Issue New to modding, having issues with StardewmoddingAPI

[Redninja]

Platform: Windows (11)
Game Version: latest as game was just bought today 7/30/22
Smapi: below
Error: so im not sure whats happening, but its not launching

When i click on StardewmoddingAPI it will not launch and sometimes this causes Steam to not launch until a restart. I am very new to modding as i had played stardew on xbox and wanted to try modding. Im not sure what went wrong, but it might be that i followed a tutorial on youtube from 5 years ago. But i downloaded the mods from nexusmods, extracted them, then first i tried moving the folder thats shown when you click into the first folder for that mod to the mod folder is %appdata% of stardew. it didnt launch so i followed the video closer and went one folder deeper.

The tutorial video i watched was "How to install SMAPI and mods 2017 | Stardew Valley Modding API" by thatdenverguy. I know almost nothing about modding so im not sure what does and doesnt make a difference.

 

[SecretlyCheese]

Hi!
So when it comes to Stardew modding, my first time was very clunky too and things just didn't work out the way they should've even with tutorial videos but then I realized there's a step by step tutorial on the Stardew Valley wikia.

I recommend uninstalling and restarting everything and trying again with these steps:

1. Run the game without any mods or SMAPI at least once so it can do first-time setup.
2. Download the latest version of SMAPI (https://smapi.io/)
3. Extract the .zip file anywhere you like (for example the Downloads folder)
4. Double-click the "Install on Windows" Batch file
5. Follow the screen instructions and press either 1 or 2 based on your preference and hit Enter
6. Do not close the window (it's important for the next step)

Those steps should install SMAPI without issues, then you need to configure the game client. You need to only do this if you want want the Steam overlay, achievements, and playtime tracking to work. Here's how to do this on Steam (it's different for other platforms)

1. Keep the SMAPI installer window open.
2. Copy the text in the Installer window (Highlight the text and CTRL+C)
This is what should read on the text:

Make sure you copy the entire line, including both quotation marks " and the %command% part.
3. Run Steam and from your Library right-click on Stardew Valley and choose Properties:

4. Click the textbox under Launch Options:

5. Replace anything in the textbox with the text you copied from the installer. You can CTRL+V the text
6. If you click anywhere it should save the launch option now and if you want to, from now on you can launch the game through Steam to run SMAPI with the Steam overlay and achievements.

Here's a link to the tutorial: https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Modding:Installing_SMAPI_on_Windows

After all this is done it's time for the mods. Nexusmods is great for mods but you need to make sure to download all the corresponding and necsessary files for some mods to work, and also make sure the mods you're installing are compatible with the current version of Stardew Valley you're playing. To install the mods you just need to follow these steps:

1. Find mods you like/want
2. Find your game folder (Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Stardew Valley)
3. Locate the Mods folder (created after SMAPI installation)
4. To install a Mod, just unzip it into the Mods folder in your game folder. Make sure each mod has its own subfolder.
5. Run the game (: if you've installed the mods correctly they should run fine now

Here's a link to another tutorial: https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Modding:Player_Guide/Getting_Started#Install_mods