Regular vs Dev edition
PalSchema ships in two flavors on its GitHub releases page. Regular is for players: it loads PalSchema mods and nothing else. Dev adds the authoring tooling and schemas you want when writing your own JSON. Install Dev for this guide; both require UE4SS and live in Palworld\Pal\Binaries\Win64\Mods like any other script mod.
Where PalSchema mods live
Once PalSchema is enabled in mods.txt, it creates its own mods directory inside its folder. Every PalSchema mod is a folder there containing JSON files — no cooking, no packing, no Unreal Editor. Edit a file, restart the game, see the change.
The JSON skeleton
A PalSchema mod declares which data table it touches and what it adds or overrides. A minimal custom Pal mod carries a manifest plus a Pals JSON with the new entry: an ID that does not collide with official Pals, display name, element, stats, work suitabilities and the assets it reuses. Start from the examples in the Dev edition rather than a blank file — the schemas catch mistakes as you type.
Read the official docs
The maintained reference is the PalSchema documentation site at okaetsu.github.io/PalSchema: the installation guide, the full schema reference for every supported table and a troubleshooting section for the classic failure modes. When this page and the docs disagree, the docs win — PalSchema moves fast.