How to Open a DAT File

A .dat file in Unturned™ is a plain-text configuration file that defines a single in-game object: an item, a vehicle, an animal, a weapon attachment, a magazine, or any other entity the game engine recognizes. Despite the file extension, these files contain no binary data. They are human-readable text files that follow a strict key-value format. This reference explains what .dat files are, walks through three different methods of opening one in Notepad++, and breaks down the structure of a typical Unturned item definition. Every step has been documented for readers who have never opened a configuration file before.

The reference is the second in a three-part section. The first reference covered Notepad++ installation, and this reference assumes Notepad++ is already installed and verified per the validation checklist in the first reference. The third reference, which follows this one, covers the encoding requirement that the Unturned engine enforces for .dat files. Readers are encouraged to read the three references in order on first pass.

The procedures and conventions documented in this reference are the procedures 57 Studios™ uses internally for every Unturned mod project. The same procedures are recommended for community contributors who maintain personal mod projects against the 57 Studios™ template repositories.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, confirm the following:

• Notepad++ is installed on your Windows computer. If it is not, refer to the previous article in this section.
• You have access to a folder containing at least one .dat file. This may be a vanilla Unturned content folder, a workshop mod folder, or a folder from the 57 Studios™ template projects.
• You have working familiarity with the Windows File Explorer.
• You have a working .dat file in a writeable workspace folder (not the Steam-managed Unturned content folder).
• You have completed the validation checklist from the first reference in this section.

The fourth prerequisite is worth a separate note. The Steam-managed Unturned content folder is owned by Steam, and any edits made to files in that folder will be overwritten the next time Steam updates the Unturned game files. The expected practice across the 57 Studios™ ecosystem is to copy a .dat file from the Steam-managed folder to a workspace folder before opening it for editing, and to never edit a file inside the Steam-managed folder directly. The workspace folder is typically located under the modder's home directory and is independent of any Steam installation paths.

Common mistake

Editing .dat files inside the Steam-managed Unturned content folder. The Steam Workshop and the Unturned client both update those files in place, and any edits made there will be overwritten without warning. Always copy the file to a workspace folder first.

Did you know?

The Unturned engine reads .dat files from many different folders at startup. The default Unturned content folder is one source. Loaded workshop mods are another source. Server-side custom content folders are a third source. Each source is processed independently and contributes its own set of .dat-defined objects to the running game.

What you'll learn

By the end of this reference, you will know how to:

• Recognize a .dat file in File Explorer.
• Open a .dat file in Notepad++ using drag-and-drop.
• Open a .dat file using the right-click "Open with" menu.
• Set Notepad++ as the default application for .dat files.
• Read and interpret the structure of an Unturned item .dat.
• Identify the standard keys present in every Unturned .dat file.
• Recognise the difference between item, vehicle, animal, and resource .dat files.
• Inspect the encoding and line-ending indicators in the Notepad++ status bar.
• Locate the localisation .dat file that pairs with each item .dat.

Background: what is a DAT file?

The .dat extension is used by many different applications to mean many different things. In the Unturned ecosystem, a .dat file is always a plain-text configuration file. The Unturned engine reads .dat files at server startup and uses the keys and values inside them to construct in-game objects.

Each .dat file represents exactly one object. A folder containing a single weapon mod typically holds one .dat file alongside supporting files such as a .png icon, a .unity3d asset bundle, and an English.dat localization file. The localization file uses the same format but lives in a Localization subfolder and contains the display name and description shown to players.

Did you know?

The .dat extension was chosen by the Unturned developer Nelson Sexton in the early days of Unturned. The extension is short for "data" and was selected before the modern conventions of using .json, .toml, or .yaml for configuration files became widespread. The format is unique to Unturned.

Best practice

When inspecting an unfamiliar mod, open the .dat file alongside its localisation .dat and its .unity3d asset bundle. The three files together describe the complete object: the .dat defines the engine-side properties, the localisation .dat defines the player-facing strings, and the .unity3d provides the 3D mesh and the icon. Reading the three together gives a complete picture of the object.

The flow diagram above shows the relationship between the files in a typical Unturned mod folder. The engine reads each file independently at startup and merges the information into a single in-game object definition.

A typical Unturned mod folder layout

The folder layout below is the standard layout for an Unturned mod that defines a single item. Readers who are unfamiliar with the layout will benefit from reviewing the layout before opening any .dat files.

