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Expanded Library Wiki

Expanded Library (exlib) is the shared framework mod behind the Fallenstar Expanded family for Vintage Story - currently Pipes and Power Expanded (ppex) and Steelmaking Expanded (smex). It ships no gameplay content of its own; you can use it because another mod depends on it or because it gives you batteries-included systems that are tedious to build from scratch:

• a generic block-network graph (auto-orienting node blocks, merge/fracture handling, a single manager) - used for gas pipes, steam pipes and molten-metal canals;
• multiblock structures with completion monitoring, build-outline projection and an invisible filler block that gives mega-blocks real per-cell collision;
• a production-machine tick lifecycle base;
• attribute-driven registration for blocks/items/entities/behaviours/commands, plus a source-generated, versioned, live-editable config system;
• a shared /exmod (server) and .exmod (client) command root, recipe-cost profiles, per-player preferences, block migrations, orphaned-BE healing, and a grab-bag of rotation / particle / sound / inventory helpers.

This wiki documents both libraries the family publishes for reuse:

• exlib - the runtime framework mod other mods depend on and call. It ships as the Vintage Story mod artifact (exlib_<version>.zip) on the releases page.
• exlib.testing (ExpandedLib.Testing) - a headless xUnit harness that loads the real game assemblies and exercises network/block-entity logic under dotnet test, no game launch required. It's a build-/test-time developer library, not something installed in the game: you consume it by referencing the project from source, or the ExpandedLib.Testing.dll published with each GitHub release. (It isn't on NuGet - the API still moves a lot release to release.)

Where to start

• New here? Read Getting Started - declare the dependency, set up a project reference, and register your first attribute-marked block.
• Building plumbing/wiring of any kind? Block Networks.
• Building a furnace, boiler or other big machine? Multiblock Structures and Production Machines.
• Want config, commands or recipe tuning? Registries, Config System, Commands, Recipe Costs.
• Writing tests? Testing Harness and Testing API Reference.

A note on accuracy

These pages document the public surface a third-party mod consumes. Signatures are taken from the source in this repository; when in doubt, the code in src/ExpandedLib/ and test/ExpandedLib.Testing/ is the source of truth. Game-version differences (1.20 / 1.21 / 1.22) are handled by the Legacy/ shim and noted where they affect you.