---
title: Workspace
description: Compare your in-game changes against the modpack source and sync them back — a diff-and-merge tool for modpack developers.
---

## Who Is This For?

The Workspace is built for **modpack developers** — people who create and maintain modpacks.

If you imported someone else's modpack, you don't need this feature. Your `import/` folder is read-only and the game runs from `live/` as expected. The only time you might open the workspace is to restore an original file from `import/` to `live/` if something broke — but that's rare.

## The Problem

When you develop a modpack, you configure things in-game: video settings, mod configs, world generation options. Those changes land in `live/`. But `import/` — your modpack's distributable source — stays untouched. You changed configs but don't know which files moved or how to promote them back into the modpack. That's what Workspace solves.

## Opening the Workspace

1. Select your instance.
2. Switch to the **Workspace** tab.

The workspace shows a side-by-side comparison of `import/` vs `live/`.

## Understanding the Diff

The workspace detects three types of changes:

| Type | Meaning |
|------|---------|
| **Added** | File exists in `live/` but not in `import/` |
| **Modified** | File exists in both, but content differs |
| **Removed** | File exists in `import/` but not in `live/` |

### Example: Config Tweaks

You launched the game and adjusted performance settings for your modpack. The changes are in `live/config/` while the originals sit in `import/config/`. The workspace shows exactly which files changed and how they differ.

## Syncing Changes

There are two sync directions, each serving a different purpose.

### Promote: live → import (primary)

This is the main workflow. When you see a change in `live/` that you want to keep in your modpack:

1. Select the file in the workspace.
2. Click **Sync to Import**.
3. The file is copied from `live/` to `import/`.

That change is now part of your modpack's source. It will be included when you export or update the modpack.

You can select multiple files and sync them at once — useful after a tuning session where you changed many config files.

### Restore: import → live (secondary)

If an in-game change went wrong and you want the original file back:

1. Select the file in the workspace.
2. Click **Sync to Live**.
3. The file is copied from `import/` to `live/`, overwriting your local change.

This restores the modpack's original version of that file.

## Modpack Author Workflow

This is the primary use case for the workspace:

1. Build a modpack and add initial configs to `import/`.
2. Launch the game and configure everything in-game (changes go to `live/`).
3. Open the workspace and review what changed.
4. Promote confirmed changes from `live/` to `import/`.
5. Export or commit to Git.

Repeat this loop as you iterate on your modpack.

## Relationship to Git

If you use Git for your modpack (see [Modpack Development](/docs/advanced/modpack-dev)), the workspace fits naturally into version control:

1. `import/` is tracked by Git.
2. `live/` is in `.gitignore`.
3. Sync from `live/` → `import/` → then `git commit`.

Think of `live/` as your working tree, `import/` as your staged changes, and `git commit` as the final step.