Path	Purpose
MyItem/Item.dat	The item definition file, parsed by the Unturned engine
MyItem/Item.unity3d	The Unity asset bundle containing the 3D model and icon
MyItem/Icon.png	A standalone copy of the in-game icon, used by external tools
MyItem/Localization/English.dat	The English localisation file containing the display name and description
MyItem/Localization/Spanish.dat	An optional Spanish localisation file
MyItem/Localization/French.dat	An optional French localisation file
MyItem/README.md	An optional human-readable description of the mod
MyItem/LICENSE	An optional license file for the mod

Pro tip

Maintaining the standard layout makes a mod easier for other contributors to navigate. The 57 Studios™ template projects all follow the standard layout, and the community workshop accepts mods that follow this layout without modification.

The localisation folder is worth a separate note. The Unturned engine looks for localisation files in the Localization subfolder of every mod folder. Each localisation file is named after the language it provides (English.dat, Spanish.dat, French.dat, and so on), and the engine loads the file that matches the player's selected language. If a file for the player's language is not present, the engine falls back to English.dat. The fallback is the reason that English.dat is treated as the canonical localisation file in every 57 Studios™ project.

Method 1: Drag and drop

The fastest way to open a .dat file in Notepad++ is to drag the file from File Explorer directly onto an open Notepad++ window.

1. Launch Notepad++ by clicking its icon on the Start menu or desktop.
2. Open a File Explorer window and navigate to the folder containing the .dat file you want to open.
3. Click and hold the left mouse button on the .dat file.
4. Drag the file onto the Notepad++ window.
5. Release the mouse button.

The file opens as a new tab in Notepad++.

Pro tip

You can drag multiple .dat files at once. Hold Ctrl and click each file you want to open, then drag the entire selection onto Notepad++. Each file opens as its own tab.

Best practice

For projects with many .dat files, use Notepad++'s "Folder as Workspace" feature. The feature is accessed via File → Open Folder as Workspace, and it adds a folder tree to the left panel of the Notepad++ window. Double-clicking a .dat file in the tree opens it as a new tab. The workspace feature is the recommended workflow for projects with more than a handful of .dat files.

The drag-and-drop method is the fastest of the three methods and is the recommended method when Notepad++ is already running. The method works equally well with single files and with multi-file selections, and it preserves the open-tab layout of the Notepad++ window.

Method 2: Right-click "Open with"

If Notepad++ is not already running, the right-click menu provides a one-step method to open a .dat file.

1. Open a File Explorer window and navigate to the folder containing the .dat file.
2. Right-click the .dat file. A context menu appears.
3. Hover over Open with. A submenu appears showing a list of applications.
4. Click Notepad++.

If Notepad++ does not appear in the submenu, click Choose another app and select Notepad++ from the full application list. You may need to click More apps to see the full list.

Common mistake

On Windows 11, the right-click menu is shorter by default. If you do not see "Open with" in the short menu, click "Show more options" at the bottom of the menu, or hold Shift while right-clicking to bypass the short menu.

Did you know?

Windows 11 introduced a redesigned right-click menu that shows only a subset of options by default. The full menu is accessed via the "Show more options" entry at the bottom of the short menu, or by holding Shift while right-clicking. The keyboard shortcut Shift + F10 also displays the full menu without any modifier-key combination.

The right-click method is the recommended method when Notepad++ is not already running and the modder wants to open a single .dat file without launching the editor first. The method is slower than drag-and-drop on the second and subsequent files in a session, which is why drag-and-drop becomes the preferred method once Notepad++ is open.

Method 3: Set Notepad++ as the default application for .dat files

If you work with .dat files frequently, you can configure Windows to open them with Notepad++ by default. After this is set, double-clicking a .dat file opens it in Notepad++ automatically.

1. Right-click any .dat file in File Explorer.
2. Click Open with, then Choose another app.
3. In the dialog that appears, scroll through the list and select Notepad++. If Notepad++ is not visible, click Choose an app on your PC and browse to C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe.
4. Before clicking the application, check the box labeled Always use this app to open .dat files.
5. Click OK.

From this point forward, every .dat file opens in Notepad++ when you double-click it.

Best practice

Setting Notepad++ as the default for .dat files saves time when you edit many files in a session. The 57 Studios™ workflow for content development typically involves opening and editing dozens of .dat files per project.

Common mistake

Setting Notepad++ as the default for .dat files on a workstation that is also used for non-Unturned applications. The .dat extension is used by many applications, and other applications on the workstation may produce .dat files that the modder does not want to open in a text editor. Confirm that the workstation is dedicated to Unturned-style .dat files before setting the default.

