Guide: How to manually update the app for new seasons (Season 16+)

[diegmon-cpu]

How to update SnowRunner XML Editor for new seasons

Context

SnowRunner XML Editor has not been updated since April 2025 (v1.2.0, Season 15).
The game however continues receiving new seasons and DLCs with new trucks.
Since the app is no longer maintained, new trucks do not appear automatically.

This guide explains how to manually force the app to read the updated game files so new trucks from Season 16 onwards appear correctly in the editor.

Requirements

• SnowRunner XML Editor installed
• SnowRunner updated to the latest season via Steam/Epic

Step 1 - Reset the size cache

The app uses a file called sizes.json to track the size of initial.pak. If the size matches what it has saved, it skips the unpacking process.
By setting it to 0 we force the app to detect that something changed.

Open this file with Notepad:
[editor folder]\resources\app\.vite\build\jsons\sizes.json

Change the content to:
{"initial":0,"mods":{}}

Save and close.

Step 2 - Delete mainTemp folder

The app stores the unpacked game files in a folder called mainTemp. By deleting it we make sure there are no old files that could conflict with the new ones we are about to unpack.

Open CMD inside the editor folder and run:
rmdir /s /q "resources\app\.vite\build\mainTemp"

Step 3 - Unpack initial.pak manually

The game stores all truck data inside a compressed file called initial.pak.
The app needs to unpack it to read the truck XML files. We do this manually using WinRAR which is already included with the editor, no need to install it separately.

Open CMD inside the editor folder and run:
"resources\app\.vite\build\winrar\WinRAR.exe" x "[path to initial.pak]" "resources\app\.vite\build\mainTemp\"

Replace [path to initial.pak] with the full path to the initial.pak file in your SnowRunner installation folder, for example:

• Steam: D:\Steam\steamapps\common\SnowRunner\preload\paks\client\initial.pak
• Epic: C:\Program Files\Epic Games\SnowRunner\preload\paks\client\initial.pak

When WinRAR asks to replace files, click "Yes to all".
(This message only appears if mainTemp already exists from a previous run) Wait for it to finish, it may take a few minutes.

Note: The WinRAR included with the editor may appear in Russian since it was configured by the developer. This is completely normal.
"Да для всех" means "Yes to all".

Step 4 - Verify new DLC folders appeared

Each season and DLC has its own folder inside the _dlc directory. By listing those folders we can confirm the new season was unpacked correctly.

Run in CMD:
dir /b "resources\app\.vite\build\mainTemp\[media]\_dlc"

You should see new folders for the new season (e.g. dlc_16, dlc_17, etc.)

Note - Trucks without images

At this point you can already open the app and the new trucks will appear in the list. However they will show a generic placeholder image instead of their actual picture.

If you want to add proper images for the new trucks, follow steps 5 and 6. This is completely optional, the editor works perfectly without them.

Step 5 - Check which trucks are new

Each truck has its own XML file inside the DLC folder. By listing those files we know exactly which trucks are new and which ones will need an image.

Run in CMD (replace XX with the new season number):
dir /b "resources\app\.vite\build\mainTemp\[media]\_dlc\dlc_XX\classes\trucks\*.xml"

Those are the trucks that will appear without images in the editor.

Step 6 - Add images for new trucks

The app looks for a .webp image with the same name as the truck XML file. If it does not find one it shows a generic placeholder instead.
To add proper images for the new trucks follow these steps:

• Get images in .webp format for each new truck
• Name them exactly like the XML file
  (e.g. if the XML is voron_g5352.xml the image must be voron_g5352.webp)
• Resize them to 328x459 pixels to match the app's image size
• Copy them to:
  [editor folder]\resources\app\.vite\renderer\src\renderer\pages\images\trucks\

Step 7 - Open the app

Open SnowRunner XML Editor and verify the new trucks appear correctly.
If you followed steps 5 and 6, the new trucks should appear with their images and all their stats available for editing.
If you skipped steps 5 and 6, the new trucks will appear with a generic placeholder image but will work perfectly for editing.

Credits

This guide was created with the help of Claude (AI assistant by Anthropic).
The solution was found through trial and error by a user with limited knowledge of the tools involved, which means it should be accessible to anyone regardless of their technical background.

[FacchiniVictor]

Hello.
First of all, thank you for your guide, I was looking for something similar a few days ago. I appreciate you taking the time to write it.

Now, regarding updating the files that are read by the program, you can do it as follows:
Instead of using commands via CMD (which can be more work), you can simply go to your INITIAL.PAK file in the game directory and extract the following files:

[MEDIA]
[STRINGS]
edited

And place them directly inside the "MainTemp" folder. Replacing them if necessary.

If you extract all the folders and files inside the Initial.pak archive, XmlEditor will delete and re-extract the files, but without the new DLCs.

[Aqvaris]

and these are the corresponding windows powershell commands
Remove-Item "resources\app\.vite\build\mainTemp" -Recurse -Force
& "resources\app\.vite\build\winrar\WinRAR.exe" x "[path to initial.pak]" "resources\app\.vite\build\mainTemp\"
Get-ChildItem -LiteralPath "resources\app\.vite\build\mainTemp\[media]\_dlc" -Name

[VidaDeGamer]

poderia fazer um video no youtube ! nao estou conseguindo !

[z0mb1c]

After doing this exact process I managed to get it to work and so then I proceeded to add the images for the trucks and then suddenly the program reverted and deleted all the dlc files. After repeating the same process it no longer works. I repeated the process about 2 more times to make sure of everything and still upon launching the program it doesn't show the dlc files. What would be happening that it keeps deleting the dlc files?

[Aqvaris]

I was thinking of making a new comment but never gotten to it. However, here are the correct steps plus a hint:
Start
Let the program unpack
Now it gets tricky because I haven't got the time to fully test this but the next step should be (thanks FacchiniVictor) to manually extract the initial.pak in MainTemp folder without touching the sizes.json file at all
Than start the editor and it should show you all the new trucks and trailers
Hint: now go to the fandom wiki and grab yourselves all the pictures of new trucks and place them in....the aforementioned folder (they're already the correct format & size).
Honorable mention: if, for whatever reason, you made any change to the initial.pak you'll have to start over because the program will unpack again.
I always forget to insert the off-road trailers before I start
When the next season goes live (not PTS) I will try and do a thorough tests and probably edit this comment
Hint 2: it's everything form dlc 16_5 to the most recent one (19 probably or something like that)

[VidaDeGamer]

conseguir botar para aparece os caminhoes sem imagem ! muito obrigado pelo tutorial, em breve se eu conseguir botar para aparece as imagem dou um alo na minha evolução rsrsrs