Scarab - MW5 Asset Catalog Generator

Scarab is a standalone Windows x64 utility that generates structured asset catalogs from a local installation of MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries.

It discovers the base game assets and the mods currently enabled by MW5, scans their pak files in game merge order, and generates catalogs describing the items, mechs, stock mech templates, and pilot or mech traits available in-game for that installation.

Scarab is designed primarily as a backend and development utility for save editors and other tools that need accurate MW5 asset data. JJ’s MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries Save Editor uses Scarab as its catalog generation backend, but Scarab is maintained and distributed separately.

IMPORTANT FOR JJ’S MW5 SAVE EDITOR USERS

Normal users of JJ’s MW5 Save Editor do not need to operate Scarab manually unless specifically directed to do so by the editor or its documentation. The editor manages Scarab automatically. Follow the editor's documentation for where to place the scarab.exe file.

WHAT SCARAB DOES

Scarab can:

• Scan the MW5 base game and enabled mod pak files

• Detect the mods currently enabled by MW5

• Respect mod load order

• Generate item catalogs

• Generate mech catalogs

• Generate stock mech templates

• Generate pilot and mech trait catalogs

• Produce compressed JSON, plain JSON, or Python-compatible output

• Use an existing trusted catalog bundle as a base layer and merge enabled mods over it

Scarab reads game and mod data only. It does not alter MW5 files, mod files, saves, mod configuration, or the game’s enabled-mod list.

It does not use the Steam API or require access to a Steam account.

SCARAB IS NOT

Scarab is not:

• A gameplay mod

• A save editor

• A pak explorer

• A general purpose asset browser

INSTALLATION

1. Download the Scarab archive.

2. Extract all files to a normal writable directory.

3. Do not place Scarab in the MW5 Mods directory.

4. Run scarab.exe from PowerShell, Command Prompt, or a program that integrates with Scarab.

Basic command:

scarab.exe --mw5-dir "D:\Path\To\MW5Mercs" --output generated-catalog

The output path must be relative to the directory containing scarab.exe.

scarab.exe --help

for the complete list of options and supported catalog formats.

RELEASE VERIFICATION

Official Scarab releases include several forms of integrity and provenance information:

• An Authenticode-signed and timestamped Windows executable

• A SHA-256 c