Comparison: methods of opening a DAT file

Method	Speed	Best used when	Requires Notepad++ already running?
Drag and drop	Fast	Notepad++ is already open	Yes
Right-click "Open with"	Medium	Notepad++ is not running	No
Default application	Fastest	You edit .dat files frequently	No
Notepad++ "File → Open"	Slow	You need to browse to a file from inside the editor	Yes
Command-line notepad++ <path>	Medium	You are scripting workflows	No

The command-line method is worth a separate note. Notepad++ can be invoked from a PowerShell prompt with a file path as the first argument, which is the foundation for scripted workflows that open many files in sequence. The 57 Studios™ build scripts use this invocation to open the post-build localisation file for review after every successful build.

& 'C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe' 'C:\path\to\MyItem\Item.dat'

Pro tip

The command-line invocation accepts multiple paths as multiple arguments. Each path opens as a new tab in the same Notepad++ window. Add the -multiInst flag at the start of the argument list to open the files in a new Notepad++ instance instead of the existing one.

Decision flowchart: which method to use

Anatomy of an Unturned item DAT

Once a .dat file is open, you see its contents in the Notepad++ editor. A typical Unturned item .dat looks like the following ASCII example, which represents a simple magazine item.

GUID 00112233445566778899aabbccddeeff
Type Magazine
ID 1042
Rarity Common
Caliber 1
Items 30
Amount 1
Slot Secondary
Size_X 1
Size_Y 1
Pro
Price 25
Refill

Each line is a single key followed by a single value, separated by a space. Lines without a value (such as Pro and Refill in the example above) are flags that the engine interprets as boolean true.

The following table lists the most common keys you will encounter in Unturned item .dat files.

Key	Purpose	Example value
GUID	Globally unique identifier for the item	00112233445566778899aabbccddeeff
Type	The category of item (Gun, Magazine, Attachment, Food, etc.)	Magazine
ID	The numeric identifier used by server commands	1042
Rarity	Visual rarity tier (Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, Mythical)	Common
Size_X	Inventory grid width	1
Size_Y	Inventory grid height	1
Slot	Equipment slot for wearable items	Secondary
Caliber	Ammunition caliber identifier	1
Items	Magazine capacity in rounds	30
Price	Default in-game shop price	25
Pro	Marks the item as a premium item	(no value)
Refill	Allows the item to be refilled at certain workbenches	(no value)
Amount	Stack size in the inventory	1

Pro tip

The Type key determines which other keys are valid for the file. A Gun-type item accepts keys such as Range, Firerate, and Action, while a Food-type item accepts Food, Water, and Health. Always check the Unturned modding documentation or a reference .dat for the same type before adding unfamiliar keys.

The key-value format is intentionally simple. The simplicity makes the format easy to author by hand and easy to parse by the Unturned engine. The format does not support nested structures, arrays, or comments. A line that does not begin with a recognised key is silently ignored by the engine. The lack of a comment syntax is the reason that documentation is typically maintained in a separate file (such as README.md) alongside the .dat.

Anatomy of an Unturned vehicle DAT

Vehicle .dat files follow the same key-value format as item .dat files. The set of keys is different. A typical vehicle .dat is shown below.

GUID 99887766554433221100ffeeddccbbaa
Type Vehicle
ID 2078
Rarity Rare
Speed_Max 18
Steer_Max 35
Brake 8
Fuel 600
Health 1200
Trunk_Storage_X 5
Trunk_Storage_Y 5
Passengers 4
Tire_Health 200
TurretCarrier

The recurring keys (GUID, Type, ID, Rarity) are common to every .dat file regardless of type. The type-specific keys (Speed_Max, Steer_Max, Brake, Fuel, and so on) are unique to vehicles. A modder who is familiar with item .dat files can read a vehicle .dat without difficulty by recognising the common structure and looking up the unfamiliar keys.

Key	Purpose	Example value
GUID	Globally unique identifier	99887766554433221100ffeeddccbbaa
Type	Always Vehicle for a vehicle	Vehicle
ID	Numeric identifier	2078
Speed_Max	Top speed in metres per second	18
Steer_Max	Maximum steering angle	35
Brake	Braking force coefficient	8
Fuel	Fuel tank capacity	600
Health	Vehicle hull health	1200
Trunk_Storage_X	Trunk grid width	5
Trunk_Storage_Y	Trunk grid height	5
Passengers	Maximum passenger count including driver	4
Tire_Health	Per-tire health	200
TurretCarrier	Flag indicating the vehicle supports turret mounts	(no value)

Anatomy of an Unturned animal DAT

Animal .dat files follow the same pattern. An example is shown below.

