Load Order tab

Rearrange creations by hand, or let Auto-Sort propose an order for you. Nothing is written until you confirm.

The list

Each row is a creation (or a group when one creation ships multiple plugin files — the group is locked together and moves as a unit). The numeric prefix is the current read index. Row colour reflects state:

• Default — matches what's on disk in Plugins.txt.
• Highlighted (dirty) — the row has been moved since the list was loaded.
• Error (red) — the plugin file is missing or the row fails TES4 validation.

Manual reordering

Click-and-drag a row up or down. The dirty-state pattern means you can move rows freely; nothing commits until you hit Apply (or Revert to discard all pending moves). You can also use the keyboard: arrow keys select, Alt+↑/ ↓ moves.

Auto-Sort

The Auto Sort button runs the full sorter pipeline. All sorters run; their constraints are merged by priority (higher wins):

When Auto-Sort completes, the Diff dialog opens so you can review the proposal before anything changes.

See How Auto-Sort works and Sorter priority for the mechanics.

Snapshots

Save Snapshot writes the current load order to a timestamped JSON file. Load Snapshot restores one — useful for A/B-testing orderings or rolling back after an experiment.

Safety guards

• Multi-file groups — creations with multiple .esm/.esp files move as one unit.
• TES4 validation on Apply — any proposal that violates a master dependency is refused outright (see TES4 masters).
• Atomic write — Plugins.txt is written to a temp file and renamed, so a power loss can't leave it half-written.