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Tool

MelonLoader

Mod loader for Unity games on both the Mono and IL2CPP runtimes, which loads plugins and mods from folders in a locally installed game; on Windows a proxy DLL, version.dll by default, starts it with the game. For IL2CPP games its assembly generator runs Cpp2IL and Il2CppInterop to produce managed interop assemblies, and HarmonyX and MonoMod are bundled for runtime patching. Its logs can capture Unity player output and Harmony messages, and debug options provide a Mono debug server for Mono games and a wait-for-debugger option for IL2CPP games.

Requirements and limitations

  • Latest release at review: v0.7.3, published 2026-05-14, with Windows x64/x86, Linux x64 and macOS x64 archives plus Windows, Linux and macOS installers; the README also links nightly builds. The reviewed master commit (2026-10-01) declares the unreleased 0.7.4, 69 commits after v0.7.3, and its pending release notes add macOS arm64 support. The README links Linux instructions for Wine, Proton and native games, and marks Android and Oculus Quest support as work in progress.
  • The README lists the .NET 6.0 Desktop Runtime as a requirement for IL2CPP games, installed automatically on Windows. The installer or a manual install places MelonLoader and its proxy DLL in the user's own game folder, where the Plugins, Mods, logs and UserData/Loader.cfg configuration are created; some games need one of the alternative proxy file names. Source builds use the dotnet SDK, and the projects target Mono, Mono bleeding-edge and .NET frameworks.
  • On IL2CPP games the assembly generator queries MelonLoader's remote API by game name for settings such as a Cpp2IL version, obfuscation regex or deobfuscation mapping, and the README lists Cpp2IL, Unity runtime libraries and the .NET runtime as downloaded at run time. Configuration and launch options can force offline generation, a dumper version or regeneration. Per-game compatibility is not implied.
  • Apache-2.0; bundled libraries such as Dobby, plthook, HarmonyX, MonoMod, Mono.Cecil, AsmResolver and Il2CppInterop (LGPL-3.0) keep their own licenses, and the README says the downloaded Unity runtime libraries are subject to Unity's terms of service. This entry covers single-player modding and analysis of locally installed games; game license terms are separate. No game was modded or run, and the reviewed sources establish no REA connection.

About this entry

Type
Tool
Category
Game analysis tools
Relationship
Foundation tool
Targets
Game

Sources reviewed

The description was reviewed against primary sources. This does not establish runtime testing, security auditing or verified compatibility.

Primary sources

  1. README.md GitHub · LavaGang/MelonLoader · Revision 5aff4d9
  2. LICENSE.md GitHub · LavaGang/MelonLoader · Revision 5aff4d9
  3. Directory.Build.props GitHub · LavaGang/MelonLoader · Revision 5aff4d9
  4. RELEASE-NOTES.md GitHub · LavaGang/MelonLoader · Revision 5aff4d9
  5. Dependencies/Il2CppAssemblyGenerator/RemoteAPI.cs GitHub · LavaGang/MelonLoader · Revision 5aff4d9
  6. Dependencies/Il2CppAssemblyGenerator/Packages/Cpp2IL.cs GitHub · LavaGang/MelonLoader · Revision 5aff4d9
  7. https://github.com/LavaGang/MelonLoader/releases/tag/v0.7.3
  8. https://github.com/LavaGang/MelonLoader/compare/v0.7.3...5aff4d9d7c16ae153aad2f1035114dbc2713bf99