![Day[Z] Titan Launcher logo](/assets/img/logo2.webp?v=1781090027){kind=logo}
Day[Z] Titan Launcher
pboProject from Mikero’s Tools is the modder’s alternative to the official DayZ Addon Builder for packing your work into a PBO. Its big advantage is that it gives you real, readable error messages instead of silently packing or spitting out one cryptic line that sends you hunting forums for hours. This walkthrough takes you from a clean install all the way to a finished pack.
Download — Mikero’s Tools (free, incl. pboProject)Follow the steps in order. The early ones are a one-time install; once your tools and P-drive are in place, packing a project is just a few clicks every time.
pboProject is essentially a smarter version of the DayZ Addon Builder. Both turn a source folder full of your config, models and scripts into a packed PBO that the game can load, but pboProject does a lot more checking along the way.
The reason most modders switch to it is error reporting. Addon Builder will often pack a broken project without complaint, or fail with a single vague line that means nothing to anyone. pboProject tells you exactly what went wrong and where, which turns hours of forum searching into a quick fix.
To pack a PBO you really only need TWO downloads: DePbo (the DePboDLL package) and pboProject. DePbo.dll is the shared engine that every Mikero tool needs, so install it FIRST; then install pboProject itself, which is the actual packer.
The other tools on the page - DeRap, Eliteness, ExtractPbo, MakePbo and Rapify - are handy extras, not required just to pack a project, so you can skip them for now.
Each download is a small installer. Click download, then double-click the file that appears; if your browser warns you, choose Run. The base tools are free from the main page. If the site is ever down, the community keeps an archive mirror of the pboDLL files you can use instead. Direct download: mikero.bytex.digital/Downloads — community mirror: pmc.editing.wiki.
Download — Mikero’s Tools (free, incl. pboProject)After installing, open your C: drive and browse to Program Files (x86)\Mikero\DePboTools\bin. Everything you downloaded lives here, along with a couple of helper folders.
You will see a roads folder and a scripts folder. The roads folder is what stops DayZ roads from being binarized during packing, so they keep working in-game. The scripts folder is mainly an Arma 3 helper. You do not need to touch any of this - just confirm the install landed in the right place.
Launch pboProject. The first time you open it the window may look blank or unconfigured - that is normal. The next few steps walk through the handful of options worth turning on before you pack anything.
Tick Noisy Output. This is the single most useful setting: if your pack hits errors, Noisy Output makes pboProject actually tell you what they are instead of swallowing them. With it off you might just see a count like "three errors" with no detail.
Also enable Full Build so the tool does a complete pass over your project rather than a partial one. These two options together are what make pboProject worth using over Addon Builder.
Open View Outputs so you can read what the packer reports. When a pack fails, the relevant folder and message show up here, and that is where you go to understand what broke.
If you close the output window you do not lose the information permanently. The same details are written to the packing log, so you can always reopen it and review whatever errors a previous run produced.
Before you pack anything, the P-drive has to be mounted. In Steam, open DayZ Tools, go to the Tools tab and choose Mount P-drive. This is what lets all the game file paths resolve correctly during a build.
The rule of thumb is simple: everything you pack should live on the P-drive. Some assets explicitly expect to be there, so save yourself the trouble and do all your packing work from P: rather than from another drive.
The Source folder is whatever you are packing - the mod or map folder on your mounted P-drive. Click it and select the project folder; if you are packing a map, point it at the map folder.
The Output folder can be anywhere you like. A common choice is an Addons folder, but it is just where the finished PBO will be written. Pick a location and select it, and your input and output are set.
Open the Settings/Setup panel. The Engine option defaults to Arma 3 - change it to DayZ SA, or your project will be packed for the wrong game. Then fill in the Exclude From PBO list; the creator provides a ready-made list (linked from the video description) of entries you need, and without them a map will not pack.
This panel also lets you set your preferred text editor for viewing outputs, so the log opens in the editor you like instead of plain Notepad.
Finally, look for the warning-related checkboxes lower down and untick them. By default pboProject treats warnings as errors and refuses to pack when it sees one. Turning those off lets it ignore non-critical warnings and complete the pack cleanly.
With everything configured, confirm the mode is set to SP, then click Crunch to start packing. pboProject runs through your project and writes the PBO to your output folder.
When it finishes you should see "jobs completed" in the output. That is your sign the PBO packed successfully and is ready to load into the game.
pboProject gives you real, readable error messages and full validation of your project. Addon Builder often packs broken work silently or fails with a single cryptic line, which makes debugging much harder.
Yes. DePbo.dll (DePboDLL) is the engine that every other Mikero tool relies on. Install it once or none of the tools, including pboProject, will work.
The two most common causes are an incomplete Exclude From PBO list and the warning-as-error checkboxes being left ticked. Fill the exclude list from the creator’s pastebin and untick the warning checkboxes in Settings.
Yes. Mount the P-drive through DayZ Tools before packing, and keep everything you pack on P:. This is what lets the game file paths resolve correctly during a build.
After clicking Crunch, watch the output. When it says "jobs completed" the PBO has been written to your output folder and is ready to use.