Finding, Reading and Using the FS25 log.txt

The log is a written record of what FS25 attempted during a session. It can show what loaded, what failed and which versions were involved. It is evidence, not an automatic verdict on whichever mod happens to be mentioned last.

This walkthrough starts with locating the right file and ends with a small, repeatable test and a useful support report. You do not need to understand Lua or edit XML. Keep a plain-text editor and a separate folder for evidence handy. Leave the game files alone while collecting the first evidence.

Find the current log

For a standard Windows installation, open your actual Documents folder, then My Games, then FarmingSimulator2025. The file is:

Documents\My Games\FarmingSimulator2025\log.txt

Documents here means Windows’ current Documents location, not necessarily a folder you reach by typing a drive letter. To ask Windows where it is, run this read-only expression in PowerShell:

Join-Path ([Environment]::GetFolderPath('MyDocuments')) 'My Games\FarmingSimulator2025\log.txt'

Open the returned location in File Explorer. Enable file-name extensions if needed so you can distinguish the text file from a shortcut or an old copy. Do not create an empty log if it is missing; that would not prove where the game writes its data.

Microsoft’s OneDrive folder backup can change where Documents lives. A second, older Documents tree can still exist. Check the file’s modification time against your most recent session, and inspect its opening game/version context. If the time is wrong, you may have yesterday’s evidence from the wrong folder.

The moderator-maintained GIANTS location reference documents a Microsoft Store exception for the mods folder only. It does not establish an alternate Store log.txt path. If the standard Documents log is absent, confirm the active Windows account and installation with GIANTS support; do not assume the log lives beside the Store mods folder. A custom mod-directory override can point mods elsewhere; it does not mean a log found inside an arbitrary mods folder is active. See confirming the active mods folder.

Preserve the session before relaunching

Treat the working log as temporary. A later launch can replace the evidence you need. After a fault, note what happened and the approximate time, quit normally if possible, then copy the log into your evidence folder before starting FS25 again. If the game crashed, copy the file before the next launch. Do not force a crash to obtain a log.

Give the copy a useful name, for example:

2026-09-09_test-01_vehicle-purchase_log.txt

This is a made-up evidence filename, not a required game filename. Keep the original copy unchanged and make a second copy for redaction. If the game remains running, the file can still be receiving output; label a copy captured then as incomplete and capture again after a normal exit if possible.

A log copied after a successful session cannot reliably explain a previous failed one. Conversely, old errors do not prove the current installation is still broken. Pair each log with one test, its mod set and the result. A screenshot of the final ten lines is useful context but is rarely a replacement for a complete, appropriately redacted text log.

Make one clean reproduction

First record the symptom in ordinary language: what you expected, what actually happened and the smallest action that triggers it. “Purchase the vehicle, enter it, then activate the attachment” is more useful than “everything is broken”. Record whether it happens every time or intermittently.

1. Close FS25 and back up the relevant save and current mod set. Keep the backup outside the active game folders.
2. Record game, map and suspect-mod versions. Note the last change before the problem began.
3. Use a disposable test save, preferably on a base-game map for the first comparison. Reproduce with the original save only if the problem depends on it, using a protected copy.
4. Launch once, perform only the necessary steps and stop at the fault. Avoid buying unrelated machinery or changing settings midway.
5. Quit and copy the log immediately. Label the exact configuration and outcome.
6. Change one variable for the next test. Keep separate logs even when a test succeeds.

No-mod testing is a comparison, not a demand to load a mod-map save without its map. Use a new base-game save for that baseline. A new test save also separates an installation problem from state already stored in an existing save. Multiplayer faults need the host’s configuration as well as the affected client’s evidence; keep server addresses and private details out of public reports.

Read the opening context first

Start at the top before searching for red flags. Establish that this is FS25, identify the game version, note the session timing where available and locate the active mod-directory information. Then inspect the loading entries for the relevant map and mods. A filename present on disk is not the same as a successfully loaded, enabled mod.

Logs can contain several unrelated version numbers: engine libraries, devices and individual mods. Read the surrounding label before calling a number the game version. During TW Farms’ inspection, the game identification context established 1.23.0.0; a different library version elsewhere would not be an FS25 version claim.

