Software Setup

Modding Tools

Creating mods for Sims 4 requires a few pieces of software. Download and install the programs below.

There are additional tools available, but these are the essentials for getting started.

Package Editing

Required

Sims 4 Editor (S4E) or Sims 4 Studio (S4S) is required for editing .package files.
Tutorials on this will use S4E, with occasional references to S4S. You should install both.

Visual Studio Code is strongly recommended for general text editing.

Sims 4 Editor (S4E) The mod editor associated with this site. Modern features, but currently only supports a limited number of resource types. Work in progress.

Sims 4 Studio (S4S) A feature rich mod editor. Supports most Sims 4 resource types.

Visual Studio Code (VSCode) A code editor for text, XML, python, and more.

Custom Content (CC)

Optional

Sims 4 Editor does not currently support CC creation, but might in the future.

Getting started with CC creation using S4S will be discussed briefly, but mainly link to other resources until a future update.

GIMP An image editing program.

Blender A 3D modeling program.

*There are a lot of premium software options available for texture and model creation, but the above are the best free options.

Script Modding

Advanced & Incomplete

You do NOT need to download the software below unless you are experimenting on your own.

Sims 4 Editor does not currently offer any features for script modding.

PyCharm A code editor for python. More python features than VSCode. Has free and paid versions.

Python 3.7.9

A general purpose programming language. Sims 4 requires Python 3.7.x, with 3.7.9 being the newest supported version.

Can be downloaded directly (python.org), with an IDE (VSCode, PyCharm), or via a python version manager (pyenv, uv).

Tutorial

Ready to Learn? Get started learning the core concepts of modding using Sims 4 Editor.