Forge Pipes 0.1.5 — public beta

Build copper pipe networks between storage chests and production stations in Valheim. Automatically feed ingredients and fuel, collect finished products, and run charcoal kilns at twice their normal speed with four times their normal wood capacity.

Install the same version on every player's PC, including the host. This is not a server-only mod.

Release status

This is an experimental beta. Version 0.1.5 compiles and passes automated graph, alignment and production-rule tests, plus checks against the installed game's method signatures. Those checks do not run Valheim's renderer or simulate a live multiplayer session.

Earlier versions had broken pipe models, chest placement rejection and disappearing chest previews. Changes addressing these issues are included, but the latest chest-placement and visibility fix has not yet been confirmed in-game. Multiplayer inventory conservation, saving/reloading custom pieces and all machine variants still need live validation. Back up your world and character before trying this beta; start in a test world.

Requirements and compatibility

Item	Requirement or status
Game	Valheim on Windows PC; built against Valheim 1.0.15
Mod loader	BepInExPack Valheim 5.4.2350
Hosting	Designed for a player hosting through the in-game Start Server option
Multiplayer	Same Forge Pipes version and BepInEx installed for every participant
Dedicated servers	Not supported as a confirmed deployment in this beta; automation depends on a local player for access checks
Other platforms	Linux, macOS, Steam Deck and crossplay have not been validated; no console installation package is provided
Other dependencies	No Jotunn dependency; BepInEx is downloaded separately
Configuration	Fixed settings in this release; no user configuration file or custom hotkeys

Game updates can change the methods this mod patches. Other game versions are not verified. Avoid combining it with other kiln-capacity, auto-feed, auto-store, placement or structural-support mods until tested together.

BepInEx dependency: BepInExPack Valheim 5.4.2350.

Installation

Through Thunderstore or a compatible mod manager

Once this mod has been published, select Valheim and your intended profile in your mod manager, install Forge Pipes from the publisher's listing, and allow the BepInEx dependency to install. Launch the modded profile. Every friend needs the same version in their own profile.

For a locally downloaded ZIP, use the manager's local-mod import feature if available. Otherwise follow the manual steps below using that profile's folder as the destination. Interface names vary by manager.

Manual installation

1. Close Valheim. Back up the world and character you will use.

2. Install the linked BepInExPack Valheim package following its instructions. Its files must be in the correct game installation; do not put this mod into BepInEx's core or patchers folders.

3. Locate your Valheim game directory. In Steam, use the game's Manage > Browse local files command.

4. Extract this ZIP into a temporary folder. Copy the included BepInEx folder into the Valheim game directory and merge folders. The resulting file must be:

   Valheim/BepInEx/plugins/ForgePipes/ForgePipes.dll

5. Keep only one active copy of ForgePipes.dll. If updating an older installation in another plugin subfolder, remove that old DLL rather than installing both copies.

6. Launch Valheim through BepInEx. Check BepInEx/LogOutput.log for Loading [Forge Pipes 0.1.5].

7. The host selects Start Server as usual. All friends install the same mod version before joining.

If using a mod-manager profile, install the DLL in that profile's BepInEx/plugins/ForgePipes folder and launch that profile. Installing into the Steam directory may not affect a separate profile.

The manifest, icon, README and changelog are distribution information; the game loads the DLL. This archive does not include Valheim or BepInEx assemblies, a world save, or an automatic installer.

What the mod adds

• Ten craftable copper pipe pieces: 2 m straight pipe, horizontal elbow, tee junction, 2 m vertical pipe, up elbow, down elbow, chest connector, wood/ore inlet, fuel inlet and product outlet.
• Grainy copper finish and Hammer icons generated from the pipe models.
• Colored connection guides for chests and supported production stations.
• Automatic alignment when attaching pipes to ports or other pipes, and when attaching an upright chest to a horizontal pipe socket.
• Pipes that remain static without ground support. Socket-connected floating chests receive support while attached; removing the pipe returns the chest to normal support rules. Normal combat damage still applies.
• Charcoal kilns with half the normal processing interval and four times the normal wood queue. Existing and new kilns are modified when loaded with the mod.
• Automatic ingredient/fuel supply and finished-product collection through connected chest networks.

The machine routing recognizes charcoal kilns, smelters, blast furnaces and Eitr refineries through their native inputs/outputs. Eitr refinery and modded-machine behavior have not been verified in a live world. Smelter, blast-furnace and refinery production speeds and capacities are not boosted by this mod.

Building and connecting

Discover Wood and Copper, equip the Hammer and stand near a workbench. Look for names beginning Forge pipe in the Crafting or Transport filter, or search for Forge pipe. Every pipe piece costs 2 Wood + 1 Copper, recovered through normal dismantling.

Port	Color	Purpose
Chest	Blue	Bidirectional chest access
Ingredient	Green	Wood or ore/material input
Fuel	Gray	Station fuel, normally coal
Product	Gold	Completed coal, ingots or the station's native output

1. Select a pipe. Nearby eligible chests and stations display circular ports.
2. Aim at a port or a free pipe end. Ordinary pipe ends can connect directly to station/chest ports. Optional matching connectors attach their wide collar to the port and leave the narrow end available for pipe runs.
3. Extend the route using straight pipes, bends and tees. End sockets must meet and face each other. Crossing the middle of another pipe does not connect networks.
4. To place a chest at a pipe, select the chest and aim at a free horizontal pipe socket or the wide end of a chest connector. Preview ports appear before placement and the chest aligns upright. Vertical sockets do not tip a chest onto its side.
5. The game's alternative-placement control temporarily allows free placement. Standard manual snap selection remains available. Controls follow your game settings.
6. Hover over placed pipes to see their network status. Put materials in the connected chest, close it, and allow a few seconds for the first transfer.

