Getting Started with Beat Saber Modding

Beat Saber modding is essentially "install ModAssistant, then browse BeatSaver for custom songs". The custom-song ecosystem is what most players are after; ModAssistant handles the rest. This guide walks the standard install on the PC VR version.

Step 1 — Decide PC VR vs Quest standalone

• PC VR (Steam, Oculus PC) — this guide.
• Quest standalone — different ecosystem, uses BMBF, not covered here.

Step 2 — Install ModAssistant

ModAssistant is the community installer. Download. Run.

ModAssistant auto-detects your Beat Saber install (Steam or Oculus). On first run, it installs BSIPA (the mod loader) and prompts you to pick which framework mods to install.

Step 3 — Install essential mods through ModAssistant

ModAssistant's mod list is curated. Three near-mandatory categories:

• SongCore — the mod that enables custom song loading. Required.
• BeatSaverDownloader — in-game custom song browser. Browse and install songs from within Beat Saber.
• SaberFactory or visual mods of your preference.

Click Install on selected mods. ModAssistant downloads and places them.

Step 4 — Browse BeatSaver for custom songs

BeatSaver is the canonical custom song hub. Browse hundreds of thousands of player-built maps:

• Top maps — community-rated favourites.
• Recent uploads.
• By genre / difficulty / mapper.

Two install paths:

1. In-game via BeatSaverDownloader — search and install from inside Beat Saber.
2. Manual — download BeatSaver .zip, extract into Beat Saber/Beat Saber_Data/CustomLevels/.

Step 5 — Manage and play

Custom songs appear in the in-game song select with a "Custom" tab. Pick, play. ScoreSaber's leaderboards rank you against other players globally.

Step 6 — Beat Saber patch handling

When Beat Games patches Beat Saber:

1. Mods stop working immediately (BSIPA version mismatch).
2. Wait for ModAssistant to update.
3. Re-run ModAssistant; it updates mods.

This cycle happens every few months. Don't auto-update Beat Saber if you have a working mod setup you want to preserve.

Common gotchas

• Mods stopped working. Beat Games patched. Update via ModAssistant.
• Custom song doesn't appear. Check CustomLevels/ folder. Each song is its own subfolder.
• Performance drop. Some custom songs are CPU-heavy at high difficulty. Lower visual mod load.
• Quest standalone install instead. Wrong guide; BMBF is the Quest path.

Beat Saber's custom song scene is one of the largest in PC gaming for any game. The base game is a small slice; the community catalogue is the real product.