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User guide
In this page you will learn how to install CKAN and use it to install your first mod. Please note that CKAN is still under active development, and the information on this page might be out of date.
The CKAN client is heavily inspired by the many package management utilities available on unix platforms: you might be already familiar with one of them.
Installing the client is very easy: just head to the our releases and download the latest version of ckan.exe.
You don't have to worry about platforms: CKAN is built using Mono, so it will work the same on Windows, Mac or Linux.
Just place the executable in any folder you like: the client can manage all your KSP installations from anywhere on your disk, so you don't have to worry about its location.
There are two ways to use the client:
- using the GUI;
- using the command line;
While the GUI is certainly the easiest option, advanced users might feel more comfortable using the command line.
The GUI is disabled for stable releases: if you want to use the GUI, you will have to install an experimental release.
To open the GUI, just run the executable you have downloaded with no arguments to bring up the window. From here you can:
- see all the available packages;
- click on a package to see its description: author, version, license, relationship with other packages, and more;
- manage and launch any KSP installation.
When you first launch CKAN, it will scan your system to find your KSP installation directory: if for any reason it's unable to find it on its own, or if you want to manage another installation, you can just add another from the dialog window.
The first thing you will want to do is to click the "Refresh" button: this will update CKAN's registry from the online repository to refresh the list of available mods and updates.
To install (or remove) a mod, just tick (or untick) the corresponding checkbox: don't worry, CKAN will not actually do anything until you click the "Apply all changes" button, and even then you will be asked to review the list of changes. All the necessary dependencies have already been selected for you: all the mods you install will work out of the box!
Should anything go wrong during the installation, CKAN will make sure to revert the status of the GameData directory to its previous state, so don't worry about ruining your installation!
If one or more of the mods you are installing also recommends or suggests that you install other packages you will be shown a series of dialogs where you can select them: all of these are optional, so feel free to choose what you like and ignore the rest.
Advanced users might like the command line more. If you have already used package managers like pacman or apt-get, you will find ckan familiar.
To run any command, just type
ckan <command>
on your terminal. Note that ckan, like many other package managers, does not run in an interactive session: each command is a self-contained operation.
Here are the commands you will need the most:
-
ckan update: refreshes the master list from the CKAN-meta repository, allowing you to find new mods and updates for the packages you have installed. -
ckan scan: scans your GameData folder to find mods that you have installed or removed manually. -
ckan available: lists all the mods available for installation via CKAN. -
ckan show <identifier>: shows information about a mod, such as author, version, and dependencies. -
ckan install <identifier>: installs a package and all its dependencies.
To see the full list of available commands, just run
ckan help
If you have any trouble, remember that we are happy to help you on the IRC channel!