Getting started

Requirements

Windows 10 or Windows 11. GMC Community Locker is provided as a single standalone executable with no additional installation or runtime required.

Installation

Download the latest release and run it. On first launch, Windows SmartScreen may display an "unrecognized app" warning while the application builds up reputation. This is normal for newer or independently distributed applications and does not necessarily indicate a problem with the download.

Activation

When you launch Locker for the first time without a licence installed, it displays your machine fingerprint and allows you to load a licence file.

1. Copy the fingerprint shown on screen.
2. Send it to us.
3. When you receive your .lic file, load it from the same screen.

The fingerprint identifies your PC, not you personally. Each licence is tied to the machine it was issued for and cannot be used on a different PC.

Building a package

1. Add your package — choose either a source folder or an existing .zip archive.
2. Choose the output location — where the finished protected archive will be saved.
3. Choose your protection settings — sensible defaults are already selected for most builds.
4. Build — progress and any warnings are displayed in the log panel while the package is being built.

Choosing protection settings

Every protection can be enabled or disabled independently. Some options depend on others and will be selected automatically when required. Hover over any setting to see a plain-language explanation of what it does.

One option worth highlighting is the H2 Trap Asset. By default, Locker creates decoy content using copies of files from your own mod. If you prefer, you can specify a different file to use instead, allowing the decoy content to be generated without duplicating your original assets.

Verifying a build

The Verify feature checks a protected archive against the same loading rules used by the game, confirming it still loads correctly after protection has been applied. We recommend running Verify before every release, especially after changing your protection settings.

Updates

Locker automatically checks for updates when it starts. If you prefer, automatic update checks can be disabled from the Licence Info screen. Every downloaded update is verified using its digital release signature before installation.

Command-line reference

Every GUI action has a scriptable equivalent, useful for CI pipelines that need to build protected releases automatically. Running the tool with no arguments at all launches the GUI; anything below runs headless instead. Flags that take a value also accept the --flag=value form.

gmc_community_locker.exe [options] [<source> [output.scs]]

Most options in the Building table below combine with a build this way. A few are standalone actions instead — --verify, --list, --fingerprint, --activate, --diagnose-connection, --version, --update, and --selftest — and don't take a source/output at all; see each one's own row below for its exact usage.

Building

<source> [output.scs]

Builds a package from a source folder or .zip. The output path is optional — if omitted, it's derived from the source name.

--protections <ids>, -p

Comma-separated protection IDs to enable, e.g. 1,2,4,10. See --list below for the full set.

--exclude <ids>, -e

Comma-separated protection IDs to leave off, subtracted after --protections.

--trap-asset <path>

Custom decoy asset for protection H2, instead of duplicating your own mod's files.

--pkg <path> [--pkg <path> ...] [--out <path> ...]

Builds two or more packages as one declared, always-bundled multi-part set — only for packages that always ship and load together, never ones a player could enable independently. A single --pkg behaves the same as the plain positional form above.

--dry-run

Prints what would be built (source, output, requested protections) without actually building it.

--quiet, -q

Suppresses the build log output.

Verifying & inspecting

--verify <path> [more.scs ...]

Structural + traversal check of one or more already-built archives.

--list

Lists every registered protection and its ID.

Licensing

--fingerprint

Prints this machine's fingerprint, for requesting a license.

--activate <license_file.lic>

Installs a received license file for this machine.

--diagnose-connection

Detailed per-host network diagnostic (no license needed) — run this and share the output if activation or license checks fail with a network error.

Utility

--version

Prints the installed version and exits.

--update

Checks for and installs an update, then exits.

--selftest

Runs the app's internal sanity checks — handy for confirming a fresh install is healthy.

Examples

Build with a specific set of protections enabled:

gmc_community_locker.exe "C:\mods\my_mod" "C:\build\my_mod.scs" --protections 1,2,4,10

Build two parts of the same mod that always ship together, as one declared set:

gmc_community_locker.exe --pkg "C:\mods\part_a" --pkg "C:\mods\part_b"

Verify a finished archive before shipping it:

gmc_community_locker.exe --verify "C:\build\my_mod.scs"