The following is a sanitised structural sketch, not verbatim FS25 error output and not an example to search for literally:

[Game identification and game version]
[System / renderer context — review before sharing]
[Active mod directory — private path removed]
[Mod discovery and loading entries]
[Map / save loading activity]
[Action-related warning or error, with nearby context]
[Shutdown or abrupt end]

On 10 September 2026, the official FS25 changelog listed 1.23.1.0, including tree/splitshape-loading and FSR-crash fixes. That is published patch context, not a diagnosis of your crash or evidence that TW updated its inspected 1.23.0.0 installation. Compare the exact patch and reproduction before assuming a matching fix.

An abrupt end can be consistent with a crash, but it does not identify its cause. Likewise, a hardware line describes the environment rather than proving a hardware fault. Preserve enough context for a creator to understand the sequence without publishing your machine’s identifiers.

Search without losing the surrounding lines

Use your editor’s Find function, preferably case-insensitive. Search these terms separately:

Error
Warning
Call Stack

Also search the suspect mod’s package filename without .zip, then its advertised name if necessary. A Lua-related entry may use a differently styled stack heading; search Lua and stack too. These are search terms, not a guarantee that every failure uses those exact labels.

For each match, read several lines before and after it. Expand the selection until you understand which operation was underway. Keep line numbers in private notes, but remember they change between sessions. Search results alone hide chronology and can make several messages from one failure look like several separate faults.

Not every warning stops play. A repeated warning still deserves investigation if it accompanies the symptom, but the count alone is not a severity score. An error that occurred during discovery may explain why a mod never appeared; a later runtime error may explain why an enabled machine stops working only after a particular action. A clean search does not prove the absence of a bug: record the observable fault even if the log is quiet.

Find the first useful error

Read forward from startup or from the start of the relevant operation. Look for the earliest actionable failure connected to your reproduction: a missing dependency, an unreadable file or a script failing while the action starts. Later entries can be consequences of that first failure.

“First useful” does not mean blindly blame the first warning in the entire file. A harmless warning from startup may be unrelated to a failure twenty minutes later. Compare the failing log with a successful run of the same short test. What newly appears, disappears or changes immediately before the symptom?

Keep a short evidence chain: action → first relevant message → affected file or component → controlled comparison. A mod name in a path is a lead, not a conviction. Another script may call into it, a dependency may be missing, or the save may contain data the component cannot handle. A Lua stack describes a chain of calls; the final named mod is not automatically the origin of the fault.

If several independent errors appear, address the earliest clear installation/dependency failure first, then capture a fresh run. Do not claim success because the log became shorter. Repeat the original action and verify the symptom has gone.

Recognise patterns and choose a safe action

These are diagnostic families, not invented literal error messages. Match the surrounding context and creator documentation before acting.

For archive and folder problems, follow the mod installation decision path. For graphics issues, change one ordinary in-game setting at a time only after preserving the baseline. Driver repair, security exceptions and system-wide changes are not sensible first experiments from one ambiguous log.

Read real messages in their versioned context

These are short strings read from GIANTS’ FS25 reference and released creator source, plus one maintainer-confirmed case. They are not copied from TW’s private log. The explanations labelled source inference follow the surrounding code; none of these faults was deliberately reproduced locally. GDN currently labels its reference 1.20.0.0, while TW’s inspected session identified 1.23.0.0. Do not silently treat those versions as identical.

GIANTS: a file lookup and a save-file load are different failures

In TypeManager.getObjectTypeFromXML, the format string is:

Unable to find %s xml file '%s'

The placeholders are filled by the type and filename; they are not literal search targets. Source inference: this branch runs when XML loading returns no file object. Preserve the preceding XML messages and check that named resource and its package. It does not establish whether the underlying cause is absence, unreadability or invalid content. A later unknown-type message may be consequential, so read backwards before blaming a second mod.

