This mod has no reason to exist anymore, Nexus should really take it down. Do not download or waste your time with it.
To anyone reading this: All you need to mod RDR2 is Scripthook and Lenny's Mod Manager(LML). Pretty much every major mod on Nexus will have a link to both of them in the mod's description and/or installation instructions, as well as in a pop up when you go to download any mod. They should each have installation instructions on their respective websites, but if you need further assistance there are plenty of written and video guides out there. Even the ones from the last year or two are still accurate.
Once you have those two set up, modding is literally just dragging and dropping files in either one of two locations(or occasionally both). Where you place the mod's files will either be in the game's root directory, or in the LML folder, which is also in the game's root directory. Again, there's plenty of resources on YouTube if you need further assistance, or even just to check out some showcases to find some mods you might want to use.
Does LML also have a feature to disable Mods? I like to play Modded Singleplayer, but also be active on a RedM Server? Is this possible? How Easy would it be?
I’ve given up trying to get Red Dead Mod Manager to work after exhausting every possible fix. For anyone else struggling, here’s what we tried that didn’t work (game path: D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Red Dead Redemption 2, Windows updated to 4/4/2025). Maybe this saves someone time:
Initial Error: "Unexpected error getting installation path: The path is not in a valid format." Selecting RDR2.exe failed despite the path being correct. Running as admin didn’t help.
Older Versions: Tried earlier releases (e.g., v1.0.3). Got a new error: "The provided filter string is invalid. It should contain a description followed by..." Still couldn’t select the path.
Manual Config Edit: Edited RDR2ModManager.exe.config to set InstallPath="D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Red Dead Redemption 2", isSteam=True, FirstTime=False. With the latest version, this caused "Error initializing the configuration system." Reverted to a minimal config—same result.
Fresh Install: Deleted and reinstalled the latest version in D:\Modding\RDR2\ModManager_New. Same "path not valid" error. Moved it from C: to D: (same drive as game)—no change.
Compatibility Mode: Ran in Windows 10 compatibility mode. No dice—same errors.
Config Variations: Tried slashes (D:/...) instead of backslashes, reverted to the default empty <configuration></configuration>—either "path not valid" or "config system" errors persisted.
The game and mods (e.g., DogCompanion, Online Content Unlocker) work fine manually with ScriptHookRDR2 and LML, so it’s not the path or setup. Red Dead Mod Manager seems buggy—maybe it’s the D: drive, Windows version, or just outdated code. No logs were generated to debug further. Solution: Switched to Lenny’s Mod Loader (LML) and manual management. Install LML’s lml folder in the game root, drop mod files there or in the root (per instructions), and move them out for online play. Vortex is another option—I’ll try it next. Scripts (e.g., .bat files) can automate moving files too. Hope this helps others avoid the headache!
Since this application seems to be abandoned, to anyone that has this application crash on launch and not be able to use it at all because of this error:
"Filter string you provided is not valid. The filter string must contain a description of the filter, followed by the vertical bar (|) and the filter pattern. The strings for different filtering options must also be separated by the vertical bar. Example: "Text files (*.txt)|*.txt|All files (*,*)|*,*" It's because of a missing registry key with the Steam/Origin versions of the game. I ran the program through a .NET decompiler to see what's going on, and on startup it's trying to read the following (string) registry key to determine the install location of the game:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Red Dead Redemption 2\InstallLocation
If that registry key doesn't exist, it returns null to the calling function which is trying to feed that variable to the file picker dialog, and that's what causes the filter error and crash. To resolve, run cmd as Administrator and run this command:
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Red Dead Redemption 2" /v "InstallLocation" /d "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Red Dead Redemption 2"
The above command is applicable for the Steam version of the game. If you have Origin, I don't know what the path to the install location is, but you can adjust the above command by replacing what's after the /d in the command with Origin's RDR2 install location. Make sure to put that path in quotes like in the example above.
That's the only thing that will fix this short of the the mod's author fixing the problem himself. Bilago, if you're reading this, adjust the "InstallRegPath" variable assignment in GetSettings.cs., it's what's causing this.
I followed these steps but I have the epic games version so my install path was different, I added the correct path and on the cmd it said it was sucessful but I am still getting the same error.
Thanks for your post. I have a tiny improvement for adding reg item. 1, Create a batch file in your rdr2 root directory, make sure the extension name is .bat. 2, Edit it with your favourite editor 3, Add the code as follows:?reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Red Dead Redemption 2" /v "InstallLocation" /d %~dp0 4, Then run it as administrator. It will read the current path and add the reg "InstallLocation". 5, That's all, the mod manager should work.
The code in the original post is working fine for me in Windows 11. Make sure you're running Command Prompt as an admin and be sure to change the path to where your copy of Red Dead 2 is installed. to.
I couldn't really make sense of this. if you could make like a youtube video or link one that explains it a little bit better than maybe but right now i can't really figure it out i moved the mods into their own folders in the mods category but when i run the mod manager it crashes with the issue "filter string" and i don't know how to fix it, like i know you are telling us how but i can't figure it out, i don't know where to go or what any thing is.
