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Files, folders and paths in the engine executable

Every file name, folder and path that the code of CivilizationVI.exe refers to as a literal string, with the function that uses it. This tells you what the engine reads and writes: which log files it creates, which option and data files it loads, where it looks for mods and maps, and which database files it opens. It does not show names the engine builds at run time (for example %s.log), and files that GameCore (the rules library) writes are not here, such as the AI_*.csv and Game_*.csv logs.

Paths starting with ../../../ are relative to the game's binary folder; Base/ is the base game folder and DLC/ holds the expansions. All entries are verified string literals; what each file is for is inferred from the name and the function that uses it.

Log files the exe writes

45 log names appear in the exe; 23 of them are also present in a normal Logs folder of an installed game (the rest are written only in special modes, or in builds and settings that enable them, for example when a logging option in the option files is on). The Logs folder is AppData/Local/Firaxis Games/Sid Meier's Civilization VI/Logs.

Files found in a normal Logs folder that no string in the exe names: AI_ChokePoint.csv, AI_Diplomacy.csv, AI_Governors.csv, AI_GovtPolicies.csv, AI_Knowledge.csv, AI_Military.csv, AI_Operation_Eval.csv, AI_Planning.csv, AI_Religious.csv, AI_Research.csv, AI_UnitEfficiency.csv, AI_Victories.csv, AStar_APP.log, AStar_GC.log, DiplomacySummary.csv, FiraxisLive.log, ForgeUI_BLPTextureLoader.log, GameCore.log, Game_Boosts.csv, Game_Emergencies.csv, Game_GreatPeople.csv, Game_HeroesManager_HeroStats.csv, Game_HeroesManager_PlayerStats.csv, Game_PlayerScores.csv, Player_Stats.csv, Player_Stats_2.csv, RandCalls.csv, UnitOperations.log, World_Congress.csv. They are written by GameCore (the AI and game statistics csv files, GameCore.log, UnitOperations.log, AStar_*.log), or their names are built from parts at run time (FiraxisLive.log, ForgeUI_BLPTextureLoader.log).

Option, user and runtime files

Files in the user data folder or next to the game that the exe loads or creates. The four *Options.txt files are described in the option files reference.

Folders and sub-folders

Folder names the code uses: the user data sub-folders (Logs, Dumps, Saves, Temp), the save sub-folders (auto, quick, Hotseat, Multi, Single, WorldBuilder), the content roots (Base, DLC) and UI context names.

Database files

The databases the exe opens or creates: gameplay, configuration, localization and modding databases in the install, Mods.sqlite and HallofFame.sqlite in the user folder, and the debug dumps under Cache/.

File masks and extensions

Patterns used when the exe scans folders for content; the first four are how mods, maps and scenarios are discovered.

Install layout paths

Paths inside the game folders, grouped by their first folders. They show where the engine expects its data: databases under Base/Assets/Database, text under Base/Assets/Text, UI definitions under Base/Assets/UI, and per-platform folders for every platform the engine has ever targeted (the exe lists them, including some that never shipped).

Other files

Remaining file names the code mentions: UI art, fonts, cursors, telemetry configuration, benchmark saves, and similar.

Asset ownership check

One function (App::Ownership::Local::Startup) lists a set of hash-named asset files under Base/Assets and tests whether they exist, which is how the exe decides which content packages are present.