GUID 11223344556677889900aabbccddeeff
Type Animal
ID 14
Health 80
Speed_Run 6.5
Speed_Walk 1.4
Damage 35
Regen 0.6
Behaviour Hostile
Reward_ID 12
Reward_Min 1
Reward_Max 3

The animal key set is smaller than the vehicle key set and overlaps significantly with item keys. The Behaviour key is unique to animals and determines whether the animal is hostile, neutral, or passive.

Anatomy of a localisation DAT

A localisation .dat is the simplest of the four common .dat types. The file contains only the player-facing strings for a single object. An English localisation file for the magazine example shown earlier looks like the following:

Name Magazine
Description A standard thirty-round magazine for civilian rifles.

The localisation file has only two recognised keys: Name and Description. The Name key is the display name shown in the player inventory. The Description key is the multi-line tooltip text shown when the player hovers over the item. Localisation files for objects with more complex semantics (such as guns and vehicles) may include additional keys, but the Name and Description pair is the minimum.

Key	Purpose	Example value
Name	Display name in the player inventory	Magazine
Description	Tooltip text on hover	A standard thirty-round magazine.
Action	Action verb for action items	Eat

Did you know?

The Description key supports a small amount of newline handling: a backslash-n sequence in the value is rendered as a line break in the tooltip. The 57 Studios™ convention is to keep descriptions to two or three lines for readability.

Field-level reference for common keys

The following table consolidates the most commonly encountered keys across the four .dat types. The table is the recommended cheat sheet for modders who are reading an unfamiliar .dat and want to interpret the keys without searching the Unturned modding documentation.

Key	Applies to	Type	Notes
GUID	All	Hex 32	Required on every file
Type	All	Enum	Required on every file
ID	All	Integer	Required, must be unique
Rarity	Items	Enum	Common / Uncommon / Rare / Epic / Legendary / Mythical
Slot	Items	Enum	Primary / Secondary / Shirt / Pants / Vest / Hat / Mask / Glasses / Backpack
Size_X	Items	Integer	Inventory grid width
Size_Y	Items	Integer	Inventory grid height
Amount	Items	Integer	Stack size
Caliber	Items	Integer	Used to match magazines to guns
Items	Magazines	Integer	Magazine capacity
Speed_Max	Vehicles	Float	Top speed in m/s
Health	Vehicles, Animals	Float	Object health
Behaviour	Animals	Enum	Hostile / Neutral / Passive
Name	Localization	String	Player-facing name
Description	Localization	String	Tooltip text

Comparison: Unturned DAT types

The four common .dat types compared side by side.

Type	Purpose	Required keys	Common optional keys
Item	Defines an inventory item	GUID, Type, ID, Rarity, Slot, Size_X, Size_Y	Caliber, Items, Amount, Pro, Refill
Vehicle	Defines a drivable vehicle	GUID, Type, ID, Speed_Max, Steer_Max, Brake, Fuel, Health	Trunk_Storage_X, Trunk_Storage_Y, Passengers, TurretCarrier
Animal	Defines a wandering creature	GUID, Type, ID, Health, Speed_Run, Speed_Walk, Damage	Regen, Behaviour, Reward_ID, Reward_Min, Reward_Max
Localization	Player-facing strings	Name	Description, Action

Best practice

When authoring a new .dat file from scratch, start from a known-good .dat of the same type and adjust the values. This approach guarantees that every required key is present and that the value formats are correct. The 57 Studios™ template projects include reference .dat files for each type for exactly this purpose.

The Notepad++ status bar in detail

Once a .dat file is open, the Notepad++ status bar at the bottom of the window displays several pieces of information that are worth understanding before any editing takes place.

Status bar field	Position	Meaning
File path	Far left	Full path to the active file
Document type	Centre-left	Language / syntax-highlighting mode
Line count and length	Centre	Total lines and total characters
Current position	Centre-right	Line and column of the caret
Line ending	Right	CRLF, LF, or CR
Encoding	Far right	UTF-8, UTF-8-BOM, ANSI, or other
Insert mode	Far right	Insert (INS) or overwrite (OVR)

The two fields most relevant to Unturned .dat work are the line-ending field and the encoding field. The line-ending field shows the line-ending convention used by the open file (CRLF for Windows, LF for Unix, CR for legacy Mac). The encoding field shows the text encoding (UTF-8, UTF-8-BOM, ANSI, UTF-16 LE, and so on). The third reference in this section covers the encoding field in detail.

