Modding GTA 5 on PC opens up a whole new world of creative possibilities. From adding new vehicles and weapons to creating entirely new maps and customized game modes, mods allow you to tailor Grand Theft Auto V to be precisely the experience you want.

Installing mods does require a few essential tools to get everything set up properly. But once ready, you can browse and add GTA 5 mods to your heart's desire. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to start enhancing GTA 5 on PC with incredible mods.

Script Hook V

The very first essential modding tool is Script Hook V. This ingenious yet simple plugin allows you to load and use script mods within GTA 5. Meaning you can add customized missions, game modes, spawn events, and much more with LUA and C# scripts.

To install Script Hook V:

1. Download the latest version of Script Hook V from the official website. Be sure to specifically download the version matched and designed only for your GTA 5 game version. This ensures full compatibility.

2. Extract the single ScriptHookV.dll file from the downloaded Script Hook V archive.

3. Locate and open your main Grand Theft Auto V game directory. Typically, this will be found under Steam/Steamapps/common/Grand Theft Auto V.

4. Paste and replace the extracted ScriptHookV.dll directly into your GTA 5 root folder. Allow it to overwrite the existing file.

And that's it! Script Hook V is now successfully installed. It will automatically load when you next launch GTA 5 - no other steps are needed. You can confirm it worked by checking for the Script Hook V config file that will be created.

Community Script Hook V .NET

Script Hook V handles basic LUA-based scripts. To use more advanced .NET-based scripts and mods, you need to add an extra helper: Community Script Hook V .NET.

This fantastic community project adds .NET scripting capabilities to your modded GTA 5. Allowing for even more complex and deeply integrated mods through C#.

Here's how to quickly install it:

1. Download the latest version of Community Script Hook V .NET from its official GitHub page. Generally, you'll want to match it with your installed Script Hook V version for compatibility.

2. Extract and copy the full contents of the downloaded archive directly into your main GTA 5 game folder. Allow all existing files to be cleanly overwritten.

3. Some advanced .NET mods may require Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 or higher. So take a moment to download and install that through Microsoft if you don't already have it set up on your system.

With both Script Hook V and Community Script Hook V .NET installed, you now have support for LUA and C# #-based script mods, which opens up a huge variety of modding possibilities!

LUA Plugin

Similar to Script Hook's addition of LUA support, we need one more plugin for full modding coverage. The essential LUA Plugin specifically enables certain mods that utilize LUA scripting differently from Script Hook.

To install it:

1. Download the latest release of the LUA Plugin from its GitHub repository page. Grab the master zip file.

2. Extract just the included asi, dll, and ini files. Not the full source code archive.

3. Install these plugin files into your GTA 5 directory. As usual, allow any prompted file overwrites.

That wraps up our triple combo of script handlers! The LUA Plugin will now automatically load any special LUA-based scripts alongside Script Hook V mods.

OpenIV

No modded game is complete without the legendary OpenIV tool. This open-source editing and archiving tool essentially kickstarted the entire GTA modding scene. It offers complete package management and advanced editing of virtually all GTA game archives and files.

This allows for the installation of vehicle mods, weapons, textures, audio, scripts, maps, and anything else in between. It's an essential Swiss Army Knife for GTA modding.

Here is how to quickly install OpenIV:

1. Download and install the latest release of OpenIV from its official website. Similar to Script Hook V - be sure you install the correct version tailored and supported for your GTA 5 game version.

2. Run OpenIV for the first time. It will ask you to point toward your GTA 5 game installation directory. Navigate to and select your GTAV folder.

3. OpenIV will then automatically make a few important tweaks to your base GTA 5 files in order to enable full modding support. Let it run through this short process.

4. Once set up, a clean "mods" folder will be created. You can easily install mods by dragging and dropping mod packages directly into this folder.

The key is that OpenIV will never actively modify or touch your base game files. Instead, mods are cleanly installed as overrides into a separate mods folder, so your core GTA 5 installation remains pristine.

This makes uninstalling or disabling mods a cinch, along with avoiding potential conflicts or issues as mods never directly clash with Rockstar's own files.

Map Editor

Installing regular mods through OpenIV allows you to customize nearly every aspect of GTA 5's weapons, vehicles, textures, and more. But what about entirely creating or editing the world itself?

To manipulate and enhance GTA's terrain, buildings, nodes, and environmental objects, you need an advanced map editor tool. This allows custom placing and tweaking of objects to create everything from custom races to entirely new islands and interiors.

Hands down the most powerful fully featured editor is Codewalker. This exceptional (and free) tool offers unparalleled control for modding GTA maps. From altering small details right up to sculpting completely new areas.

Configuration and Mod Management

When you start accumulating lots of mods - things can get messy fast. Potential load order conflicts, obscure crashes, and tangled files quickly become a chore.

That's where utilizing a dedicated mod manager comes in handy. These tools provide centralized control for enabling/disabling mods, establishing load order, catching conflicts, switching profiles and versions, updating safely, and generally handling things.

For Script hook-based mods, check out GTA V Mod Manager. This exceptionally polished manager is designed specifically to handle these kinds of GTA 5 mods, offering granular control and profiles.

For OpenIV-based mods, OpenIV itself comes packaged with a built-in mod manager in the tools menu. This handles package management well and is neatly integrated already.

Take the time to properly learn and configure the manager that best fits your modding needs. Using one can greatly smooth out the installation and maintenance process - saving endless headaches.

Conclusion

With the core modding tools like Script Hook V, OpenIV, Community Script Hook .NET, Codewalker, and managers installed - you now have the foundation in place to handle just about any type of Grand Theft Auto 5 mod on PC!

From here, you can excitedly browse sites like GTA5-Mods.com for mods that interest you. The world is your oyster.

Just be absolutely sure to carefully read the full description before installing any mod. Check for compatibility, required dependencies, installation instructions, and any special notes or issues.