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Hunter Rogers edited this page Aug 21, 2026 · 4 revisions

FUSE Converter

Official drag-and-drop converter for legacy Railroader data mods.

Data only: this tool does not convert DLLs or code mods. It can convert recognized JSON/data from a mixed package, but compiled behavior must remain an installed compatibility-hosted mod or be independently reimplemented. Use Install, Convert, Or Author? if you are unsure.

Download

Prebuilt binaries are published on the GitHub Releases page rather than tracked in this repo:

All releases live at https://github.com/F-U-S-E-E/FuseDevelopmentGroup/releases.

Both tools are attached to the mod release (mod-v* tag), so latest/download resolves to the converter built alongside the FUSE build you are running.

Quick Use

Drag any of these onto ConvertToFUSE.cmd at the repo root:

  • a legacy route / track mod folder
  • a legacy route / track mod .zip
  • a legacy horn / whistle / bell folder or .zip
  • a single legacy JSON data file

ConvertToFUSE.cmd launches the official FUSE converter.

Drag asset packs, Alina map-tile packages, native FUSE packages, and compatible code mods onto FUSE-Installer.exe instead. The converter identifies those inputs and explains the correct install path; it does not make empty wrapper packages for them.

The repository also includes the FUSE converter icon at:

tools/assets/fuse_converter.ico

Building The EXE

From the repo root:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\tools\build_converter_exe.ps1 -InstallPyInstaller

That builds:

dist/FUSE-Converter.exe

The dist/ folder is gitignored — locally-built binaries stay on your machine. Published builds are uploaded to GitHub Releases.

The generated exe uses the FUSE logo from tools/assets/fuse_converter.ico. If PyInstaller is already installed, you can omit -InstallPyInstaller.

By default the converter writes to:

C:\Steam\steamapps\common\Railroader\Mods

If that folder does not exist, it writes to converted under the current working directory.

Command Line

python tools\fuse_converter.py "C:\Path\To\LegacyMod" --out "C:\Steam\steamapps\common\Railroader\Mods" --clean

fuse-convert (.NET CLI)

FUSE.ConverterCli builds the fuse-convert binary: the C# converter (FUSE.Converter) plus the FUSE.Core validator in one convert → validate → report pipeline. Every validation finding is rendered with a fix-hint from the catalog embedded in FUSE.Core — what's wrong, why it matters, and exactly how to fix it.

dotnet run --project FUSE.ConverterCli -- "C:\Path\To\LegacyMod" --out "C:\Steam\steamapps\common\Railroader\Mods" --clean
fuse-convert <inputs...> [--out <dir>] [--kind auto|route|audio] [--clean] [--batch]
             [--no-validate] [--strict] [--format console|json|markdown|all] [--quiet]
Option Meaning
--out <dir> Output root; each mod converts into <dir>\<ModFolder>.FUSE. Default: .\FUSEConverted.
--kind <kind> Force a package kind instead of auto-detection.
--clean Replace an existing .FUSE output folder.
--batch Treat each input as a container. Convert JSON packages and report the correct install guidance for code, asset, tile, or native packages.
--no-validate Skip validation (it is on by default).
--strict Validation warnings also fail the run (exit 2), not just errors.
--format <fmt> console (default) prints to stdout; json / markdown also write reports. Successful reports live in the output package; failed/unsupported reports live under <out>\_conversion-reports.
--quiet Suppress per-diagnostic output; print only summaries.

Exit codes (CI can gate conversion and validation separately):

Code Meaning
0 Success — validation warnings allowed unless --strict.
1 Conversion failed.
2 Validation errors (or --strict with validation warnings).
64 Usage error.

Unlike the Python tool, fuse-convert takes mod folders only — extract a zip (or place a bare JSON in a mod folder) before converting.

Linux / Folder Batch Mode

For Linux or anyone who wants to convert a whole folder at once:

python3 tools/fuse_converter.py --batch "/path/to/legacy-mod-folder"

That recursively scans the folder for recognized legacy mod folders, zip files, and data JSON files, then writes output to:

/path/to/legacy-mod-folder/FUSEConverted

Or invoke the folder converter directly:

python3 tools/fuse_convert_folder.py "/path/to/legacy-mod-folder"

To build a single portable Python archive:

python3 tools/build_folder_converter_pyz.py

That creates:

dist/FUSEConvertFolder.pyz

Drop FUSEConvertFolder.pyz into a folder of legacy mods and run:

python3 FUSEConvertFolder.pyz

It converts every recognized child folder, zip, and data JSON into FUSEConverted. Wrapper folders such as Mods are traversed automatically, and zip files that contain multiple mods produce one .FUSE output per mod.

Useful options:

Option Meaning
--out <folder> Output root for generated .FUSE folders.
--clean Replace an existing generated .FUSE output folder under the output root.
--kind route Force route/track/data conversion.
--kind audio Force horn/whistle/bell conversion.
--batch Recursively convert every recognized child mod, zip, or JSON in the input folder.

Outputs

Each converted package gets:

  • Info.json
  • one or more *.fuse.json files, or audio.fuse.json
  • copied audio files and asset folders carried by a converted route package when needed
  • conversion-report.json
  • conversion-report.md

The report is the important bit. It records:

  • detected package type
  • generated files
  • object counts
  • warnings for unsupported or lossy legacy concepts
  • errors if conversion failed

Supported Inputs

Legacy input Output
Track / route JSON folders One FUSE data file per source JSON, preserving file-per-concern structure.
Single route JSON file One standalone FUSE package fragment.
Horn / whistle / bell packs FUSE audio package with copied audio files.
Zip files Extracted to a temporary folder, detected, converted, then cleaned up.

Asset-pack-only, Alina map-tile, native FUSE, and compiled-code packages are not conversion inputs. Install the original package with the FUSE installer. A mixed legacy package may still convert its recognized top-level JSON data; its DLL behavior remains unconverted and is called out in the report.

Known Lossy Areas

The converter warns when it sees concepts that still need manual verification:

  • legacy formulaic formula
  • progression interchangeTransfers
  • unknown spline/object handlers
  • unknown industry component types
  • script binaries such as .dll / .pdb

Warnings do not always mean the package is unusable. They mean the conversion needs a look before calling it verified.

Unsupported-Feature Policy

The converter should classify unsupported content instead of silently dropping it.

Outcome Meaning
converted The source concept maps directly to supported FUSE schema/runtime behavior.
repaired The converter changed invalid legacy data into valid equivalent FUSE data and reported the repair.
preserved The source data is kept in extensions or package files for future/manual work, but does not have full runtime behavior yet.
dependency-required The source entry can work when another package/asset/component dependency is installed.
unresolved FUSE could not resolve a reference from the source data; the output keeps enough context for manual repair where possible.
unsupported FUSE intentionally does not support the legacy behavior. The report must name the source file and concept.
error Conversion failed for that input and the output should not be treated as usable.

Current intentional unsupported/deferred areas:

  • signals
  • normal three-way switch authoring, because Railroader does not support it as a standard graph switch
  • arbitrary legacy script logic from .dll files
  • rolling stock/car/locomotive packages outside FUSE audio definitions
  • unknown custom component types when their owning assembly is not installed or not converted to a FUSE component package

The presence of a .dll is never a successful code conversion. The report must keep that binary visible as manual/unsupported work even when the package's JSON converted successfully.

Unsupported entries must remain visible in conversion-report.json and conversion-report.md. A clean conversion is allowed to have info entries, but a supported package should not rely on hidden unsupported runtime behavior.

Mirrored from docs/FUSE_CONVERTER.md — edit there, not here.

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