Auto Nails
Have you ever zoomed in on a beautifully styled Sim, only to notice their hands look like smooth plastic mannequins? Once you see it, you cannot unsee it. In vanilla The Sims 4, Sims never spawn with fingernails or toenails. This tiny oversight can quietly undermine the polish of an otherwise perfect save. Fortunately, the Auto Nails mod by deadlystingnyc solves this problem completely, working silently in the background to ensure every Sim in your world has natural, tone-matched nails.
Why Your Sims Need Auto Nails
You have curated townies, designed stunning outfits, and built a world that looks exactly how you want it. Then, a close-up reveals the hands of a mannequin. Nail-less hands are one of those small details that break immersion. Auto Nails fixes this by automatically applying short, neutral-toned fingernails and toenails to any Sim that lacks them, across every outfit slot. The mod respects Sims that already have nails assigned, so your custom looks are never overwritten.
How Auto Nails Works
The setup is straightforward. Click any Sim and select Auto Nails → Build Nails Config to scan the nail catalog. Once this initial configuration is built, the mod runs automatically on every Sim spawn and age-up, from toddler to teen. Any Sim missing nails on an outfit slot gets natural nails matched perfectly to their skintone. This data persists across zone transitions, so you only need to rebuild the config after reloading a save or installing new nail CC.
Key Features and Menu Options
Beyond the automatic background behavior, Auto Nails adds a robust set of pie menu interactions to every Sim, giving you total control over their nail appearance.
- Apply French Manicure: Applies tone-matched short white French tip nails to the current outfit. Not available for fantasy skintones.
- Apply Natural Nails: Applies tone-matched natural finger and toenails to all empty nail slots on all outfits for the targeted Sim immediately.
- Build Nails Config: Scans the catalog and applies tone-matched natural nails to all loaded Sims. Hidden if the catalog already exists.
- Change Fingernails: Randomizes fingernails from the full nail catalog, filtered for age, gender, occult status, and current outfit category.
- Change Toenails: Randomizes toenails from the full nail catalog with the same smart filtering.
- Enable / Disable CC Nails: Toggles whether custom content nails are included in randomization and auto-apply.
What About Occults and Fantasy Skintones?
Auto Nails is smart about who it modifies. Newborn and Infant Sims are skipped automatically since they have no nail options in the game. Sims with fantasy skintones, aliens, and occults with non-natural coloring are also skipped entirely to avoid mismatched results. This fantasy skintone matching is planned for a future update, but for now, the mod errs on the side of safety.
Compatibility and Requirements
This mod is fully compatible with the base game of The Sims 4, requiring no expansion packs. It has been tested and confirmed compatible with the August 25th, 2026 Patch (PC/Mac: 1.127.41). The mod patches Python directly and contains no tuning overrides, making conflicts with other mods highly unlikely. It is also compatible with CC nails, provided you toggle them on via the menu or config file. Notably, the mod does not modify bathing outfits or fantasy skintone Sims.
For those who want the absolute smoothest experience, the foxygame.net launcher offers a one-click install for Auto Nails, eliminating the hassle of manual file placement. The launcher's add-on catalog keeps Auto Nails for The Sims 4 updated automatically, so you never have to worry about version compatibility after a game patch breaks other mods.
How to Install Auto Nails
Installing the mod is simple. First, download Auto Nails and unzip the file. Drop the unzipped folder into your Mods folder, located at Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/Mods/. In-game, go to Game Options → Other and make sure Script Mods are enabled. Finally, click any Sim and run Auto Nails → Build Nails Config to finish the setup. Remember, both the .ts4script and .package files are required; the mod will not work if either is missing.
Configuration and Troubleshooting
For advanced users, you can create a deadlystingnyc_auto_nails.cfg file in your Mods folder to override default behavior. Set FIX_NPCS=1 to auto-apply on spawn to all Sims, or 0 to disable. Use ALLOW_CC=0 to exclude CC nails by default, keeping results predictable. If you encounter issues, open the cheat console with Ctrl+Shift+C, enter testingcheats true, and use commands like an_state to show config, an_fix to re-run auto-apply, or an_scan to rebuild the catalog. If nails are not appearing, make sure you have run Build Nails Config first, as the mod will not apply nails until the catalog is built.
Final Thoughts on Auto Nails
Auto Nails is one of those essential quality-of-life mods that you do not realize you need until you have it. It handles a glaring visual flaw in the base game with elegance and efficiency. The mod is lightweight, conflict-free, and works silently in the background to keep your Sims looking their best. If you have ever been bothered by mannequin hands, this is the definitive fix. Download Auto Nails today and give every Sim the polished look they deserve, from their fingertips to their toes.