BepInEx vs Starfield Script Extender

BepInEx is a plugin and modding framework for Unity Mono and IL2CPP games, as well as .NET Framework games such as those built with XNA, FNA, and MonoGame. It provides configuration and logging, runtime method patching, and in-memory assembly patching. Runtime patching uses Harmony, including HarmonyX and MonoMod; in-memory patching uses Mono.Cecil with UnityDoorstop. The installation guide lists Windows, Linux, and macOS, though supported operating system versions and architectures depend on the build and game. Setup is manual: download the appropriate build and put its contents in the game’s root folder. Official binaries are available as stable and bleeding edge builds; the documentation recommends stable in most cases and notes that bleeding edge builds tend to be buggier. The project is open source under LGPL-2.1 and links to guides for users and developers. Compatibility has limits: stable releases are available only for Unity Mono, BepInEx 6 documentation remains a work in progress, and BepInEx 5 plugins do not yet work with the 6.0.0 pre-release.

Starfield Script Extender (SFSE) adds scripting capabilities and other functionality to Starfield on Windows. It supports only the latest Starfield version available through Steam; the Windows Store and Game Pass editions are excluded. The official site lists build 0.2.21 for Starfield version 1.16.244. SFSE supports plugin loading by injection, with a plugin manager, a Scaleform menu plugin interface and preliminary support for custom Papyrus native functions listed in its changelog. Updates to Starfield have sometimes required plugins to be recompiled or their compatibility data changed. Installation uses Steam or the installer, followed by copying the DLL and EXE files into the Starfield folder rather than its Data folder. The game must then start through sfse_loader.exe. SFSE components use a code signature intended to reduce virus-scanner false positives. The software is free, with a listed plan price of free.