---
title: Stardew Valley mod recommendations by Shockah
tags: stardew
---
# Shockah's recommendations
In general, I prefer mods which:
* Are vanilla-esque (be it aesthetic-, or lore-wise). No recolors.
* Only do "one thing". No mega-overhauls of 10 aspects of the game.
* Are highly configurable in what they do.
* Are free of *any* bugs, or have simple bugs which are easy to debug and fixable as a player (or the buggy feature can be disabled altogether).
* Work perfectly in multiplayer. Any desyncs are a no-no.
* Are compatible with the latest version of the game (1.5.6) and SMAPI (3.13.x).
All of the mods on this list are mods I actually played with, at least long enough to be able to test if they work correctly and to be able to properly categorize them.
Running ALL of the mods from this list should be fine (although may require some config tweaking).
The mods are grouped by category (and optionally by how much I recommend them), then sorted alphabetically in each of their respective categories.
This list also includes mods I made, but I will mention if I'm the author.
# Cheat mods
I would not really recommend using cheats, but I believe just having them on hand is a necessity if playing with (a lot of) mods, in case anything breaks ("fixable as a player").
* [CJB Cheats Menu](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/4) -- Has a lot of useful "cheats", but does take some getting used to to where each of the options' is. This isn't much of a problem though, considering I only recommend this for fixing stuff, not for playing.
* [CJB Item Spawner](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/93) -- Just like the *CJB Cheats Menu*, allows fixing some stuff manually -- say, cheating in some item you're supposed to receive, but you did not.
# Farm / Buildings / Greenhouse
* [Shockah's Modest Greenhouse](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/10885) -- **I'm the author.**
* [Slim Hutch](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/7424)
# Vanilla map improvements
* [Cleaner Beach and Tide Pools walkable](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/8583)
* [Clean Ginger Island Beach](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/8911)
# Content (variations)
## "I can't play without these anymore"
* [The Geology Mod](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/9409)
* [Lumisteria Clumps and Nodes](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/9256)
## "Recommended, but no effect before endgame"
* [Advanced Casks Mod](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/8413)
* [Ancient Crops](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/4472)
* [Ostrich Mayo and Golden Mayo](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/7660)
# Gameplay mechanic additions or changes
## "Highly recommended"
* [Don't Stop Me Now](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/10941) -- **I'm the author.**
* [Flexible Sprinklers](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/10931) -- **I'm the author.**
* [Mail Services Mod](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/7842) -- Highly recommending to pair it with [Please Gift Me In Person](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/11217) (**I'm the author of the latter.**).
* [Walk of Life - Immersive Professions](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/8111)
## "Recommended, but (mostly) useless in endgame"
* [Predictable Retaining Soil](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/10956) -- **I'm the author.**
## "Recommended, but no effect before endgame"
* [Skull Cavern Toggle](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/7908)
## "Cool"
* [Gift Taste Redone](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/10660)
* [Upgradable Pan](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/9318)
# UI / Quality of Life
## "I can't play without these anymore"
* [Better Friendship](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/10287)
* [Better Ranching](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/859)
* [Convenient Inventory](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/10384)
* [Yet Another Harvest With Scythe Mod](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/2731)
## "Highly recommended"
* [AutoGate](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/820)
* [AutoShaker](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/7736)
* [Better Artisan Good Icons](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/2080)
* [Better Hay](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/1430)
* [Better Skull Cavern Falling](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/2558)
* [Bigger Backpack](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/1845)
* [Faster Path Speed](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/9344)
* [Festival End Time Tweak](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/2966)
* [Multiple Mini-Obelisks](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/7900)
* [Non Destructive NPCs](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/5176)
* [NPC Map Locations](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/239)
* [Tilled Soil Decay](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/2738)
* [XP Display](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/11089) -- **I'm the author.**
## "Personally highly recommended, but I'm weird"
* [24-Hour Clock Patcher](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/8759) -- As a native [Pole](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland), I prefer my clock to be 24-hour.
* [Machine Status](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/11177) -- **I'm the author.**
## "Recommended"
* [Better Beehouses](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/10996)
* [Better Panning Spot](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/10608)
* [Better Quality Increased Seeds](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/5003) -- Additionally use [the Ancient Crops pack](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/5017) if playing with [Ancient Crops](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/4472).
* [Watering Grants Experience And Crops Can Wither](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/7768)
## "Recommended, but no effect until endgame"
* [Warp Network](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/8567)
## "Cool"
* [Fish Preview](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/6303)
## "Cool, but no effect before endgame"
* [Better Rarecrows](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/3232)
# "Pretty Stuff"
## "I can't play without these anymore"
* [Seasonal Outfits - Slightly Cuter Aesthetic](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/5450)
* [Visible Fish](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/8897)
## "Pretty!"
* [Animated Fish](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/5735)
* [Animated Mining Pack](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/6099)
* [Animated Mini-Obelisk](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/7728)
* [Animated Slime Eggs and Loot](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/5642)
* [Festival Recolor and Animations](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/2822)
* [Hay Silo Updated](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/9116)
* [Kitty Tiger Slimes](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/7912)
* [Rabbit Floof](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/3637) -- Unfortunately, the mod does not change any gift tastes, so Penny still hates those, but it's still such a nice change!
## "Nice, although rarely seen":
* [Flower Dancing - A Flower Dance Mod](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/8107)
* [Swimsuits at the Luau](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/8850)
# Controller-specific
* [Key Suppressor](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/9295) -- Allows suppressing some of the vanilla controller keybinds (wtf, why are there 3 controller buttons opening the menu (although on different tabs)?!) to free them for using in mods.
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