Getting Started with BeamNG.drive Modding

In-game Repository, vehicle subscriptions, the World Editor, and JBeam authoring

BeamNG.drive modding is uniquely friction-free. The official in-game Repository browser handles everything — subscribe, download, install, update — without any third-party tools. Most users never download a mod from outside the Repository.

This guide walks the standard install on the current BeamNG release.

Step 1 — Open the in-game Repository

Launch BeamNG.drive. From the main menu, click Repository. The in-game browser opens.

Filter by category:

Vehicles — the largest category, ~90% of available mods.
Levels — driving maps and worlds.
Configurations — pre-built vehicle setups (race cars, off-road builds).
Scripts — Lua mods that change gameplay logic.
Sounds, UI, Modes — smaller categories.

Click any mod's Subscribe button. BeamNG downloads and installs to Documents/BeamNG.drive/mods/.

Three popular first picks:

A Civic-class car mod (BMW E30, Volvo 240) for realistic everyday-car driving.
WCUSA / West Coast USA expansion or one of the major-map mods.
Crash Hard 2 — a destruction-themed map. Showcase for the physics engine.

Step 3 — Launch with mods active

Mods are auto-loaded on game start. The vehicle selection screen now includes your subscribed vehicles. The map selection includes any new maps.

The Mods menu (Main Menu → Repository → Mods Manager) shows installed mods with enable/disable toggles. Disable to test compatibility.

Step 4 — Configure mod settings

Most mods have no settings. Some larger mods (especially script mods and certain vehicle packs) add their own configuration UIs accessible from the in-game menus.

Step 5 — Manage updates

The Repository checks for updates on each launch. Updates apply automatically.

If a mod breaks after a BeamNG patch, the mod's Repository page usually shows a warning ("compatible with up to BeamNG 0.32.x") until the author updates. Watch for these on the Repository page.

Step 6 — Manual install (rare)

For mods not on the official Repository, drop the mod's .zip (don't extract) into Documents/BeamNG.drive/mods/. The game detects new zips on launch.

Most users never need this — the Repository hosts the vast majority of mods.

Common gotchas

Game crashes with new mod. Disable the mod (Repository → Mods Manager) and re-launch. Reproducing the crash with a single mod identifies the culprit.
Vehicle has weird physics. JBeam mod authoring is accessible but easy to misconfigure. Many older mods have suspension or weight bugs. Report to the mod author.
Performance drops with mods. Each installed vehicle increases startup time and main-menu thumbnail loading. Unsubscribe vehicles you don't drive.
Mod requires a specific BeamNG version. Read the Repository page's compatibility tag. Older mods may not work on the current BeamNG.
Repository download stuck. Restart BeamNG. The download resumes.

BeamNG's modding scene is the most accessible "make your first mod" entry point of any game on this list. The JBeam format is plain text, the physics are real-time-debuggable, and the community Discord has experienced authors willing to help newcomers. Worth trying if you've thought about authoring.