Module pack 

PackFile (.pack) container format for Total War games.

This module handles reading and writing PackFiles, the primary container format used by Total War games to store game assets. PackFiles bundle multiple files into a single archive with optional compression and encryption support.

Overview

PackFiles have evolved through multiple versions since Empire: Total War, with each version adding features like timestamps, compression, and encryption. This module supports all known PackFile versions (PFH0 through PFH6).

Pack Types

Packs have different types that determine load order and behavior:

• Boot: Core game files loaded first
• Release: Official game content
• Patch: Official patches
• Mod: User-created modifications
• Movie: Video content packs

Features

• Lazy Loading: Files can be loaded on-demand to reduce memory usage
• Compression: PFH5+ supports LZ4, Zlib, and LZMA compression (game-dependent)
• Encryption: Packs support index and data encryption
• Timestamps: Track when files were last modified
• Dependencies: Packs can declare dependencies on other packs
• Metadata: Store notes and settings within the pack itself

Example

use rpfm_lib::files::pack::Pack;
use rpfm_lib::files::{Container, Decodeable, DecodeableExtraData};
use std::fs::File;
use std::io::BufReader;

// Open and read a pack file
let file = File::open("my_mod.pack").unwrap();
let mut reader = BufReader::new(file);
let mut extra_data = DecodeableExtraData::default();
extra_data.set_lazy_load(true);

let pack = Pack::decode(&mut reader, &Some(extra_data)).unwrap();
println!("Pack contains {} files", pack.files().len());

Structs

PFHFlags

This represents the bitmasks a Pack can have applied to his type.

Pack

Packs are a container-type file, used for “packing” all game assets into single files, to speed up disk reads.

PackHeader

Header of a Pack, containing all the header-related info of said Pack.

PackNotes

Pack notes for documentation and collaboration.

PackSettings

Pack-specific settings stored within the pack itself.

Constants

EXTENSION

File extension used by PackFiles.

RESERVED_NAME_DEPENDENCIES_MANAGER

Reserved filename for legacy dependency manager data.

RESERVED_NAME_DEPENDENCIES_MANAGER_V2

Reserved filename for dependency manager data (current version).

RESERVED_NAME_EXTRA_PACKFILE

Reserved filename for extra packfile references.

RESERVED_NAME_NOTES

Reserved filename for pack notes data.

RESERVED_NAME_NOTES_EXTRACTED

Reserved filename for extracted pack notes (Markdown format).

RESERVED_NAME_SETTINGS

Reserved filename for pack settings data.

RESERVED_NAME_SETTINGS_EXTRACTED

Reserved filename for extracted pack settings (JSON format).

RESERVED_RFILE_NAMES

List of reserved filenames used by RPFM for internal purposes.

SETTING_KEY_CF

Settings key for the compression format used by this pack.