Ports are matched within 0.18 m with opposing directions. Closely aligned sockets are more reliable than visually overlapping pipe bodies. Chests must be ordinary player-built, public, stationary containers; personal/private chests, boats, carts and dungeon containers are excluded.

Example: one chest and one kiln

Connect a public chest to the kiln's green input with a pipe run. Put ordinary Wood in the chest and close it. The kiln takes Wood from that network and returns completed Coal to it if no separate connected output-chest route is available. Leave room in the chest for Coal.

A dedicated route from the gold kiln outlet to another chest takes priority for output. The kiln can also use its connected output route for Wood when no input-chest route exists. It needs no separate fuel connector. Pipe feeding accepts ordinary Wood only; fine wood, core wood and ancient bark are not automatically burned. Manual loading follows the normal game rules. Smoke still needs a clear exit.

Example: smelting line

• Ore chest → pipe network → green furnace ingredient port.
• Coal chest → pipe network → gray furnace fuel port.
• Gold furnace output port → pipe network → finished-product chest.

A tee can share a chest with multiple stations. Use separate networks when you need to control which chest feeds or receives a particular material. There are no item filters, sorting priorities or guaranteed balancing between multiple connected chests.

Transfer behavior and limits

• Service runs roughly once per second, up to ten ingredient items and ten fuel items per machine per tick, respecting native capacity.
• Ingredient selection follows matching items found in connected inventories. A station accepts its native supported recipes.
• Opening a chest pauses pipe access. Ownership changes can add a short delay after it closes.
• Finished output is deposited when the station would normally release it. If no connected chest is ready or has room, the remaining output drops at the station normally.
• Existing ground drops are not collected. The mod does not move items directly between two chests or two machines.
• Machine simulation and its participating chest must have compatible local network ownership. The mod requests chest ownership before moving items.
• Ward access is checked for the local player simulating the station; a lack of access pauses automation.
• The machines, chests and every pipe segment in a route must be loaded. Unloaded areas and offline worlds do not keep producing through pipes.
• Pipes do not animate items traveling through them.
• The mod does not replace the chest inventory format. Custom pipe prefabs are saved in the world and need this mod to load correctly.
• Multiplayer version matching is a player responsibility; this release does not provide an enforced version handshake.

Updating

Close the game on all participating PCs, back up the world, and replace the old ForgePipes DLL with the new one. Update every participant together. Do not keep two versions in separate plugin folders. Relaunch and confirm the version in the log. Existing pipe prefab names are retained through 0.1.5; save/reload compatibility is still part of beta testing.

Removing safely

1. While the mod is installed, let enlarged kiln queues empty.
2. Give any floating chests ordinary foundations/support before removing their pipes.
3. Dismantle all Forge pipe pieces, save and quit.
4. Remove ForgePipes.dll from every participant's active plugin folder or uninstall it from their mod-manager profiles.

Loading a world without the mod while custom pieces remain can remove those pieces. Restore a backup if needed; reinstalling the DLL does not guarantee recovery of pieces already removed from a saved world.

Troubleshooting and bug reports

Problem	Things to check
No Forge pieces	Correct active profile; log shows 0.1.5; Wood and Copper discovered; Hammer near workbench; search Crafting/Transport
Chest says invalid placement	Aim at a free horizontal endpoint; move away from the player/walls; confirm all players updated; release alternative placement. The newest docking fix remains unconfirmed in-game.
Chest preview disappears or models look wrong	Confirm only one DLL is loaded. Report the chest type, pipe piece, screenshot and log; visibility fixes in this beta need player verification.
No transfers	Public player-built chest; close lid; correct materials and ports; endpoint alignment; capacity and free space; ward access; wait several seconds
Coal/ingots drop on the ground	No ready output chest, no free space, open chest or ownership handoff. Ground drops are not later vacuumed up.
Floating chest loses support	Its socket must actually connect to a loaded pipe. Removing or unloading the pipe can remove that support.
Failure after a game update	Verify the game version and check the mod's release page for a compatible build

Report issues on the download page where you obtained this mod, if the publisher enables comments or provides a support link. Include Forge Pipes and Valheim versions, host/client role, chest and machine types, a small reproduction, other relevant mods, and excerpts from BepInEx/LogOutput.log. Review logs for account IDs, server addresses and other personal details before posting them. Never send passwords or an entire user-profile folder.

Beta checks worth trying first

In a test world, build a short chest/kiln run, check manual kiln capacity and production time, then count Wood and Coal through a batch. Test chest previews on straight pipes and chest connectors, rotated chests, full/open chests, disconnecting a pipe, saving/reloading, and a friend entering/leaving while production runs. These are suggested checks, not claims that all have passed.

Credits and contents

Forge Pipes is an unofficial Valheim mod and is not affiliated with Iron Gate. The archive contains the Forge Pipes DLL, original package icon and documentation. Valheim and BepInEx are not redistributed. See CHANGELOG.md for changes through 0.1.5.