Installation Guide

Lustral is installed separately in each game.

Step 1: Locate the Game Folder

The game folder is the folder that contains the game's executable (.exe). In Steam, right-click the game in your library and select Manage > Browse local files.

Step 2: Download the Correct Package

Lustral releases are published on GitHub. Each release provides a package for each scripting backend. Check the game folder to determine which one to download:

The game folder contains	Scripting backend	Package
GameAssembly.dll	IL2CPP	lustral-<version>-win-x64-il2cpp.zip
A <game>_Data/Managed folder with DLL files	Mono	lustral-<version>-win-x64-mono.zip

Step 3: Extract the Package

Extract the archive directly into the game folder, so that winhttp.dll and the Lustral folder are next to the game's executable:

<game>/
├─ <game>.exe
├─ <game>_Data/
├─ winhttp.dll
└─ Lustral/

If extraction creates a lustral-<version> subfolder instead, move its contents up into the game folder.

Step 4: Launch the Game

Launch the game as usual. On its first start, Lustral creates:

• Mods/: the folder for installed mods.
• Lustral/loader.toml: Lustral's configuration for this game.
• Lustral/Logs/latest.log: the log file.

IL2CPP games: on the first launch, a window titled Preparing <game> for mods appears before the game starts. Lustral analyzes the game's code to make it available to mods. This typically takes one to two minutes and is repeated only after the game is updated. Selecting Play without mods starts the game immediately without mods; Lustral resumes preparation on the next launch.

Verifying the Installation

Open Lustral/Logs/latest.log. The first lines identify Lustral and the game:

[Info ] [Lustral] Lustral 0.1.0 on .NET 10.0.12, X64
[Info ] [Lustral] Game: BloonsTD6 57.0 by Ninja Kiwi, Unity 6000.3.23f1 (C:\...\BloonsTD6.exe)

If no Lustral/Logs folder exists after launching the game, Lustral did not start. See Troubleshooting.

Live log output

Set console = true in the [log] section of Lustral/loader.toml to show the log in a console window while the game runs.

Once Lustral is installed, continue with Managing Mods.

Game Updates

Game updates do not affect Lustral or installed mods. IL2CPP games repeat the preparation step on the next launch. Mods built for a previous game version may not load until their authors update them; the log records the reason.

Updating Lustral

1. Download the package for the new version.
2. Delete the existing program files:
   • winhttp.dll
   • Lustral/core
   • Lustral/dotnet and Lustral/generator (IL2CPP games only)
3. Extract the new package as described in Step 3.

The remaining contents of the Lustral folder, including settings, mod settings, mod data and logs, are preserved.

Uninstalling

Delete winhttp.dll and the Lustral folder from the game folder. Optionally, delete the Mods folder to remove all installed mods.

To keep your settings for a later reinstallation, keep Lustral/loader.toml and Lustral/config. To run the game without mods temporarily, see Running Without Mods.