What a pak mod is
A pak mod is a single .pak archive holding modified game files — textures, models, data tables. It needs no loader and no framework: if a mod page gives you one .pak file and says 'drop it in Paks', this is the guide you need.
Find your Paks folder
From Steam: right-click Palworld → Manage → Browse local files, then open Palworld\Pal\Content\Paks. That folder holds the game's own archives; your mods sit next to them, never inside the official files.
Drop it in ~mods
Inside Paks, create a folder named ~mods if it does not exist and copy the .pak there. The tilde forces the folder to sort last, and files inside it override the base archives — that override is the whole trick. Keep the .pak filename unchanged; some mods check it.
Verify it in game
Load a save and check whatever the mod changes. If nothing changed: confirm the .pak is inside ~mods and not still zipped, confirm you edited the same install the launcher uses, and try moving the file up into Paks itself. Two paks editing the same asset conflict — the last one loaded wins, so test with one mod at a time.