Version Information

This page provides information on how Third Party applications can detect where the User Folder is located, and how to detect the version of the installed copy of the game.

User Folder

Important - User Folder Changes in 0.37

Starting with version 0.37, the default User Folder location has changed.

The previous default layout used a versioned folder, for example:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BeamNG.drive\0.36\

The new default layout uses a common BeamNG directory and a current folder:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BeamNG\BeamNG.drive\current\

Third party applications should not assume that the active User Folder is named after the game version. For current versions, the active folder is generally named:

current

The safest way for users to open the active User Folder is still:

Launcher → Manage User Folder → Open in Explorer

On Linux, the equivalent user data location follows the XDG Base Directory Specification.

Default User Folder Location

Windows

Current default base location:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BeamNG\BeamNG.drive

Expanded example:

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\BeamNG\BeamNG.drive

The active User Folder is usually:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BeamNG\BeamNG.drive\current

Expanded example:

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\BeamNG\BeamNG.drive\current

The BeamNG configuration/version INI file is located in the parent BeamNG directory:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BeamNG\BeamNG.drive.ini

Expanded example:

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\BeamNG\BeamNG.drive.ini

Linux

On Linux, the User Folder uses the XDG data directory.

The base path is:

$XDG_DATA_HOME/BeamNG/BeamNG.drive

If XDG_DATA_HOME is not set, the XDG default is:

~/.local/share

So the default base location is usually:

~/.local/share/BeamNG/BeamNG.drive

The active User Folder is usually:

$XDG_DATA_HOME/BeamNG/BeamNG.drive/current

or, if XDG_DATA_HOME is not set:

~/.local/share/BeamNG/BeamNG.drive/current

The BeamNG configuration/version INI file is located in the parent BeamNG directory:

$XDG_DATA_HOME/BeamNG/BeamNG.drive.ini

or, if XDG_DATA_HOME is not set:

~/.local/share/BeamNG/BeamNG.drive.ini

Note About XDG

XDG_DATA_HOME is the standard Linux environment variable for per-user application data.

If unset, applications should treat it as:

$HOME/.local/share

Therefore:

${XDG_DATA_HOME:-$HOME/.local/share}/BeamNG/BeamNG.drive

is the recommended way to describe the Linux path.

Custom User Folder Location

If the user has customized their User Path through the BeamNG.drive Launcher, third party applications should use that custom path instead of the default location.

Windows Registry Override

On Windows, when the User Path is customized through the Launcher, a registry value is created at:

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\BeamNG\BeamNG.drive\userpath_override

This value contains the custom User Folder path.

startup.ini Override

It is also possible for users to override the User Folder path by editing the startup.ini file located in the program’s root path.

Third party applications should check for these overrides before falling back to the default User Folder location.

Legacy User Folder Locations

Versions Older Than 0.22

Prior to version 0.22, the User Folder was not separated by game version.

The default User Folder location was:

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Documents\BeamNG.drive

or, on some systems:

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\My Documents\BeamNG.drive

Versions 0.22 to 0.36

Starting with version 0.22, the User Folder became versioned.

The default Windows base location was:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BeamNG.drive

The actual user data was stored in a version-specific subfolder, for example:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BeamNG.drive\0.36

For versions older than 0.22.2.0, the version folder could use the full version string, for example:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BeamNG.drive\0.22.0.0

For versions 0.22.2.0 and newer, the version folder generally used the shortened version string, for example:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BeamNG.drive\0.22

Versions 0.37 and Newer

Starting with version 0.37, the default layout changed to:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BeamNG\BeamNG.drive\current

On Linux:

${XDG_DATA_HOME:-$HOME/.local/share}/BeamNG/BeamNG.drive/current

Third party applications should prefer the current layout, but should keep legacy paths in mind when supporting older game versions.

Determining the Game Version

Third party applications can determine the installed game version using the following methods.

Current Versions

For current versions, version information can be obtained from the BeamNG INI file:

Windows

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BeamNG\BeamNG.drive.ini

Linux

${XDG_DATA_HOME:-$HOME/.local/share}/BeamNG/BeamNG.drive.ini

Third party applications should parse this file as an INI-style configuration file.

Versions Equal To 0.21.0.0

For version 0.21.0.0, a Windows Registry value is available at:

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\BeamNG\BeamNG.drive\version

Versions Greater Than 0.21.0.0 and Older Layouts

Older versions may also provide version information through:

%USER_FOLDER%\version.txt

Some older Windows installations may also provide:

%USER_FOLDER%\latest.lnk

which is a shortcut to the latest versioned User Folder used by the game.

Versions Older Than 0.21.0.0

There is no reliable way to obtain version information for these versions of the game.

Accessing the User Folder Manually

Users can always open the active User Folder through the Launcher:

Launcher → Manage User Folder → Open in Explorer

On Linux, the same Launcher option opens the folder in the system file manager.

This is the recommended method for users, because it respects custom User Folder paths and version-specific layout changes.