New User Checklist
Welcome! This guide shows the essential steps to get started with Irony Mod Manager.
It uses real screenshots of the UI to help new users understand where everything is.
Irony manages collections, mod order, merging, and (game-dependent) conflict solving.
Follow the steps below to set up your first working collection.
When Irony starts, you will see the game selection screen.
Choose the Paradox game you want to manage.
Irony will remember the selected game on next launch.
Collections define which mods are active and in which order.
Click Create New Collection (+ button).
Choose any name you like — for example “My Stellaris Setup” or “CK3 Mods”.
Click OK to create it.
On the bottom-left area, you will see your Installed Mods list
→ Installed Mods
Select the mods you want to include.
You can select multiple mods using Ctrl or Shift as needed.
Selected mods appear on the right side of the UI, under Collection Mods
→ Collection Mods
This is your actual load order.
You can drag them up and down to change order.
- Stellaris → Full conflict solver
- HOI4 → Analysis only
- Others → Not available
If available, you can inspect conflicts, apply merges or patches, and clean up the patch mod by re-running the solver.
You can merge mods via merge menu:
- Basic Merge
- Compress Merge
Merged mods appear as local mods and can be used in any collection.
Once everything looks good:
- Press Apply to write the load order
- Press Launch Game to start the game with your collection active
If something goes wrong:
- Use Actions → Logs to open the log folder
- Check the Troubleshooting section of the Wiki → FAQ
- If reporting an issue, provide a minimal reproducible collection, not your entire setup
This checklist covers the basics needed to use Irony for the first time.
Once you're comfortable, explore advanced tools like Filtering, Database Search, Ignore Rules, Merge Viewer, and external editor integration.