skyrim-archive

name	skyrim-archive
description	Read, extract, create, and edit BSA/BA2 archives. Use when the user wants to package mod assets, extract files from existing mods, inspect archive contents, or modify archives (add/remove/replace files).

Skyrim Archive Module

Read, extract, and create BSA/BA2 archives using Spooky's AutoMod Toolkit.

Prerequisites

Run all commands from the toolkit directory:

cd "<TOOLKIT_PATH>"
# Example: cd "C:\Tools\spookys-automod-toolkit"

External Tools

Tool	Purpose	Auto-Download
BSArch	Create/extract archives	No - manual install

Installing BSArch

1. Download xEdit from GitHub releases
2. Extract the archive
3. Copy BSArch.exe to tools/bsarch/ in the toolkit directory

Check tool status:

dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive status

Command Reference

Check Tool Status

dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive status

Get Archive Info

dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive info "<archive>"

Output includes: Archive type, version, file count, total size.

List Archive Contents

dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive list "<archive>" [options]

Option	Default	Description
--filter, -f	-	Filter pattern (e.g., *.nif, textures/*)
--limit	100	Max files to list (0 = all)

Extract Archive

dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive extract "<archive>" --output "<dir>" [options]

Option	Description
--output, -o	Output directory
--filter, -f	Filter pattern for files to extract

Requires: BSArch tool installed

Create Archive

dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive create "<directory>" --output "<file>" [options]

Option	Default	Description
--output, -o	Required	Output archive path
--compress	true	Compress archive contents
--game	sse	Game type: sse, le, fo4, fo76

Requires: BSArch tool installed

Add Files to Archive

dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive add-files "<archive>" --files <file1> <file2> ... [options]

Option	Default	Description
--files	Required	Files to add to the archive
--base-dir	Auto-detect	Base directory for calculating relative paths
--preserve-compression	true	Keep original compression settings

Requires: BSArch tool installed Note: Automatically detects common parent directory to preserve folder structure

Remove Files from Archive

dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive remove-files "<archive>" --filter "<pattern>" [options]

Option	Default	Description
--filter	Required	Filter pattern (e.g., *.esp, scripts/*)
--preserve-compression	true	Keep original compression settings

Requires: BSArch tool installed

Replace Files in Archive

dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive replace-files "<archive>" --source "<directory>" [options]

Option	Default	Description
--source	Required	Directory with replacement files
--filter	-	Filter pattern for files to replace
--preserve-compression	true	Keep original compression settings

Requires: BSArch tool installed

Update Single File

dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive update-file "<archive>" --file "<target>" --source "<file>" [options]

Option	Default	Description
--file	Required	Target file path in archive (e.g., scripts/MyScript.pex)
--source	Required	Source file to update with
--preserve-compression	true	Keep original compression settings

Requires: BSArch tool installed Note: Convenience wrapper for single file updates

Extract Single File

dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive extract-file "<archive>" --file "<target>" --output "<path>"

Option	Default	Description
--file	Required	File path in archive to extract
--output	Required	Output file path

Requires: BSArch tool installed Note: Faster than full extraction for single file access

Merge Archives

dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive merge <archive1> <archive2> ... --output "<file>" [options]

Option	Default	Description
--output	Required	Output merged archive path
--compress	true	Compress merged archive

Requires: BSArch tool installed Note: Later archives overwrite earlier ones on conflict

Validate Archive

dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive validate "<archive>"

Requires: BSArch tool installed (for info/list commands only) Note: Checks if archive is readable and reports issues/warnings

Optimize Archive

dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive optimize "<archive>" [options]

Option	Default	Description
--output	Original	Output path (defaults to overwriting original)
--compress	true	Enable compression

Requires: BSArch tool installed Note: Repacks archive with compression, reports size savings

Compare Archives

dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive diff "<archive1>" "<archive2>"

Requires: BSArch tool installed (for list commands only) Note: Shows added, removed, and modified files between versions

Common Workflows

Inspect Existing Mod Archive

# Get archive info
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive info "SomeMod.bsa"

# List first 100 files
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive list "SomeMod.bsa"

# List all NIF meshes
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive list "SomeMod.bsa" --filter "*.nif"

# List all textures
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive list "SomeMod.bsa" --filter "textures/*"

# List all scripts
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive list "SomeMod.bsa" --filter "*.pex"

Extract Mod for Analysis/Editing

# Extract entire archive
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive extract "SomeMod.bsa" --output "./Extracted"

# Extract only textures
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive extract "SomeMod.bsa" --output "./Extracted" --filter "textures/*"

# Extract only meshes
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive extract "SomeMod.bsa" --output "./Extracted" --filter "*.nif"

# Extract only scripts for decompilation
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive extract "SomeMod.bsa" --output "./Extracted" --filter "scripts/*"

Package Mod as BSA

# 1. Organize files in Data structure
# MyModData/
#   meshes/mymod/weapon.nif
#   textures/mymod/weapon.dds
#   scripts/MyMod_Script.pex

# 2. Create compressed SSE archive
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive create "./MyModData" --output "MyMod.bsa"

# 3. Create uncompressed archive (faster loading)
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive create "./MyModData" --output "MyMod.bsa" --compress false

# 4. Create LE-compatible archive
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive create "./MyModData" --output "MyMod.bsa" --game le

Archive Editing Workflows

Add New Files to Existing Archive

# Add new mesh and texture to existing mod archive
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive add-files "MyMod.bsa" \
  --files "meshes/mymod/newweapon.nif" "textures/mymod/newweapon.dds"

