Implement portable installation option

[ExE-Boss]

Instead of storing the data in $env:appdata/Vortex, a portable installation would store all the data in the installation directory (ex. an external drive).

[VortexFeedback]

Vortex Version: 0.16.15 Memory: 15.93 GB System: win32 x64 (10.0.17763) Please add an option for a portable installation when reinstalling windows (happens quite often) when updates break something. I have to set everything back up from scratch even with the custom install location which includes download location, staging folder, and the mods I saved lose their meta-data and won't point back to the nexus site. A proposed solution would be to(while performing a custom install) have a configuration file made in the install directory to save settings and have a manifest created for nexus downloaded mods that would save data like modpage link, currently downloaded\installed version so even if you needed to reinstall the operating system for any reason if you have vortex installed on an external drive you could carry on like nothing happened and the mods would still work the way they should.

Reported by: tentos

[Corgano]

Please add a portable flag / option. I want to have multiple versions of a game installed with different sets of mods, and vortex does not allow this. having a portable installation would let me have multiple versions of vortex i could easily use one per mod set i desire.

[festro]

Please add a portable flag / option. I want to have multiple versions of a game installed with different sets of mods, and vortex does not allow this. having a portable installation would let me have multiple versions of vortex i could easily use one per mod set i desire.

I think vortex uses game profiles for different configurations however it's not enabled by default and I haven't used it enough to know what can be done with it.

[Chaython]

Been months, any update? Really want a portable edition. w/ portabledat rather than appdata.

[festro]

Yeah this is continuing to be the greatest thorn in my side with vortex. Once again I'm left at that ultimatum of reinstalling windows for that boost in performance, or save myself the headache that is playing musical chairs and jumping hoops with vortex's directories to get my mods working this is ridiculous I never remembered having this issue with NMM.

[Chaython]

Vortex-master\src\app\Application.ts (3 hits) Line 427: : path.join(process.env['APPDATA'], vortexPath, currentStatePath); Line 462: : path.join(process.env['APPDATA'], vortexPath, currentStatePath); Line 497: : path.join(process.env['APPDATA'], vortexPath, currentStatePath); Vortex-master\Vortex-master\src\extensions\nexus_integration\texts.ts (1 hit) Line 9: .catch(() => '%LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data') Vortex-master\src\extensions\nexus_integration\util\chromePath.ts (3 hits) Line 16: const appPath = remote.app.getPath('appData'); Line 18: const userData = process.env.LOCALAPPDATA !== undefined Line 19: ? path.join(process.env.LOCALAPPDATA, 'Google', 'Chrome', 'User Data') Vortex-master\src\util\EpicGamesLauncher.ts (2 hits) Line 53: 'AppDataPath'); Line 166: const configPath = path.join(process.env['LOCALAPPDATA'], 'EpicGamesLauncher', 'Saved', 'Config', 'Windows', 'GameUserSettings.ini'); Vortex-master\src\util\Steam.ts (2 hits) Line 234: .map(appData => { Line 235: const { name, manifestData } = appData;

Probably just need to change Application.ts to represent a relative path within the vortex folder, then build it yourself; if it was such a big deal. Though for save games and mod dirs it's much more work than that. I use a 20gb volume for my windows directory. But I just make a bunch of symbolic links for most apps. You could make a batch file and map the drive as a dir rather than a letter so windows won't randomly change the location.

---

From: Brandon Allen notifications@github.com Sent: November 25, 2019 4:23 PM To: Nexus-Mods/Vortex Vortex@noreply.github.com Cc: Chaython R Meredith chaython@live.ca; Comment comment@noreply.github.com Subject: Re: [Nexus-Mods/Vortex] Implement portable installation option (#106)

Yeah this is continuing to be the greatest thorn in my side with vortex. Once again I'm left at that ultimatum of reinstalling windows for that boost in performance, or save myself the headache that is playing musical chairs and jumping hoops with vortex's directories to get my mods working this is ridiculous I never remembered having this issue with NMM.

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[darklinkpower]

This would be very helpful, I have an external hard drive and it would help having a portable version that stores all data in it without having to manually configure paths.

