# `oliver`
`oliver` is a CLI mod development tool for Baldur's Gate 3.
## Installation
### via crates.io
`oliver` can be installed via crates.io:
```
cargo install oliver
```
## Usage
Usage information for `oliver` can be printed by running `oliver --help`:
```
Lightweight CLI mod development tool for Baldur's Gate 3 on Linux
Usage: oliver <COMMAND>
Commands:
contents Print the list of file paths contained in a mod
convert Convert a single file from one type to another
convert-all Convert batches of files from one type to another
pack Pack loose mod files into an archive loadable by the game
parse Print a summary of the contents in a given file
unpack Unpacks all of the files contained in a mod
help Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)
Options:
-h, --help Print help
-V, --version Print version
```
## FAQ
**Does Baldur's Gate 3 even support Linux?**
Technically, yes! Larian surprised everyone (or at least me) with [a native Steam Deck release](https://larian.com/support/faqs/steam-deck-native-version_121),
and it's possible to run it on arbitrary Linux distros by not selecting any compatibility tool when
running the game.. However, Steam also provides a built-in tool called [Proton](https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton)
that can be enabled for running Windows games on Linux. While compatibility for games is made on a
best-effort basis, in practice a fairly large number of games work well on Linux via Proton. A large
number of the compatibility issues that do arise are related to anti-cheat measures, which Baldur's
Gate 3 does not utilize (presumably in part due to not featuring competitive online multiplayer).
Proton is based on the venerable open source tool [Wine](https://www.winehq.org/); essentially,
Proton is an augmentation of Wine for running things specifically with the Steam runtime.
**Why is `oliver` specifically for Linux?**
While there isn't much reason that `oliver` couldn't run on Windows, there also isn't much need;
[`lslib`](https://github.com/Norbyte/lslib) is the most widely used mod development toolkit by
far, and it natively supports Windows. There are also other options like [Modder's Multitool](https://github.com/ShinyHobo/BG3-Modders-Multitool),
and the [Mod Manager](Baldur's Gate 3 Mod Manager) also has some built-in features for mod developers.
Because `oliver` was designed for my own specific use case, handling the cases where Linux and
Windows behave differently and how the game files are laid out on each system simply wasn't
necessary and would have been extra work. Feel free to try it out on Windows if you'd like or
file bugs/feature requests related to it, but I can't guarantee I'll end up addressing them.
**Why is it named `oliver`?**
Oliver is the name of one of my two cats (pictured below).
<a name="oliver-img"></a>
[](#oliver-img)