VehicleSystem.load separately emits:

Loading vehicles xml file failed

Source inference: the savegame vehicle XML did not load, and the function reports an error to its caller. Protect the whole save and compare a disposable new save before considering restoration of a matching backup. This is not an instruction to delete vehicles XML or proof that every installed vehicle mod is broken. Both GDN examples are checked against the displayed 1.20.0.0 reference, not a claimed 1.23.0.0 source dump.

AutoDrive: failed parking path calculation

AutoDrive 3.0.1.2, ParkTask.update contains:

[AutoDrive] Could not calculate path - shutting down

Source inference: in this parking task, the planner has finished but supplied no waypoints. The task stops AutoDrive and sends a notification. Record the selected parking destination, vehicle position and whether the nearby network is connected in the needed direction. Retest from a known reachable point on a copy of the network. Those are diagnostic comparisons, not a guaranteed fix. This occurrence is a path-planning failure, not proof that the mod failed installation or that the entire FS25 process shut down. The installed package has the same version and this task file was inspected read-only.

Courseplay: a geometry guard, with logger context

Courseplay 8.1.0.3, Offset.generate emits the format string:

Recursion limit reached (%d)

Source inference: the polygon-offset routine reached its iteration guard and returned no result on that branch. Capture the field boundary and course-generation settings that triggered it; compare a simple field and default settings in a disposable test. Do not raise the guard in source or diagnose a GPU failure from this line. The creator’s Logger implementation adds severity and context, with channel/vehicle filtering where configured. Search case-insensitively and retain the prefix; ask the maintainer which debug channels are useful rather than enabling everything indefinitely.

A confirmed historical filename case

AutoDrive issue 366 contains an invalid-name error for a suffixed AutoDrive download. The maintainer identified the names; the reporter then confirmed fresh downloads resolved the problem. Status checked 10 September 2026: closed, configuration resolved; no software fix version. The reported environment was FS25 1.10.0.0 / AutoDrive 3.0.0.6, with Courseplay’s version unstated. Use this as evidence to check filenames when a current log reports an invalid name, not a reason to blame all missing-mod faults on filenames.

An editor problem needs the editor’s evidence

The external AutoDrive Course Editor 1.1.1 README documents a separate autoDriveEditor.log. For a failure while importing or editing outside FS25, collect that application’s evidence. For a vehicle that fails to drive in-game, retain FS25’s session log as well. The two logs describe different processes; an editor log cannot establish what happened during an FS25 session.

Isolate with a half-split

Half-splitting narrows a large mod set by testing groups. It is TW Farms’ proposed diagnostic procedure, not proof that every failure has one culprit. Keep dependencies together; splitting a required pair creates a new failure that tells you little about the original one.

1. With the game closed, inventory the original packages and versions and back them up outside the active mods folder. Preserve the original log and save separately.
2. Establish a successful new base-game save with no optional mods. If that fails, investigate the base game before blaming an optional mod.
3. Divide optional mods into two roughly equal groups, A and B. Keep any dependencies with their dependent release, and keep required map content fixed when testing a map-specific fault.
4. Put only A plus the required baseline into the active test set. Use a disposable save, repeat exactly the same action and retain its log.
5. Test B plus that same baseline separately. Restore a clean test state between runs so one group’s saved data does not contaminate the next.
6. If one group reproduces the original fault, split that group again and repeat. Record each group and result; do not rely on memory.
7. If both groups fail, there may be multiple causes or a faulty baseline. If neither fails but the full set does, suspect an interaction and add smaller groups back systematically.
8. Confirm the smallest failing combination by repeating it, then confirm that removing only the suspected component or interaction stops the same symptom.

Keep quarantined ZIPs outside the active folder entirely; a creatively named subfolder is not a reliable isolation policy. Do not delete packages or rename their internal identifiers. Never rotate a production server’s mod set while other players are using it.

Build a minimal reproduction and identify its scope

Aim for the fewest necessary components and actions. A useful result says, for example, “new base-game save plus this vehicle and its required dependency; entering the vehicle triggers the fault”. That is more actionable than sending an entire personal mod collection.

Use a comparison ladder. First test the stock game on a new stock map. Then the suspect map with stock equipment and only its requirements. Then the suspect vehicle on a stock map. Finally introduce the script mod or combination that changes the result. Some content cannot be meaningfully moved between maps; state that limitation instead of forcing a false comparison.