[Natrukei]

This! This is what I'm looking for in Vortex. Just an ability to either have the advanced one ask you where to store/let the data move like the other folders or a portable version where it's immediately stored within the vortex folder itself!

[gmcdevitt]

I'd also really like a portable option for moving between computers and being able to fully backup vortex.

[TanninOne]

update on this: Vortex now has a command-line switch "--user-data ", using that you can directly override where Vortex places its settings, profiles, ... (usually in %APPDATA%\vortex) No UI for that though, you'd have to set it up manually. Also that doesn't change the fact that user-data must not be in the Vortex directory itself and that the staging folder should be on the same drive as the game.

[Greg-Nexus]

Added to Product Backlog: https://gitlab.nexdev.uk/vortex/vortex/-/issues/150

[modderchris]

I saw the --user-data as a command line option but what is the syntax? is it even real? the only other thing by greg-nexus seems to point to another type of software by a similar name but not "vortex mod manager" I really need my vortex install to sync both mod installs and mod staging to the USB drive as I use a laptop and want to also run on my desktop sometimes I have been racking my brains on how to have the staging sync 100% on a USB drive as well as sync the deployment to two separate pc's(storing the game on the usb would be fine too) but "vortex mod manager" seems to have no documenation of command line pre-launch tricks even on the bloody site they shill it on I have tried using a shortcut with a --portable as that should exist as a simple way to store local cache in the installdir/userdata subdir just like dolphin and then the portable can link to a wildcard like staging dir and such using directory symlinks on each pc you just symlink the folder the portable links to to whatever drive the game is actually on then have a folder called "modstage" and one with the game on that drive I am still baffled by the lack of seperate drive deployments but whatever as I use symlinks in windows to link other game configs to the install dir rather than %userprofile% folders as that is just a dumb trend that games need to stop doing set up named save folders in a non-%userprofile% directory but don't lose my saves/configs when windows inevitably dies and needs a reinstall this is literally a CRITICAL feature that either doesn't exist or REQUIRES documentation that is missing FIX IT NOW

[HawthorneK456]

Hi,

Thank you for taking time to open this request for Vortex. You may have seen our recent news post letting our users know that we are currently working on developing a successor to Vortex; Nexus Mods App which will deliver the next generation of mod management.

With this in mind, we are undertaking a review of all outstanding Vortex requests to determine their validity. As a result, this request will be closed here and passed to the Nexus Mods App team for their consideration in its design & development.

Once again, thank you for being an active member. If you missed the news post, you can read it here: https://www.nexusmods.com/news/14874

[Corgano]

That's bullhonkey. I'd resort to using a symbolic link or junction (or just using MO2). Having an option to move some but not all of the programs data to another folder is just shitting in the users input.

On Tue, Aug 29, 2023, 5:55 a.m. HawthorneK456 @.***> wrote:

Closed #14642 https://github.com/Nexus-Mods/Vortex/issues/14642 as not planned.

— Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/Nexus-Mods/Vortex/issues/14642#event-10220263377, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAGSARMXLUSW5D4WVCXH6Y3XXXKCFANCNFSM6AAAAAA4CZ5SII . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: @.***>

[modderchris]

agreed, portable installs are REQUIRED, I have a laptop AND a desktop, in order to play my saves ACROSS devices I would have to MANUALLY edit BOTH installs, a much simpler and elegant solution is to expose the hardcoded directories to editing, even if it is a config doc that most people never edit I am going to set up my games to mod-sync to an external SSD someday, even if I have to symlink every single directory vortex stores data in(far too many if you ask me) just to ensure it thinks it is the same PC and install sadly currently I simply do not have an acceptable drive or money to do so yet, but someday I WILL be doing a 100% PORTABLE install(besides the stupid steam "game not installed" stuff which I will bypass by using a script that checks if steam.exe is running and launches if needed before triggering the F4SE or SKSE launchers I already have depotdownloader scripts to force verify to OLDER versions of the modded games when steam decides to update and not allow users to easily say "no this game needs to stay at the old version and doesn't have any justification to force all users to the same version"

On Tue, Aug 29, 2023 at 8:32 AM Corgano @.***> wrote:

That's bullhonkey. I'd resort to using a symbolic link or junction (or just using MO2). Having an option to move some but not all of the programs data to another folder is just shitting in the users input.

