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Prerequisites

Credits/See Also

Software and Hardware Requirements​

A Computer​

You will need a computer (Windows, macOS and Linux all work) to mod Scratch 2.0. You will also need to be able to install software on it. If you do not have a computer or are unable to install software on the computer, you might be able to use a online service like GitHub Codespaces, but it may be difficult due to Flash being unsupported.

A Code Editor​

You will need a code editor to write code for your Scratch mod in. You could technically use any text editor, but you should use an editor designed for code, as they generally provide useful features like syntax highlighting, suggestions and other useful code-specific features.

Here are some code editors:

  • Visual Studio Code Recommended
    • For VSCode, you will need an extension like this one for ActionScript syntax highlighting.
  • please suggest some more

An older version of Java​

Scratch 2.0 uses a Java-based build system called Gradle, however due to the age of the version of Gradle used, it doesn't work with newer versions of Java. You can download an older version of Java, like Java 8, from Eclipse Adoptium. Instructions will be provided in the Setting Up tutorial for a way to use an older version of Java without having to install it.

Git is a version control system. Using Git well will allow you to view older versions of your mod and, with GitHub, allow you to collaborate with others to make a mod. Using Git also allows you to more easily release your mod using GitHub's releases section.

Useful Knowledge​

You need to use some commands to build Scratch 2.0. You should at least know how to launch the command line on your computer or in your code editor and how to navigate your computer with it (cd, dir/ls, etc.).

  • Windows: Windows Terminal, Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell
  • macOS: Terminal
  • Linux: The exact name may depend on Linux distribution. Ubuntu calls it Terminal.

If you want to use Git and GitHub, you will need to know at least how to clone a repository and commit. If you want to use GitHub, you will also need to know how to fork a repository on GitHub and push to the repository.

ActionScript 3​

ActionScript 3 is the language that Scratch 2.0 is written in.