Installation

FM Skin Builder is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. This guide covers downloading, installing, and launching the app for the first time.

System Requirements

Additional requirements:

• 500 MB free disk space
• Football Manager 26 installed (for building and testing skins)

Download

Visit the Downloads page to get the latest version for your platform.

Installation by Platform

Windows

1. Download the .exe installer from the Downloads page
2. Double-click the installer file
3. If you see “Windows protected your PC”:
   • Click More info
   • Click Run anyway
4. Follow the installation wizard
5. Launch FM Skin Builder from the Start menu or desktop shortcut

macOS

1. Download the .dmg file from the Downloads page
2. Open the DMG file
3. Drag FM Skin Builder to your Applications folder
4. First launch:
   • Right-click the app and select Open
   • Click Open in the dialog that appears
   • (This is only needed the first time)

Alternative method:

1. Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy
2. Click the lock icon to make changes
3. Click Open Anyway next to the FM Skin Builder message

Linux

1. Download the .AppImage file from the Downloads page
2. Make it executable:

   chmod +x FM-Skin-Builder-*.AppImage

3. Run the AppImage:

   ./FM-Skin-Builder-*.AppImage

Optional: Move to /usr/local/bin/ for system-wide access:

sudo mv FM-Skin-Builder-*.AppImage /usr/local/bin/fm-skin-builder

First Launch

When you first open FM Skin Builder:

1. The app will detect your Football Manager installation automatically
2. If FM26 isn’t found, you’ll need to set the path to bundles manually (see below)
3. You’ll see the welcome screen with options to:
   • Create a new skin project
   • Open an existing skin folder
   • Browse recent projects

Game Path Configuration

FM Skin Builder needs to know where Football Manager is installed to access its bundle files.

Auto-detection (the magic wand button) works for most Steam and Epic Games installations.

If the app doesn’t find your FM installation:

1. Click Settings in the Activity Bar
2. Navigate to the Paths section
3. Click Browse next to “FM Installation Path”
4. Navigate to your FM26 installation folder

Common FM26 locations:

Troubleshooting Installation

”App won’t open” (Windows)

This is usually the SmartScreen warning. See the Windows installation steps above.

”Cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified” (macOS)

Method 1: Open terminal and run:

xattr -cr "/Applications/FM Skin Builder.app"

Method 2: Use the right-click > Open method, or allow the app in Security & Privacy settings.

App crashes on launch

1. Ensure your OS version meets the minimum requirements
2. Try downloading the installer again (corrupted download)
3. Run as administrator (Windows) or check permissions (macOS/Linux)

Game not detected

1. Make sure FM26 is installed
2. Manually set the path in Settings > Paths
3. Look for a folder containing .bundle files in the data/ directory

Next: Your First Skin - Create a working skin in 10 minutes.