Applying to Game

After building your skin, you need to install it in Football Manager’s skins directory and activate it in-game.

Installation Methods

Automatic Installation

FM Skin Builder can copy files directly:

1. Build your skin
2. Click Apply to Game (or Build > Game Status)
3. Files are copied to FM’s bundles directory
4. Ready to activate in FM

Manual Installation

** DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK, PLEASE BACK UP FILES **

Copy files yourself:

1. Build your skin
2. Open packages/ folder in your project
3. Copy all contents
4. Paste to FM’s bundles directory (see paths in docs)

Verifying Installation

Visual Check

After applying your skin, verify your changes:

1. Look for your color changes
2. Check modified icons/backgrounds
3. Navigate different screens

Troubleshooting Visual Issues

If something looks wrong:

1. Colors not changed: Variable names might not match
2. Icons missing: Asset mapping may be incorrect
3. Layout broken: UXML changes may have issues

See Troubleshooting for detailed help.

Updating Your Skin

Development Workflow

Typical update cycle:

1. Make changes in FM Skin Builder
2. Build
3. Apply to Game
4. Launch FM
5. Verify changes
6. Restore backup before building again
7. Repeat if needed

Sharing Your Skin

Preparing for Distribution

1. Build final version
2. Test thoroughly
3. Package the packages/ folder contents

Distribution Package

Create a zip containing:

my-skin/
├── [bundle files]
├── skin.json
└── README.txt  (optional)

Installation Instructions for Users

Include these instructions:

1. Extract the zip file
2. Copy to the bundles folder in FM’s installation directory
3. Launch FM26

Tips

Use Consistent Naming

Name your skin folder clearly:

• Good: dark-mode-pro, minimal-ui
• Avoid: test, new folder, skin1

Keep Development and Final Separate

Consider separate installations:

• Development: Frequent updates, may be unstable
• Final: Stable version for actual gameplay

Backup Before Major Changes

Before testing significant changes:

1. Back up your current skin folder
2. Install and test new version
3. Restore backup if needed

Next: Backup & Restore - Protect your game files.