# Archive is updated with new files while preserving existing content

Remove Deprecated Files from Archive

# Remove all ESP files (if mod was converted to ESL)
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive remove-files "MyMod.bsa" --filter "*.esp"

# Remove old scripts folder
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive remove-files "MyMod.bsa" --filter "scripts/old/*"

# Remove specific file
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive remove-files "MyMod.bsa" --filter "deprecated.txt"

Update Scripts in Archive

# Recompiled scripts and need to update them in archive
# 1. Compile updated scripts
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- papyrus compile "./Source" --output "./CompiledScripts"

# 2. Replace scripts in archive
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive replace-files "MyMod.bsa" \
  --source "./CompiledScripts" \
  --filter "*.pex"

# Only files that exist in archive are replaced

Patch Mod Archive

# Create patch with updated assets
# 1. Extract files you want to update
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive extract "OriginalMod.bsa" \
  --output "./Patch" \
  --filter "textures/armor/*"

# 2. Modify the extracted textures (use external tools)

# 3. Replace textures in archive
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive replace-files "OriginalMod.bsa" \
  --source "./Patch" \
  --filter "textures/armor/*"

Quick Single File Operations

# Update just one script after recompiling
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive update-file "MyMod.bsa" \
  --file "scripts/MainScript.pex" \
  --source "./MainScript.pex"

# Extract just one file for inspection
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive extract-file "MyMod.bsa" \
  --file "scripts/MainScript.pex" \
  --output "./MainScript.pex"

Merge Multiple Mod Archives

# Combine base mod + patches into single archive
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive merge \
  "MyMod-Base.bsa" \
  "MyMod-Patch1.bsa" \
  "MyMod-Patch2.bsa" \
  --output "MyMod-Complete.bsa"

# Later archives overwrite earlier ones on conflict

Archive Maintenance

# Check archive integrity before distribution
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive validate "MyMod.bsa"

# Optimize old archive with compression
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive optimize "OldMod.bsa" \
  --output "OldMod-Optimized.bsa"

# Compare two versions to see what changed
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive diff \
  "MyMod-v1.bsa" \
  "MyMod-v2.bsa"

Troubleshooting Workflow

# 1. Check what's in a broken mod's BSA
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive list "BrokenMod.bsa" --limit 0

# 2. Extract everything for analysis
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive extract "BrokenMod.bsa" --output "./Debug"

# 3. Analyze plugin structuredotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- esp info "./Debug/BrokenMod.esp" --json

# 4. Check mesh textures
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- nif list-textures "./Debug/meshes/SomeMesh.nif"

# 5. Decompile scripts
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- papyrus decompile "./Debug/scripts" --output "./Debug/Source"

Complete Mod Modification Workflow

# 1. Extract existing mod
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive extract "OriginalMod.bsa" --output "./ModWork"

# 2. Analyze plugin to understand structure
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- esp info "./ModWork/OriginalMod.esp"

# 3. Decompile scripts for modification
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- papyrus decompile "./ModWork/scripts" --output "./ModWork/Source"

# 4. Make changes (edit PSC files, modify plugin records, etc.)

# 5. Recompile modified scripts
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- papyrus compile "./ModWork/Source" --output "./ModWork/scripts" --headers "./skyrim-script-headers"

# 6. Repackage as BSA
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive create "./ModWork" --output "ModifiedMod.bsa"

Directory Structure for Packaging

The source directory should mirror Skyrim's Data folder:

MyModData/
  meshes/
    mymod/
      weapon.nif
      armor.nif
  textures/
    mymod/
      weapon.dds
      weapon_n.dds
      armor.dds
  scripts/
    MyMod_MainScript.pex
    MyMod_EffectScript.pex
  sound/
    fx/
      mymod/
        sound.wav

Archive Types

BSA (Bethesda Softworks Archive)

• Used by: Skyrim LE, Skyrim SE
• Magic: BSA\0
• Supports compression
• Best for general mod assets

BA2 (Bethesda Archive 2)

• Used by: Fallout 4, Fallout 76
• Magic: BTDX
• Two storage types: General, Textures
• Better compression for textures

Game Type Selection

Game	Flag	Notes
sse	Skyrim SE/AE	Default, most common
le	Skyrim LE	Older format
fo4	Fallout 4	BA2 format
fo76	Fallout 76	BA2 format

Common Issues

BSArch Not Found

# Check status
dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive status

# Follow installation instructions if missing

Wrong Archive Format

• SSE mods need SSE archives (--game sse)
• LE mods need LE archives (--game le)
• Using wrong format causes purple textures or crashes

Missing Files After Packaging

• Ensure correct directory structure
• Files must be in proper subfolders (meshes/, textures/, etc.)
• Case sensitivity may matter

Important Notes

1. BSArch required for create/extract/edit - info/list work without it
2. Match archive to game - SSE and LE use different formats
3. Directory structure matters - Must mirror Data folder
4. Compression trade-off - Smaller files but slower loading
5. Archive editing - add-files, remove-files, and replace-files use extract-modify-repack workflow (may take time for large archives)
6. Preserve compression - By default, editing operations preserve the original archive compression settings
7. Use --json flag for machine-readable output when scripting

JSON Output

All commands support --json for structured output:

dotnet run --project src/SpookysAutomod.Cli -- archive info "MyMod.bsa" --json

Example response:

{
  "success": true,
  "result": {
    "fileName": "MyMod.bsa",
    "type": "BSA",
    "version": "105",
    "fileCount": 150,
    "fileSize": 52428800
  }
}