How to Use Pufferfish's Skills as a Modpack or Server Framework

Understanding the Framework

Pufferfish's Skills is designed as a framework, not a fixed set of trees. The mod itself provides the experience tracking, point economy, menu, and commands, while the actual skill trees are defined in data files. That means a modpack author or server admin can ship entirely custom trees without writing any code.

Where Trees Live

Skill trees are defined as data-driven JSON files placed in a datapack under the mod's namespace. Each tree file describes its nodes, their costs, their positions in the menu, their prerequisites, and the effects they apply. Effects are usually handled through attribute modifiers or by unlocking abilities that other mods or the base game recognize.

Practical Steps for Pack Authors

1. Create a datapack in your world or modpack and add the mod's expected folder structure for skill trees.

2. Copy an existing tree file as a template so you match the required field names exactly.

3. Edit node costs, icons, descriptions, and effects. Keep early nodes cheap so new players can engage quickly.

4. Reload the datapack with the standard reload command and reopen the menu with K to verify your tree appears.

5. Test point gain by performing the tracked action and confirming experience flows into the correct tree.

Server Administration

The /puffish_skills points add and /puffish_skills points set commands let operators grant or correct points for players, which is useful for events, compensation, or resetting a broken build. Restrict these to operator permission levels so regular players cannot grant themselves points.