Crotalus - Universal Mod Conflict Detector

CROTALUS 

A universal game-mod conflict detector, with a built-in troubleshooting chat.

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BETA 

Crotalus is in active beta. The core scanner is reliable, but you may hit rough edges or a missed conflict. Bug reports are hugely appreciated (see below). It runs entirely on your PC and never phones home.

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WHAT IT DOES

Point Crotalus at your mods and it tells you, in plain English, what's clashing, which mod is responsible, exactly where that mod lives on your disk, and how to fix it.

• []Detects mod conflicts - file and asset overwrites, load-order problems, missing dependencies or masters, duplicate mods, and more.[/]

  []Explains every finding - why it matters and how to fix it, with the exact folder and an "Open mod folder" button.[/]

  []Writes a prioritized fix plan - a top-to-bottom to-do list, most serious first.[/]

  []Reads crash and script logs - Skyrim and Fallout crash logs and Papyrus logs for known problems.[/]

  []Recommends a load order, and reads your real setup from Vortex and MO2.[/]

  []Troubleshooting chat that knows about your scan - and, with an optional AI model connected, answers anything and can look things up live.[/]

  []This scans any folder you expllicity tell it to scan (ex. when you point it to your mod staging folder). Nothing is scanned, accessed, or modified in any way without your action.[/]

  []100% offline core. No account, no telemetry.[/]

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SUPPORTED GAMES AND MANAGERS

• []Bethesda - Skyrim, Fallout, and similar[/]

  []Cyberpunk 2077[/]

  []Minecraft - Fabric, Forge, NeoForge[/]

  []Stardew Valley[/]

  []RimWorld[/]

  []Unity games using BepInEx[/]

  []Unreal Engine games (.pak mods)[/]

  []Frostbite via Frosty - Dragon Age, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Battlefront, Battlefield, Anthem[/]

Mod managers: Vortex, Mod Organizer 2 (MO2), Frosty Mod Manager, plus plain manual and loose installs.

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HOW TO INSTALL (WINDOWS, THE EASY WAY)

No Python, no installers - Crotalus.exe is self-contained.

• []Download the main file and extract the zip (keep all the files together).[/]

  []Double-click Crotalus.exe. The first time, Windows may show a blue "Windows protected your PC" box because the app is new and unsigned.[/]

  []Click "More info", then "Run anyway". (More on that in the next section - it's expected, and there are easy ways to verify the app is clean.)[/]

  []Point it at your mods folder(s) and click SCAN.[/]

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IS THIS SAFE? MY ANTIVIRUS FLAGGED IT.

Short answer: yes, and you don't have to take my word for it. Crotalus is free and source-available: every line of code is downloadable so you can read it, run it, and build it yourself. It runs entirely on your own PC - no account, no telemetry, it does not phone home.

Why the false alarm happens. Crotalus.exe is a Python program packaged into a single .exe with PyInstaller, the standard tool for this. PyInstaller bundles Python plus the app into one file that unpacks itself to a temporary folder to run. To a heuristic (guess-based) antivirus, that shape looks a little like how some malware packers behave, so it flags the structure of the file, with no actual malicious code present. The PyInstaller bootloader is shared by thousands of legitimate apps (and abused by a few bad ones), which is why scanners sometimes flag everything built this way. It is a well-known, documented false positive for Python apps and is not specific to Crotalus.

Don't trust me - verify it. If you'd rather not run any .exe: don't - run it straight from the Python source. That's the most cautious-friendly route and it's fully supported.

Pick any one:

• []Read the code. The full source is in the "Source - build it yourself" file in the Files tab. The core uses only Python's standard library, nothing obfuscated. Search it for socket, urllib, subprocess - the only network calls are the mod and web searches you trigger and the AI provider you choose.[/]

  []Run it from source, no .exe at all. Install Python (steps below) and run python crotalus_gui.py. Nothing packaged, nothing for antivirus to flag.[/]

  []Build the .exe yourself. Same source, your machine. One double-click.[/]

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RUN OR BUILD FROM SOURCE (PYTHON)

Most Windows users can ignore this and just run Crotalus.exe. This section is for macOS and Linux users, and for anyone who wants to run the raw code or build their own .exe - the surest way to know exactly what you're running.

Step 1 - Install Python (one time)

[]Go to python.org/downloads[/]