam endpoints. It is the quickest path when you already know which mod you want.

1. Log in at hub.loafhosts.com and open your Squad or DayZ server
2. Open Mod Manager from the server’s sidebar (it opens on the Browse tab)
3. Paste the workshop item’s ID, or its full Steam Workshop URL, into the search box
4. Check that the card that comes back is the mod you intended
5. Click Install on the card to add it to your server’s mod list
6. Repeat for any other mods you want to add
7. Apply your changes when you have finished adding (see below)

Tip: On a workshop page in your browser, the number after ?id= in the address bar is the item ID — you can paste either the number or the whole link

Note: Adding the same item again is harmless — the manager keeps one copy of each ID and won’t duplicate it

Installing a Collection

A collection is a bundle that points at many individual workshop items. SteamCMD downloads items, not collections, so the manager expands a collection into the child items it contains and lets you add those. Open a collection — flip the toggle to Collections and click Open on one, or paste a collection ID or URL into the search box — and the manager lists every item inside it with an Install all button (and a Remove all for the ones already on your list). Install-all adds the whole set to your mod list at once, and Remove-all drops every item from it in one action later if you change your mind.

Note: Installing a collection adds each item the collection contains to your workshop list — the collection itself is not a downloadable item

Tip: Because a collection’s items are added individually, you can later remove just the ones you don’t want and keep the rest

Applying Your Changes

Your mod-list edits are saved the moment you make them, but they don’t download to the server until you apply — and how the manager applies depends on the game. The Apply control lives on the Installed tab, in a banner above the mod list.

On Squad, the button reads Apply & reinstall. It asks you to confirm, then runs a server reinstall so SteamCMD downloads the items at install time. This is the lightweight reinstall path — it re-validates the game files and downloads your workshop items, and it does not wipe anything, take a backup, or touch your configuration or save data. The server moves into its installing state and you’ll see a message that the reinstall has started and your workshop items are downloading now.

On DayZ, the button instead reads Apply & restart, and applying is a simple power restart rather than a reinstall. The DayZ game image reads MODIFICATIONS and downloads or updates the listed workshop mods on boot, so restarting is all that’s needed — a reinstall isn’t required and wouldn’t download the mods anyway. You’ll see the restart start with a note that the mods will download on boot.

1. Add or remove every mod you want first, so you apply once instead of repeatedly
2. Open the Installed tab and click Apply & reinstall (or Apply & restart on DayZ), then confirm
3. On Squad, wait for the reinstall to finish downloading your items
4. On DayZ, wait for the server to come back up and pull its mods on boot
5. Connect and confirm the mods are active

Warning: Applying changes restarts or reinstalls the server, which will disconnect anyone currently playing — apply during a quiet window

Note: The Squad reinstall does not wipe files, take a backup, or touch your config or save data — it only re-validates the game and downloads workshop items

Note: Larger mods and big collections take longer to download, so give the apply time to finish before testing

Removing Mods

Removing a mod takes its ID back out of the workshop list right away — you’ll see it leave the Installed tab immediately. The mod’s files aren’t actually cleared from the server until the next apply, so the change only reaches the running server on the next reinstall (Squad) or restart (DayZ). Remove a single item from the Installed tab or from a browse card, or, when you’ve opened a collection, use Remove all to drop every item in it at once.

Note: A removed mod leaves your mod list immediately, but it’s only cleared from the running server after you apply (a reinstall on Squad, a restart on DayZ)

Tip: If you manage DayZ mods by folder name as well, adding or removing workshop items leaves your manually-added named-folder mods in MODIFICATIONS untouched

Sharing Access with Subusers

The manager uses the same mod permissions as the panel’s other mod tools, split three ways. The read permission lets a subuser open the manager, browse, and see what’s installed. The install permission lets them add items and apply the change. The remove permission lets them take items out. Grant whichever combination fits the role — for example, read-only so a teammate can look but not change anything, or read plus install so they can add mods but not strip your list.

Note: Browsing and viewing installed mods needs the mod read permission; adding and applying needs the mod install permission; removing needs the mod remove permission

Warning: The install permission also covers applying, which reinstalls or restarts the server — only grant it to people you trust to bounce the server

Common Questions

A few things trip people up the first time. If the search grid shows a “needs a Steam Web API key” banner but you can still add items by ID, that means no Steam Web API key is set for the panel — that’s a host-side setting, not something you fix per server, and you can keep working by pasting IDs or URLs. If your changes don’t seem to be live in game, check that you actually applied them: editing the list and applying it to the server are two separate steps. And if Steam is briefly rate-limiting the panel, the manager backs off and asks you to try again in a moment rather than hammering the API.

Note: No search grid but ID/URL adds still work = no Steam Web API key configured for the panel

Note: Mods not showing in game = you changed the list but haven’t applied (reinstalled/restarted) yet

Tip: If a workshop lookup briefly fails, wait a few seconds and try again — the manager rate-limits itself against Steam to stay reliable