I have RDR2 on Epic and I'm getting this error. I can't seem to make this "patch" work for the Epic Games version. Can someone help if they have been able to figure it out? Thanks in advance.
Well you see, you create a folder, and then name it after what you would have named your first child if your wife didn't always have her way. Then you get the kid to download the mod, and have them put it in their folder. Once that's done, you take the files and rename them, but only do that for the original copy. The duplicates you can put anywhere you want, just make sure you tell your wife where they are. Have her take the first folder, then place it perpendicular relative to the two files. Start the game once, then quit to desktop, then load your last save. You should be good to go. It's simple, really.
everytime i load a save that is before the epilogue my game crashes for some reason, because like bro i miss playing as arthur. i think its probably because of the amount of john mods i installed but i dont know which one.
197 comments
To anyone reading this: All you need to mod RDR2 is Scripthook and Lenny's Mod Manager(LML). Pretty much every major mod on Nexus will have a link to both of them in the mod's description and/or installation instructions, as well as in a pop up when you go to download any mod. They should each have installation instructions on their respective websites, but if you need further assistance there are plenty of written and video guides out there. Even the ones from the last year or two are still accurate.
Once you have those two set up, modding is literally just dragging and dropping files in either one of two locations(or occasionally both). Where you place the mod's files will either be in the game's root directory, or in the LML folder, which is also in the game's root directory. Again, there's plenty of resources on YouTube if you need further assistance, or even just to check out some showcases to find some mods you might want to use.
- Initial Error: "Unexpected error getting installation path: The path is not in a valid format." Selecting RDR2.exe failed despite the path being correct. Running as admin didn’t help.
- Older Versions: Tried earlier releases (e.g., v1.0.3). Got a new error: "The provided filter string is invalid. It should contain a description followed by..." Still couldn’t select the path.
- Manual Config Edit: Edited RDR2ModManager.exe.config to set InstallPath="D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Red Dead Redemption 2", isSteam=True, FirstTime=False. With the latest version, this caused "Error initializing the configuration system." Reverted to a minimal config—same result.
- Fresh Install: Deleted and reinstalled the latest version in D:\Modding\RDR2\ModManager_New. Same "path not valid" error. Moved it from C: to D: (same drive as game)—no change.
- Compatibility Mode: Ran in Windows 10 compatibility mode. No dice—same errors.
- Config Variations: Tried slashes (D:/...) instead of backslashes, reverted to the default empty <configuration></configuration>—either "path not valid" or "config system" errors persisted.
The game and mods (e.g., DogCompanion, Online Content Unlocker) work fine manually with ScriptHookRDR2 and LML, so it’s not the path or setup. Red Dead Mod Manager seems buggy—maybe it’s the D: drive, Windows version, or just outdated code. No logs were generated to debug further.Solution: Switched to Lenny’s Mod Loader (LML) and manual management. Install LML’s lml folder in the game root, drop mod files there or in the root (per instructions), and move them out for online play. Vortex is another option—I’ll try it next. Scripts (e.g., .bat files) can automate moving files too. Hope this helps others avoid the headache!
"Filter string you provided is not valid. The filter string must contain a description of the filter, followed by the vertical bar (|) and the filter pattern. The strings for different filtering options must also be separated by the vertical bar. Example: "Text files (*.txt)|*.txt|All files (*,*)|*,*"It's because of a missing registry key with the Steam/Origin versions of the game. I ran the program through a .NET decompiler to see what's going on, and on startup it's trying to read the following (string) registry key to determine the install location of the game:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Red Dead Redemption 2\InstallLocation
If that registry key doesn't exist, it returns null to the calling function which is trying to feed that variable to the file picker dialog, and that's what causes the filter error and crash. To resolve, run cmd as Administrator and run this command:
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Red Dead Redemption 2" /v "InstallLocation" /d "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Red Dead Redemption 2"
The above command is applicable for the Steam version of the game. If you have Origin, I don't know what the path to the install location is, but you can adjust the above command by replacing what's after the /d in the command with Origin's RDR2 install location. Make sure to put that path in quotes like in the example above.
That's the only thing that will fix this short of the the mod's author fixing the problem himself. Bilago, if you're reading this, adjust the "InstallRegPath" variable assignment in GetSettings.cs., it's what's causing this.
this fix worked smoother than that blackwater heist.
1, Create a batch file in your rdr2 root directory, make sure the extension name is .bat.
2, Edit it with your favourite editor
3, Add the code as follows:
?reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Red Dead Redemption 2" /v "InstallLocation" /d %~dp0
4, Then run it as administrator. It will read the current path and add the reg "InstallLocation".5, That's all, the mod manager should work.
I'm using legitimate copy of RDR2 - I wanted to use this MM to disable all mods easily so I can play RDO without bans.
By Default, without any option to change, this mod disables the social club, making the game unable to boot.
Perhaps this mod works fine for pirated copies of the game since the social club error wont happen.
Even with the MM disabling SC, No mods worked - The skip legal screen mod didn't work and it deleted the x64 folder (40GB worth of game files)
Avoid this at all costs - It will only give you issues and not solve anything.
Crazy this mod is still up with so many issues.