Create a separate item with $Clone

Use $Clone when you want a different item that reuses compatible existing content. Use an item patch when you want to change the original item instead. Capitalization is exact: $Clone, not $clone or $CloneFrom.

A RuneSchema item clone is a runtime ItemData copy, not a newly cooked Unreal package. It cannot manufacture a mesh, texture, animation, class or Blueprint behavior that does not already exist. Building clones use their own buildings contract, not this ItemData format.

1. Choose a compatible donor

Inspect a working native or mounted, registered ItemData of the kind you need. This lesson uses the ash-wood item referenced by the author's ResourcesAndLoot mod. A resource is a straightforward way to learn identity and inheritance without implying that a weapon can acquire a new attack family by renaming it.

Inherited fields still matter. An equipment item may point to shared stat rows, wearable data, recipes or a held actor. Copying the ItemData does not necessarily deep-clone those dependencies. Changing a shared referenced row can still alter the original donor and other consumers.

2. Create a stable mod and item identity

Use the folder CopyWood. Generate one new canonical 22-character PersistenceID in Helpy's authoring workflow and keep it unchanged after release. Do not copy the tutorial's demonstration ID into several published mods.

An offline way to generate the same URL-safe, unpadded 16-byte identity form is:

[Convert]::ToBase64String([Guid]::NewGuid().ToByteArray()).TrimEnd('=').Replace('+','-').Replace('/','_')

Run it once when creating the item—not at startup or on every update. A display name is not a persistence identity. Do not reuse the donor's ID or internal name.

3. Write the clone file

Create RuneSchema/mods/CopyWood/assets/10-ash-variant.jsonc:

// Generate YOUR OWN canonical ID once before distributing this item.
{
  "/Game/RuneSchema/CopyWood/Items/copywood_ash.copywood_ash": {
    "$Clone": "/Game/Gameplay/Items/Resources/Wood/ITEM_Resources_Wood_Ash.ITEM_Resources_Wood_Ash",
    "PersistenceID": "AAECAwQFBgcICQoLDA0ODw",
    "InternalName": "copywood_ash",
    "Name": "Workshop Ash Wood",
    "MaxStackSize": 100
  }
}

Line	Meaning
1	Replace the demo identity before publishing. The comment is valid JSONC.
2	Open the assets document.
3	Name the clone using the runtime path derived from mod folder CopyWood and internal name copywood_ash.
4	$Clone identifies the compatible existing ItemData donor. It is not a filename on your disk.
5	A new canonical PersistenceID is the clone's permanent saved identity.
6	A unique, stable InternalName is separate from the friendly display name.
7	Name changes the player-facing name; it does not rename the donor.
8	Only this clone's item-owned stack limit is overridden. Other inherited fields remain.
9–10	Close the clone and document.

The runtime constructs the clone at /Game/RuneSchema/<sanitized-mod-folder>/Items/<sanitized-InternalName>.<sanitized-InternalName>. Use a simple stable folder/internal name so the written target and constructed path agree. Confirm the actual registered path in Diagnostics/Helpy before using it in other files. Renaming the mod folder can change this path.

4. Make the new item obtainable

Enable CopyWood : 1 and restart. Search Helpy for Workshop Ash Wood, inspect its path/identity, then explicitly give it to a disposable test character. Selecting or inspecting an item does not deliver it.

A clone does not automatically receive a crafting recipe, vendor offer or loot entry. To distribute it through normal gameplay, reference its actual runtime path from a recipe, a vendor, or the loot example. Put dependencies in the appropriate loaders; do not paste a recipe envelope into an item-property object.

5. Verify that it is genuinely separate

Test the donor and clone side by side:

1. They should retain different PersistenceIDs and internal names.
2. The donor's stack limit/name should not have been changed by this file.
3. The clone should keep its intended appearance and native behavior.
4. Transfer it through inventory/storage, save, restart and load again.
5. Test crafting/loot/vendor consumers and a matching client/server mod set.

For weapon or armor clones, also test attacks, repair, equip/unequip and any shared stat-row dependencies. A rendered icon is not combat or repair validation.

Updates and removal

Keep the folder, InternalName, PersistenceID and downstream references stable. Changing an ID to avoid a conflict is not a safe migration for an already released item. Resolve duplicate ownership with the other author instead.

When the mod is truly absent, supported orphan cleanup can remove its unresolved saved items after a verified backup. Reinstalling the mod does not automatically restore removed possessions. Read save safety and test removal only on a backup—not on a player's only save.