Hammer Search

Find the build piece you want without browsing every tab. Hammer Search adds a search field above Valheim's build menu and filters pieces by name or build material, with the closest matches first.

• Search vanilla and modded pieces, materials, and build categories.
• Use the same search field with the hammer, hoe, and cultivator.
• Search localized display names, with token and prefab names as fallbacks.
• Keep your filter while placing pieces and cycling through them with the scroll wheel.
• Client-side: install on your game client; no server installation is needed.

Requires BepInExPack Valheim. No Jotunn or additional mod dependency is required.

Installation

Mod manager

Install HammerSearch through Thunderstore Mod Manager or r2modman. The declared BepInEx dependency installs automatically. Launch Valheim using the mod manager.

Manual

1. Install BepInExPack Valheim and follow its setup instructions.
2. Extract this package and copy HammerSearch.dll into Valheim/BepInEx/plugins/HammerSearch/ (create the folder if needed).
3. Launch the game once to generate the configuration file.

To uninstall, remove HammerSearch.dll or uninstall it through your mod manager.

Using the search

1. Equip a build tool and open its build menu.
2. Click the search field or press Left Ctrl+F to focus it, then type.
3. Press Esc to leave the field and resume normal keyboard controls. Click the clear button to clear the search.

Automatic focus is off by default. While the field has focus, movement and other gameplay keyboard input are blocked so typing does not move your character.

Search	Finds
door	Pieces with matching names or materials, ranked by relevance
stone	Name matches first, followed by pieces built from stone
black marble wall	Pieces where all three terms match a name or material
m:bronze	Materials only: pieces that require bronze
n:wall	Names (also descriptions if enabled), ignoring materials

Search is case-insensitive. mat: and name: are aliases for m: and n:. Material searches require MatchMaterials to be enabled.

For each term, exact matches rank above prefixes, word prefixes, and other substring matches. Name matches score better than material matches. Scores are combined for multiword searches, and ties preserve the original piece order within each category.

If your current category has no matches, the menu switches to the first category that does. Searching only filters pieces the game already makes available; it does not unlock recipes or remove building requirements.

Persistent filters

By default, your filter stays active after you close the build menu. Reopening shows the same results, and scroll-wheel piece cycling stays within those results. The query is kept for the current game session, not saved across game restarts.

If pieces seem to be missing, reopen the menu and clear the search. To reset the search whenever the menu closes, set KeepFilterOnClose = false in the config, or use the F5 console:

hammersearch_persist off

hammersearch_persist on enables persistence; hammersearch_persist with no argument toggles it. The preference is saved to the config. Turning it off while the build menu is closed also clears an active filter immediately. No devcommands is required. Enable Valheim's console with the -console launch argument if F5 does not open it.

Configuration

Config file: BepInEx/config/com.austinwitt.hammersearch.cfg (inside your profile when using a mod manager). Close the game before editing the file manually. An optional Configuration Manager can also expose these settings in-game.

Section	Setting	Default	Effect
General	Enabled	true	Enable the plugin; restart after changing this setting
Search	MatchMaterials	true	Include build materials in searches
Search	MatchDescriptions	false	Include piece descriptions in searches
Search	AutoSwitchCategory	true	Switch categories when the current one has no matches
Search	KeepFilterOnClose	true	Keep the active filter after closing the menu
Input	FocusKey	Left Ctrl+F	Focus the search field
Input	FocusOnOpen	false	Focus the field automatically when the menu opens
Layout	FieldWidth / FieldHeight	280 / 32	Search field size in pixels
Layout	OffsetX / OffsetY	0 / 0	Adjust position if another UI mod overlaps the field

Restart after changing layout settings so the field is recreated with the new dimensions and offsets.

Compatibility and troubleshooting

Hammer Search reads the live piece tables and build requirements, so pieces added by other mods can be searched without a predefined list. It uses the game's localized text, with fallback names for untranslated content. Results remain grouped by build category.

It changes the available-piece lists and attaches a field to the build HUD. Mods that replace those lists or rebuild the HUD may need compatibility testing. Position conflicts can be adjusted with the layout settings.

This mod changes the client UI and does not write to world saves or send search data over the network. Other players do not need it installed.

If the field does not appear, check that you launched with BepInEx and that Enabled is true. Look in BepInEx/LogOutput.log for HammerSearch 1.0.0 loaded. and Search field added to the build menu. If reporting a problem, include the game version, mod version, mod list, and relevant log entries.