Common mistake

Ignoring the encoding indicator when opening a .dat file inherited from another modder. The encoding indicator is the only reliable way to detect a byte-order mark, and the byte-order mark is the single most common cause of an item that fails to load in the Unturned engine. The third reference in this section covers the recovery procedure.

Advanced considerations

Once a .dat file is open in Notepad++, there are several details worth noting before you start editing.

Encoding indicator

Look at the bottom-right corner of the Notepad++ window. You will see text such as UTF-8 or ANSI. This is the encoding of the file. The expected value for Unturned .dat files is UTF-8 without a byte-order mark. The next article in this section covers encoding in detail.

Line-ending indicator

To the left of the encoding indicator is the line-ending indicator. You will see text such as Windows (CR LF) or Unix (LF). The Unturned engine accepts both, but consistency within a project is preferred.

Read-only check

If a .dat file is inside a folder owned by Steam (such as the vanilla Unturned content folder), it may be marked as read-only. Editing a read-only file is allowed in Notepad++, but you cannot save changes back to the file without first removing the read-only attribute or copying the file to a workspace folder.

Critical warning

Never edit files inside the Steam-managed Unturned content folder directly. If Steam updates the game, your changes will be overwritten. Always copy .dat files to your mod project folder before editing.

Whitespace visibility

The Unturned engine treats the space between a key and its value as a single delimiter. Multiple spaces, tabs, and trailing whitespace are all accepted but make diffs harder to read. The recommended practice is to enable whitespace visibility in Notepad++ so that any inconsistency is visible at edit time.

To enable whitespace visibility:

1. Click the View menu.
2. Click Show Symbol.
3. Click Show White Space and TAB.

After enabling whitespace visibility, spaces appear as small dots and tabs appear as arrows. The visibility makes inconsistent whitespace immediately obvious and helps the modder maintain a consistent style across the project.

Pro tip

Pair whitespace visibility with line-ending visibility for the most complete view of the file's structural conventions. Both are toggled from View → Show Symbol.

Word wrap

Some .dat localisation files contain long description strings that wrap across many screen widths. Notepad++ defaults to no word wrap, which means long lines extend off the right side of the editor. To toggle word wrap, click View → Word wrap. The setting is preserved across sessions.

FAQ

Why does my .dat file appear to be one long line of text? The file is using Unix line endings (LF) and Notepad++ is configured to display Windows line endings (CRLF). Click View → Show Symbol → Show End of Line to toggle visibility of line-ending characters.

Can I open a .dat file in default Windows Notepad? Yes, but it is not recommended. Default Notepad does not show line endings, does not display the file encoding, and can introduce a byte-order mark when saving. Always use Notepad++ for Unturned .dat files.

What if a .dat file contains characters I do not recognize? The file may be encoded as something other than UTF-8. Check the encoding indicator in the bottom-right corner of Notepad++ and refer to the next article for guidance on converting the encoding.

Can I edit multiple .dat files at the same time? Yes. Notepad++ supports tabs, and you can open as many .dat files at once as you have memory for. Use Ctrl+Tab to cycle through open tabs.

Why are some keys in the .dat file missing values? Keys without values are boolean flags. The presence of the key sets the corresponding property to true.

How do I tell which Type a .dat file declares without scrolling? The Type key is conventionally placed near the top of the file, typically as the second line after the GUID line. Use Ctrl + Home to jump to the top of the file, or use Ctrl + F to search for Type .

Can I open a .dat file from inside a workshop subscription folder? Yes, the file opens successfully, but the file is read-only because Steam manages the workshop folder. Copy the file to a workspace folder before making any edits. The workshop subscription folder is located under <Steam library>/steamapps/workshop/content/304930/<workshop_id>/.

What is the difference between English.dat and Item.dat? The two files describe different aspects of the same object. Item.dat defines the engine-side properties (size, weight, damage, model GUID, and so on). English.dat defines the player-facing strings (the name and description shown in the inventory).

