A server-side modding framework for Deadlock.

Early development — APIs are not finalized and will change without notice. We are not distributing prebuilt binaries at this time. Early users and contributors should build from source.

Install Visual Studio 2026 with the following workloads:

• Desktop development with C++
• .NET desktop development

Download the latest .NET 10.x.x SDK from dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet/10.0.

After installing, locate the nethost static library. Note down this path for local.props later.

The path will look like: C:\Program Files\dotnet\packs\Microsoft.NETCore.App.Host.win-x64\10.0.5\runtimes\win-x64\native

The native layer statically links libprotobuf.lib. You need protobuf 3.21.8 headers and a Release build of the static library.

1. Clone the protobuf 3.21.8 source:

   git clone --branch v3.21.8 --depth 1 https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf.git protobuf-3.21.8
   

2. Configure with CMake:

   cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -Dprotobuf_BUILD_TESTS=OFF -Dprotobuf_MSVC_STATIC_RUNTIME=ON
   

3. Build:

   cmake --build build --config Release
   

4. After a successful build, you should have libprotobuf.lib in build/Release/. Note the paths to:
   • src/ - headers (used for ProtobufIncludeDir in local.props)
   • build/Release/ - static library (used for ProtobufLibDir in local.props)

Install Deadlock via Steam. You'll need the path to game\bin\win64\ for deployment.

The path will look like: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Deadlock\game\bin\win64

1. Clone with submodules:

   git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/Deadworks-net/deadworks.git
   

2. Copy local.props.example to local.props and fill in your paths:

   • ProtobufIncludeDir — protobuf src/ directory (e.g. C:\protobuf-3.21.8\src)
   • ProtobufLibDir — protobuf build output (e.g. C:\protobuf-3.21.8\build\Release)
   • NetHostDir — .NET nethost native directory (see above)
   • DeadlockDir — Deadlock game\bin\win64 (optional, enables automatic post-build deploy)

3. Open deadworks.slnx in Visual Studio and build (x64 Release).

4. Run the built deadworks.exe from <Deadlock>/game/bin/win64/ to start the Deadworks server.

5. Open your game and connect via console connect localhost:27067