On Tue, Aug 29, 2023, 5:55 a.m. HawthorneK456 @.***> wrote:

Closed #14642 https://github.com/Nexus-Mods/Vortex/issues/14642 as not planned.

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[festro]

Great if this "The Nexus Mods App will be a ground-up reimagining of what we (and you) want our mod manager to be, building on the lessons learnt from Vortex and NMM before that." is true than make sure to add a portable install option to the next iteration as this is clearly a wanted feature, otherwise is will come off as corporate PR crap and serve as another reason to drive users and modders away from the platform, I think enough damage was done to this platform with that "collections" fiasco.

[modderchris]

there are many reasons to rebrand, but the problem with rebranding is when a company or group does the same old crap that caused the bad pr the first time, like how comcast desperately wants to rebrand into "xfinity" yet the crappy equipment, worthless customer service, and app-only setup on non-mobile internet is why I refuse to call them by the new name, they are still the worst parts of what they always were and a rebranding to get rid of the still deserved bad PR is not allowed in my book the same with NMM to vortex to whatever crap they want to create again, at least vortex was an upgrade from nmm as it did work better, but the parts they refuse to add are the ONLY things they SHOULD add

On Tue, Aug 29, 2023 at 6:38 PM Brandon Allen @.***> wrote:

Great if this "The Nexus Mods App will be a ground-up reimagining of what we (and you) want our mod manager to be, building on the lessons learnt from Vortex and NMM before that." is true than make sure to add a portable install option to the next iteration as this is clearly a wanted feature, otherwise is will come off as corporate PR crap and serve as another reason to drive users and modders away from the platform, I think enough damage was done to this platform with that "collections" fiasco.

— Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/Nexus-Mods/Vortex/issues/14642#issuecomment-1698234208, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AELDBTOGV3X4UPWXHRNNX5LXXZVOPANCNFSM6AAAAAA4CZ5SII . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: @.***>

[ghost]

Oh cool, NexusMods is wasting everyone's time with a meaningless rebrand instead of providing the features the community wants. Again. Here's hoping someone makes a mod management platform that isn't corporate crap sometime soon.

[modderchris]

Oh cool, NexusMods is wasting everyone's time with a meaningless rebrand instead of providing the features the community wants. Again. Here's hoping someone makes a mod management platform that isn't corporate crap sometime soon.

kinda expected these days, pretty much EVERY company is to full of brain dead YEC nutjobs who can't connect teh "people hate us" to the "because of the shit we are going to keep doing after we rebrand to get rid of the hate"

same with religion in the US government, a literal violation of the founding laws of our government is being violated, and ironically the very things designed in the constitution to protect us from the very religious persecution that lead to our founding are being called "unconstitutional" yes, people literally agree that "what makes america what it is" is "against what america is" and the very same people who say stuff like that say the earth is 6000 years old, in literal human years despite the same scripture they use saying basically "dates are not literal, don't treat them as accurate"

[ghost]

kinda expected these days, pretty much EVERY company is to full of brain dead YEC nutjobs who can't connect teh "people hate us" to the "because of the shit we are going to keep doing after we rebrand to get rid of the hate"

On the bright side, every time a useful tool gets infested with corporate garbage, there ends up being members of the community who have the skill and desire to make an alternative that usually ends up being excellent.

Speaking of which, to anyone else who ended up here from Google like I did: Turns out Mod Organizer 2 is still alive and well despite NexusMods acting like it is obsolete, and Mod Organizer 2 is made fully and easily portable by selecting the "portable installation" option during install. Good luck all.

(Edit: Accidentally lumped my first sentence in with the quote lol good job me)

[modderchris]

kinda expected these days, pretty much EVERY company is to full of brain dead YEC nutjobs who can't connect teh "people hate us" to the "because of the shit we are going to keep doing after we rebrand to get rid of the hate"

On the bright side, every time a useful tool gets infested with corporate garbage, there ends up being members of the community who have the skill and desire to make an alternative that usually ends up being excellent.