Why does Notepad++ open my .dat file with no syntax highlighting? The Unturned .dat format is not a registered language in the standard Notepad++ language definitions. The file is displayed as plain text. A community-maintained user-defined language file can be installed to add syntax highlighting; the file is available from the 57 Studios™ community resources page.

Can I open very large .dat files in Notepad++? Yes. Notepad++ handles files up to several hundred megabytes without issue. Unturned .dat files are typically a few hundred bytes to a few kilobytes, so file-size limits are not a practical concern.

Why does the file path in the status bar look truncated? The status bar truncates long paths to fit within the bar's width. Hover over the path with the mouse to see the full path in a tooltip, or open File → Save As to see the full path in the dialog's address bar.

How do I close a single tab without closing all open tabs? Click the X on the tab itself, or press Ctrl + W with the tab active. The Ctrl + W shortcut closes the active tab and prompts for save if there are unsaved changes.

Best practices

• Always work on a copy of a .dat file, not the original.
• Keep your project folder under version control or take regular backups before making changes.
• Check the encoding indicator in the bottom-right corner of Notepad++ before editing.
• When in doubt about a key, look at a vanilla Unturned .dat of the same type as a reference.
• Use the Folder as Workspace feature for any project that contains more than a handful of .dat files.
• Enable whitespace and line-ending visibility before editing any .dat file inherited from another modder.
• Open the localisation .dat alongside the item .dat when editing player-facing properties.
• Never edit .dat files inside the Steam-managed Unturned content folder.

Appendix A: Reading a real Unturned item DAT walk-through

The walk-through below reads a real Unturned item .dat from the 57 Studios™ template projects and explains every key. The walk-through is intended for readers who want to confirm their understanding of the format before authoring their own .dat.

The sample file is the Item.dat for a starter rifle in the 57 Studios™ "Highland Patrol" mod pack. The file contents are reproduced verbatim below.

GUID 6f9c2bd1497a4e5887a4d2bc81e5fa10
Type Gun
ID 30142
Rarity Rare
Size_X 4
Size_Y 2
Slot Primary
Caliber 7
Action Bolt
Firerate 24
Range 220
Player_Damage 60
Zombie_Damage 80
Bullets_Per_Magazine 5
Reload_Time 2.4
Recoil_Min_X -0.10
Recoil_Min_Y 1.2
Recoil_Max_X 0.10
Recoil_Max_Y 1.7
Spread_Aim 0.005
Spread_Hip 0.040
Hook Sight
Hook Tactical
Hook Grip
Hook Barrel
Magazine 30143

The walk-through interprets each line in order:

• GUID 6f9c2bd1... — The globally unique identifier for this gun. The GUID is used by other .dat files (such as the magazine and the localisation) to reference this gun.
• Type Gun — Declares that this .dat defines a gun. The Type key determines which other keys are valid.
• ID 30142 — The numeric identifier used by server commands (for example, /give @me 30142).
• Rarity Rare — The rarity tier shown in the inventory.
• Size_X 4 and Size_Y 2 — The inventory grid dimensions.
• Slot Primary — The equipment slot the gun occupies on the player's back.
• Caliber 7 — The caliber identifier. Magazines that declare the same caliber identifier are compatible with this gun.
• Action Bolt — The firing action. Other values include Auto, Semi, Pump, and Lever.
• Firerate 24 — The fire-rate cooldown in frames.
• Range 220 — The effective range in metres.
• Player_Damage 60 — The damage dealt to a player per shot.
• Zombie_Damage 80 — The damage dealt to a zombie per shot.
• Bullets_Per_Magazine 5 — The default magazine capacity if no external magazine is loaded.
• Reload_Time 2.4 — The reload animation duration in seconds.
• Recoil_* — The recoil curve parameters.
• Spread_Aim 0.005 and Spread_Hip 0.040 — The bullet spread when aiming versus hip firing.
• Hook * — The attachment hooks that this gun supports. The four hooks (Sight, Tactical, Grip, Barrel) are the standard hooks for a primary weapon.
• Magazine 30143 — The ID of the default magazine for this gun.

The walk-through illustrates the simplicity of the .dat format. Each line is a single key-value pair, the lines have no required order, and the format is human-readable from start to finish.

Best practice

When authoring a new gun, copy a known-good .dat from a similar gun and adjust the values. The recoil and spread parameters in particular are difficult to author from scratch and benefit from starting with values from a reference gun of the same action type.

Appendix B: Glossary of DAT file terminology

The following terms appear in this reference and across the wider Unturned modding documentation. The glossary is the recommended quick-reference for terms whose meaning may be unclear to readers new to the ecosystem.

