Where Does LOTRO Store Settings and Plugins?
LOTRO keeps preferences, keybinds and plugins in Documents under its own folder. INI files, plugins, and macOS path.
Last updated
The Lord of the Rings Online keeps its entire local state in Documents\The Lord of the Rings Online. UserPreferences.ini files hold graphics and UI options, lotro.keymap holds the keybinds that the in-game options screen cannot reach, and the Plugins folder holds Lua add-ons. Screenshots land here too by default.
The folder is shared between the Windows client and the Mac Wine client, so settings and plugins transfer by copying one folder. The game never creates the Plugins folder itself, which is the classic reason fresh add-ons silently do nothing. Characters, kinships and progress need no backup since Standing Stone holds them server-side.
Where Lord of the Rings Online stores this, by platform
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\The Lord of the Rings Online
UserPreferences.ini and UserPreferences64.ini hold graphics and UI; lotro.keymap holds extra keybinds; Plugins holds Lua add-ons (create the folder yourself). Screenshots default here too. Back up the whole folder before reinstalls; characters are server-side. Mac Wine client shares this exact folder.
~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online
Same folder contents as Windows: preferences INI files, lotro.keymap and Plugins. Shared with the Windows client under Crossover or Wine, so one backup covers both. Create the folder and plain-text INI files yourself on fresh Mac installs before first launch.
Frequently asked questions
how do i move lotro settings to a new pc
Copy the whole Documents\The Lord of the Rings Online folder to the new machine. UserPreferences.ini files carry graphics and UI, lotro.keymap carries keybinds, and Plugins carries add-ons. Characters and progress are server-side. Log in and everything reattaches.
how do i fix lotro black screen from bad settings
Rename UserPreferences.ini with the game closed and relaunch. LOTRO generates a fresh default file, which clears whatever broken resolution or graphics line trapped you. Your keybinds in lotro.keymap and your plugins survive, since only the preferences file resets.
how do i install lotro plugins
Drop them in the Plugins folder inside Documents\The Lord of the Rings Online, then enable them in-game from Manage Plugins on the character screen. Set each plugin to load for all characters or specific ones. The folder must exist with exactly that name; the game will not create it for you.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.