Stardew Valley Mod Manager
A mod is a collection of files that as a whole can be downloaded as a zip file and extraced to a directory at a given location under the game directory. By default it is then activated and can be deactivated by having the top directory name start with a period (like hiding a file in Linux).
For a mod to properly function it can be necessary to have another mod present and activated, this is what we call a dependency. This can also be handled with this tool.
The configuration consists roughly of two parts: a list with names of installed mods coupled with the directory they're installed in and a collection of lists per mod enumerating their dependencies. Whether a mod is activated or not is not registered in the configuration, it can be inspected looking at the name on disk.
Originally...
...only the following features were built in:
Edit config
This opens up the configuration in a text editor to manually make changes.
Check config
Manual changes especially are prone to typing errors and inconsistencies emerging; this option is meant to check the changes before you activate them and possibly render the game unplayable. Changing through the dialog makes this mostly unnecessary.
Activate changes
This option "translates" the configuration to which mod directories are to be prepended with a dot and which are not. In the app's first incarnation it also closed it; but I though it would be friendlier to the user (i.e. me) to keep the new situation on screen so that you could see if you needed to make further changes.
Done
This shuts off the application. Originally it was meant to quit without applying changes.
Expansions
to the original version
Add mod to config
This was added to make the process of adding a mod to the config a bit easier. A dialog is started where you can enter the mod's name and download directory. There is also a button to derive these names from the zipfile, giving suggestions in the dialog. Obviously this only works if you've already downloaded it.
It's also possible to indicate if you want to show the mod on the screen by checking the box "activatable" (no use showing a mod if it only works through other mods).
Also in this dialog is a way to add dependencies: you can push a button to indicate that you want to add a combobox for selecting or adding a mod
From the list you can choose a mod that is already in the configuration; there is also the possibilty to add a new mod or remove the current dependency. Adding a new mod starts e new instance of this dialog.
Reorder mods on screen
Initially the names on the screen are shown in the order they have been entered in the configuration file. This button makes it possible to reorder the names, more information here.
Install / Update
The download directory's name is currently hardcoded into the app. With thsi function you can open it and select recent downloads for unpacking into the mod directory. New mods are deactivated by default; existing mods are backed up (deactivated and copied with a . at the start and a ~ at the end of the directory name) and activated or deactivated depending on their state before installing.