• Action — In gun .dat files, the firing action (Auto, Semi, Bolt, Pump, Lever). Different actions have different fire-rate semantics.
• Asset — A generic term for any in-game object defined by a .dat. The Unturned engine refers to items, vehicles, animals, and resources collectively as assets.
• Caliber — The numeric identifier that pairs a magazine with a gun. Magazines and guns with matching caliber identifiers are compatible.
• DAT — The plain-text configuration file format used by the Unturned engine. The file extension is .dat and the format is the subject of this reference.
• GUID — A globally unique identifier, encoded as a 32-character hexadecimal string. Every .dat file declares a GUID, and other .dat files reference the GUID to express relationships.
• Hook — In gun .dat files, an attachment slot. Standard hooks are Sight, Tactical, Grip, and Barrel.
• ID — The numeric identifier used by server commands. The ID is independent of the GUID and is typically a four- or five-digit integer.
• Localisation — The set of player-facing strings (name and description) for an object. Localisation strings are stored in language-specific .dat files under the Localization subfolder.
• Mod — A package of .dat files, asset bundles, and supporting files that adds content to the Unturned game. A mod typically defines one or more items, vehicles, or animals.
• Rarity — The visual rarity tier shown in the player inventory. The standard tiers are Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Mythical.
• Slot — In item .dat files, the equipment slot the item occupies on the player. Slots include Primary, Secondary, Shirt, Pants, Vest, Hat, Mask, Glasses, and Backpack.
• Type — The category of the asset defined by the .dat file. The Type key determines which other keys are valid.
• Workshop — The Steam Workshop, the platform Unturned uses to distribute community-authored mods. Workshop subscription folders are read-only and should not be edited directly.

Appendix C: Pre-edit checklist

Before editing any .dat file, run through the checklist below. The checklist takes approximately one minute and prevents the most common mistakes that affect new modders.

Check	Expected outcome
File is in a writeable workspace folder, not Steam-managed	Yes
File is open in Notepad++ (not Notepad, WordPad, or another editor)	Yes
Encoding indicator reads UTF-8 (not UTF-8-BOM, ANSI, or other)	Yes
Line-ending indicator reads Windows (CR LF) or Unix (LF) (not Macintosh (CR))	Yes
Whitespace visibility is enabled if file was inherited from another modder	Yes
Backup of the original file exists in a sibling folder	Yes
The mod's .unity3d asset bundle is co-located with the .dat	Yes
The mod's Localization/English.dat exists if the mod has player-facing strings	Yes

The third and fourth checks are the most important. The encoding and line-ending indicators are the only reliable way to detect the most common causes of an item that fails to load in the Unturned engine. The third reference in this section covers both indicators in detail.

Pro tip

The pre-edit checklist takes approximately one minute and saves an average of thirty minutes per session by preventing the most common mistakes. The 57 Studios™ contributor onboarding programme requires every new contributor to run the checklist before their first edit.

Cross-references

• How to Install Notepad++ — The previous reference. Required reading if Notepad++ is not already installed.
• How to Save a DAT File with Correct Encoding — The next reference. Covers the encoding requirement enforced by the Unturned engine.
• How to Export an FBX — The reference for the 3D-asset side of the mod pipeline. The FBX produced there is referenced by the .dat files documented here.

Document history

Version	Date	Author	Notes
1.0	2024-03-21	57 Studios	Initial publication with the three opening methods and the item anatomy section.
1.1	2024-07-12	57 Studios	Added decision flowchart and comparison table.
1.2	2024-10-30	57 Studios	Added the FAQ section and the read-only-check advanced consideration.
1.3	2025-01-18	57 Studios	Added the localisation walk-through and the related-files mini-section.
2.0	2026-05-17	57 Studios	Major expansion: vehicle / animal / localisation anatomy sections, status bar reference, pre-edit checklist, glossary, and extended FAQ.

Appendix D: Working with multiple .dat files in a single session

The 57 Studios™ workflow typically involves editing several .dat files per session. The Notepad++ tab interface supports the workflow without modification, but a small set of conventions makes the workflow smoother.

Tab grouping

Notepad++ supports two tab groups in a single window. The two groups are arranged side by side, which allows the modder to view the item .dat and its localisation .dat simultaneously without switching tabs. To split the current tab into a new group, right-click the tab and click "Move to Other View." To return the tab to the original group, right-click it again and click "Move to Other View" a second time.

