Install and update REDbridge
You almost never install REDbridge yourself. The toolkit that needs it fetches it, with one question first. This page says where each copy comes from, so you know what you have.
What it needs
| You need | Notes |
|---|---|
| Windows x64 | REDbridge is Windows only for now, because WolvenKit’s texture tools are |
| The .NET 10 runtime | Microsoft’s free runtime for .NET programs. EDGEdeck installs it for you; REDcode offers to |
| About 75 MB of disk per copy | The release download is a zip of about 73 MB |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | For anything that reads the game’s own files. Reading a mod archive on disk works without it |
How each toolkit gets it
| You use | How REDbridge arrives | How it stays current |
|---|---|---|
| EDGEdeck | Get REDbridge in the Set up group says what it will download, then fetches the latest release into EDGEdeck’s own folder. If your PC has no .NET 10 runtime, it installs one for your user account only | EDGEdeck checks once a day and offers a newer release. Update REDbridge checks straight away and removes the old copy afterwards |
| REDcode | On first start REDcode offers to download it. REDcode: Install REDbridge does the same at any time: it downloads the latest release into REDcode’s storage and points REDcode at it | REDcode asks GitHub once per session and offers a newer release (setting redcode.bridgeUpdateCheck). REDcode: Update REDbridge stops the bridge, updates it and starts it again |
| REDnode | REDnode doesn’t ship REDbridge. It uses the newest copy that EDGEdeck or REDcode already fetched | Through EDGEdeck or REDcode |
| AI assistants | REDcode’s MCP server, @edgemodders/redcode-mcp, uses the copy REDcode set up |
Through REDcode |
Today EDGEdeck and REDcode each keep their own copy. Sharing one copy between them is planned on REDcode’s side.
REDnode packages
A REDnode package that wants REDbridge must ask for the bridge permission, and you allow it in REDnode’s Mod Manager, which also shows where REDbridge was found. One REDbridge then serves every package: it starts on the first request, loads the game’s archive index in about three seconds, and stops after 10 minutes without requests. See REDnode’s overlay apps guide for the developer side.
Which version do I need?
| Tool | Needs |
|---|---|
| REDcode 0.9.0 | REDbridge 0.8.0 or newer. If yours is older, REDcode’s status bar says so and offers REDcode: Update REDbridge |
| REDcode’s MCP server 0.2.0 | REDbridge 0.8.0 or newer |
| EDGEdeck’s Add to Project for archives | REDbridge 0.7.1 or newer |
| EDGEdeck’s archive conflicts | Any release from 0.4.0 |
The newest release covers everything.
The .NET 10 runtime
REDbridge is a .NET program, so it needs Microsoft’s .NET 10 runtime.
- Through EDGEdeck: Get REDbridge installs it for your user account when it’s missing. Nothing else to do.
- Through REDcode: if the bridge fails to start and no runtime is installed, REDcode says so and offers to run
winget install Microsoft.DotNet.Runtime.10in a terminal, or to open the download page. - By hand: run
winget install Microsoft.DotNet.Runtime.10in a terminal.
Never set
DOTNET_ROOTfor your whole Windows account. Every .NET program then looks only there, and it breaks other tools, Vortex among them. If REDbridge needs a particular .NET, useedgedeck.dotnetRootorredcode.dotnetRoot: they apply to REDbridge alone.
Installing it by hand
For a copy you manage yourself, for example on a PC without access to GitHub from VS Code:
- Download
REDbridge-<version>-win-x64.zipfrom the releases page. - Unzip it anywhere.
- Point the tool at
REDbridge.exe: the settingedgedeck.bridgePathfor EDGEdeck,redcode.bridgePathfor REDcode.
EDGEdeck’s daily update check leaves a copy you set up yourself alone, so update it by hand too.
Developers can build REDbridge from source; its setup guide has every step.