Basics
BeamNG.drive’s folder structure is composed by two main folder:
- Game Folder: where the game is installed
- User Folder: where the user’s custom files are located
It normally contains:
/temp
/mods
/replays
/screenshots
/settings
/vehicles/..
/levels/..
for level related saves and /flowEditor
for Flowgraph savesThis separation allows for modifications without affecting the original installation, making it easier to return to the original state at any time.
Structure & Priority
The User Folder’s structure mimics the one of the Game Folder. If a file exists in the same relative location in both folders, the one in the User Folder will be loaded over the original.
It is NOT RECOMMENDED to store your user folder in the same location as your game folder.
Steam may identify these files as non-game-related and decide to remove them upon game update or file verification process. This will cause you to lose all mods, settings, and custom content with no warning.
User Folder changes (> 0.22)
With game version 0.22.0.0, there have been some important changes to the User Folder, including the new default location and the way it works.
New location
The default User Folder location is now C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\BeamNG.drive
.
The easiest way to access the folder remains through Launcher
→ Manage User Folder
→ Open in Explorer
Versioning & Data Migration
In versions prior to 0.22.0.0 the User Folder was shared across different versions of the game. This often introduces issues related to outdated & conflicting files whenever the game received an update.
In order to reduce the risk of such issues, the data inside the User Folder is now versioned, and has a slightly different folder structure.
Old folder structure
Userfolder/BeamNG.drive/<files>
New versioned structure (0.22.0.0 to 0.22.1.1)
Userfolder/BeamNG.drive/0.22.x.x/<files>
New versioned structure (0.22.2.0 and up)
Userfolder/BeamNG.drive/0.22/<files>
When a new game version is detected, the Game Launcher takes care of migrating some files from the previous version to the new one.
Launcher message when a new version is detected
The data that is transferred automatically includes:
/mods
/replays
/screenshots
/settings
/trackEditor
/vehicles
Other files from the previous version can be manually transferred, if needed.
Manual Data Migration
If for any reason, the data migration process was not successful, you can perform a manual data migration with the following steps:
- Open the old user folder location (the old default path was
My Documents\BeamNG.Drive
) - Navigate to the new location through
Launcher → Manage User Folder → Open in Explorer
and open the folder corresponding to the current version of the game - Transfer the files from the old folder to the new folder (as needed)