The Error
You're trying to open an RPF archive or install a mod through OpenIV and you get hit with:
"Invalid characters in path"
The game files are fine. The mod files are fine. But OpenIV refuses to work.
Skip the Workarounds — Use ModWorks Instead
You could spend an hour renaming folders, creating new Windows accounts, or moving your entire GTA V installation to a different drive. Or you could just use a tool that doesn't have this problem.
ModWorks was built from scratch with Rust's native Unicode-aware path system. That means:
- Any Windows username works — accented characters, non-Latin scripts, whatever your system uses
- Long paths are handled — no 260-character limit issues
- No path encoding errors — file paths are processed as proper Unicode throughout the entire application
The same RPF file that OpenIV refuses to open? ModWorks opens it without a single complaint.
What ModWorks Does
ModWorks isn't just an RPF browser. It's an all-in-one GTA V modding toolkit:
- RPF Archive Explorer — browse, inspect, extract, and replace files in RPF archives with full compression and encryption support
- Texture Management — open YTD files, preview textures, replace them individually or in batch, and optimize oversized textures automatically
- 3D Model Previews — view YDR, YDD, and YFT models directly in the app without loading GTA V
- Format Conversion — convert between XML and YMAP, RPF and FiveM resource folders, and more
- FiveM Tools — cache clearing, script encryption, resource scaffolding, hash lookup, and siren conflict detection built in
- EUP Pack Creator — build FiveM-ready clothing packs from raw model and texture files
- Vehicle Meta Editor — visual handling.meta editor with live preview
- Crash Log Analyzer — parse crash dumps and get suggested fixes
No path errors. No waiting for updates after game patches. No juggling five separate tools.
Try It
You don't need to uninstall OpenIV. Both can exist on the same system. Download ModWorks from the downloads page, point it at your GTA V installation, and open the same RPF archives you've been working with.
Join the ModWorks Discord community if you need help getting started.