Tab ordering

The order of tabs in Notepad++ reflects the order in which the files were opened. The order is preserved across sessions via the session-state backup. The recommended ordering for a single mod is the item .dat first, the localisation .dat second, and any supporting files third. The ordering matches the order in which the modder typically reads the files when investigating a property.

Saving multiple modified files at once

Notepad++ supports a Save All command (File → Save All, or Ctrl + Shift + S in some keyboard layouts). The command saves every modified file in the current session in one action. The command is convenient when the modder has made coordinated edits across several files (for example, renaming an item across the .dat, the localisation .dat, and the asset bundle metadata).

Pro tip

The Save All command interacts with the encoding setting on each file individually. If one of the open files has the wrong encoding, the Save All command saves it with the wrong encoding. Verify the encoding on each file before issuing Save All for the first time in a session.

Appendix E: Common diagnostic patterns

The patterns below are the diagnostic patterns the 57 Studios™ team uses when an item, vehicle, or animal fails to load in the Unturned engine after a .dat edit. The patterns are documented here to give new modders a starting point for their own diagnostic workflow.

Symptom	First check	Likely cause
Item does not appear in inventory after /give	Encoding indicator	UTF-8-BOM byte-order mark on the file
Item appears with default name "MISSING NAME"	Localisation file path	English.dat not located in Localization/ subfolder
Vehicle spawns invisible	Asset bundle path	.unity3d not co-located with .dat
Animal spawns and immediately falls through the world	Behaviour key	Behaviour set to unsupported value
Gun reloads instantly with no animation	Magazine key	Magazine value points to non-existent GUID
Item has wrong icon	Asset bundle	Icon GUID mismatch between .dat and .unity3d
Localised name displays as English	Localisation file	Language file for player's language missing
Server fails to start after adding mod	All .dat files	One or more files has wrong encoding
Item appears in inventory but cannot be picked up	Slot key	Slot value invalid for the item type
Item has wrong inventory size	Size_X / Size_Y	Values do not match the icon

Common mistake

Diagnosing a load failure by trial and error rather than by checking the status bar indicators first. The encoding indicator catches the most common cause of a load failure in two seconds, and the line-ending indicator catches the second most common cause in the same time. Always check both indicators before any other diagnostic step.

Appendix F: Performance considerations when opening many files

Notepad++ can open thousands of files in a single session without performance degradation. The 57 Studios™ team has tested up to 2,000 tabs in a single Notepad++ window, and the editor remained responsive throughout. The performance characteristics are documented below for modders working on large mod packs.

File count	Memory footprint	Startup time	Responsiveness
1 - 50	< 100 MB	< 1 second	Excellent
50 - 200	100 - 250 MB	1 - 3 seconds	Excellent
200 - 500	250 - 500 MB	3 - 8 seconds	Good
500 - 1,000	500 MB - 1 GB	8 - 15 seconds	Good
1,000 - 2,000	1 - 2 GB	15 - 30 seconds	Acceptable
> 2,000	> 2 GB	> 30 seconds	Variable

Did you know?

The Notepad++ tab bar wraps to multiple rows when the number of tabs exceeds the bar's width. The wrap is configurable via Settings → Preferences → General → Tab Bar. The recommended setting for projects with more than 30 tabs is "Multi-line," which displays all tab names without truncation.

For projects with more than 100 tabs, the Folder as Workspace feature is the recommended workflow. The workspace feature treats the project folder as a tree in the left sidebar, and the modder opens only the files they are actively editing. The workspace approach avoids the memory and performance overhead of keeping every project file in a tab.

Next steps

You now know how to open a .dat file in Notepad++ and how to read its contents. The next reference, How to Save a DAT File with Correct Encoding, covers the most important detail of working with Unturned .dat files: saving them in the encoding the Unturned engine expects.

The next reference is the last in this three-part section. The three references together form the complete reference for the editor side of the Unturned mod-development workflow. Readers who complete all three references will have a working Notepad++ installation, the ability to open and read any Unturned .dat file, and the ability to save edits in the encoding the Unturned engine accepts.

After the third reference, the knowledge base continues with the macOS modding guide. The macOS guide is the recommended next section for modders who are evaluating their development-platform choice and want to understand why many professional Unturned modders work from macOS despite Unturned being a Windows-first game. The macOS guide includes the thermal-output reference that documents the seasonal scheduling framework used across the 57 Studios™ project portfolio.