A failure limited to an existing save suggests saved state or a save-specific interaction, but does not prove corruption. A failure limited to one map suggests map content or its requirements, not necessarily its author. A fault across stock baselines belongs with base-game investigation. A fault introduced by one script combination belongs in a report that names both versions and describes the interaction without assigning blame.

For multiplayer, compare a local test with the hosted case, record host/client game versions and exact packages, and ask the host for its corresponding log privately. Different archive contents can matter even if visible version labels match. Do not post connection details, passwords or account identifiers to demonstrate the mismatch.

Recover in the least destructive order

Start with reversible steps and keep a record of each change:

1. Preserve the failed session’s evidence and a closed-game backup of the current save and mods.
2. Confirm the active folders and requirements. Correct a missing dependency or wrong release before attempting deeper repair.
3. Re-download a suspect archive from its original creator and test that copy in isolation. Keep the previous archive for rollback outside the active folder.
4. Test the smallest working mod set on a disposable save, then repeat the original action.
5. If a recent update caused the regression, test the previous known-working package set with a matching pre-update save copy. Downgrading only one mod may not reverse changes already saved.
6. Where a clean stock baseline also fails, use the game platform’s supported file-verification procedure and GIANTS support guidance. Back up first; verification is not a mod repair tool.
7. Return to the valuable save only after the intended configuration is proven on a copy. Keep the original backup until ordinary play, save, exit and reload all succeed.

Do not start by deleting the user-data folder, editing save XML, disabling security software or reinstalling everything. Those actions can destroy comparisons and introduce new variables. An automatic backup is useful only if it predates the fault and is restored safely; copy it to a test location rather than overwriting your only current save.

Redact evidence and contact the right creator

Work on a copy of the complete log. Search for usernames, personal folder names, drive paths, network locations, server names/addresses, account or machine identifiers, keys and passwords. Check both forward and backslashes. Replace private segments consistently with labels such as [USER], [PRIVATE_PATH] or [SERVER]; do not remove an entire diagnostic line if a small redaction preserves its meaning.

Keep relevant public mod filenames, versions and the error sequence where safe. Omit unrelated personal mod-list details from the public summary. A complete log can still reveal the wider collection: use the creator’s approved private support channel when that matters and explain the redactions. Review attachments and screenshots too, including the editor title bar and File Explorer breadcrumb.

Ask the creator through the support destination on its original release page or repository. GIANTS’ mod support page directs mod issues to the community; a reproducible stock-game fault has a different support route. Check existing reports for the same version and symptom before opening a duplicate. Provide text evidence rather than an image of tiny text, and do not upload someone else’s mod package without permission.

Copy a complete support report

Replace every bracketed field; remove irrelevant fields rather than sending an unfinished form. The “expected” and “actual” lines should describe observable behaviour. If you did not test a comparison, write “not tested”, not “works”. Attach the matching redacted log through the creator’s accepted channel.

FS25 issue report
Game version: [from the game identification in this session's log]
Platform / operating system: [relevant public details only]
Map and version: [creator release name and version]
Relevant mods and versions: [include required dependencies]
Original release links: [creator-approved URLs]
Single-player or multiplayer: [host/client versions if relevant]
New disposable save or existing save copy: [which]
Last known working configuration: [or unknown]
Recent change: [or none known]

Steps to reproduce:
1. [smallest setup]
2. [specific action]
3. [point where the fault occurs]

Expected: [what should happen]
Actual: [what happened]
Frequency: [every run / intermittent; number of tests]
First relevant log entry and context: [sanitised excerpt]
Stock baseline result: [result / not tested]
Minimal mod-set result: [exact combination / not established]
Recovery attempted: [one change and result per line]
Attached log: [matching session; captured before relaunch]
Redactions: [what categories of private data were removed]

Checklist ticks are for this reading session only and are not saved. Keep the completed report and evidence somewhere you control. With a protected farm, a current log and one repeatable test, the tractor can finally stop being the only thing working in circles.