Speaking of which, to anyone else who ended up here from Google like I did: Turns out Mod Organizer 2 is still alive and well despite NexusMods acting like it is obsolete, and Mod Organizer 2 is made fully and easily portable by selecting the "portable installation" option during install. Good luck all.

(Edit: Accidentally lumped my first sentence in with the quote lol good job me)

so do you know if MO2 can hook vortex download links? would be great if it acted like vortex in that new updates and downloads get hooked via some form of add-on and maybe even LL files if you are open-source

ps: we all use some LL mods at some point, either it boosts immersion by adding new quests that match the theme or it is just a requirement for a PG addon function, don't you dare get high and mighty in fact I have tuned my steam controller input for skyrim so I can just scene-skip and sex scenes to get the consequences of each type of sex without really watching sex if only someone made an animation pack that added "animations" that simply blacked out and came back with a notification like "your ass hurts from that anal raping" or "you feel the seed of that rapist inside you, hope you don't get pregnant"

[ghost]

so do you know if MO2 can hook vortex download links? would be great if it acted like vortex in that new updates and downloads get hooked via some form of add-on and maybe even LL files if you are open-source

I don't really understand much of this to be honest, I'm not very experienced with Skyrim modding, but MO2 seems to handle download links perfectly out of the box - for example clicking "Download with Mod Manager" links from NexusMods opens MO2 and download the mod through it. Good luck!

[modderchris]

so do you know if MO2 can hook vortex download links? would be great if it acted like vortex in that new updates and downloads get hooked via some form of add-on and maybe even LL files if you are open-source

I don't really understand much of this to be honest, I'm not very experienced with Skyrim modding, but MO2 seems to handle download links perfectly out of the box - for example clicking "Download with Mod Manager" links from NexusMods opens MO2 and download the mod through it. Good luck!

so it does do exactly what I want, and it is not as frequently broken as vortex was(one time a game that is among the most popular to mod(fallout 4) just vanished for over a week as a valid game to mod)

[ElektroStudios]

--shared parameter should also be added when using --user-data.

Full instructions on how to launch Vortex in "portable" mode are specified in the following Markdown file:

• https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/47390?tab=files&file_id=192954

I found it very useful.

---

Relevant content from the Markdown file mentioned above:

Vortex Portable Instance Solution

By Using CLI args

Recommend. Tested version: Vortex 1.3.22.0.

• Copy user data of Shared mode

  Install Vortex then open it. Suppose the installation location is D:\TES\Vortex\.

  Open Settings -> Vortex -> Multi-User Mode, set it to Shared to initialize the shared user data.

  Then close Vortex, copy the shared user data C:\ProgramData\Vortex to another directory. Suppose copy to D:\TES\Vortex_User_Data.

• Create a .bat file contains correct CLI arguments

  Let's name it start_Vortex_Portable.bat.

  Then add the following content, change the value of Vortex_Path, User_Data_Path to yours, and save it.

  set Vortex_Path=D:\TES\Vortex\Vortex.exe
  set User_Data_Path=D:\TES\Vortex_User_Data
  %Vortex_Path% --shared --user-data %User_Data_Path%
  pause
  

• Run start_Vortex_Portable.bat.

Additional Importance

• Must add --shared flag, or Vortex will use Per-User at you next start.

• It seems that Vortex use %APPDATA%\Vertox to store whether use Shared mode.

  • Don't delete %APPDATA%\Vertox.
  • Switch system or user, may need reset to Shared mode.

• Recommend manage mods manually, and disable Vortex automatic update.

✔️ I just would add a little improvement, when using a Batch-Script file, remember to enclose variable definitions between double quotes, this way:

set "Vortex_Path=D:\TES\Vortex\Vortex.exe"
set "User_Data_Path=D:\TES\Vortex_User_Data"

That prevents paths with white spaces from giving syntax errors.

❌ Do NOT use double quotes in this other way:

set Vortex_Path="D:\TES\Vortex\Vortex.exe"
set User_Data_Path="D:\TES\Vortex_User_Data"