diff --git a/lib/main.dart b/lib/main.dart
index 026d0e8..cbe1238 100644
--- a/lib/main.dart
+++ b/lib/main.dart
@@ -1,16 +1,16 @@
 import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
 import 'package:rimworld_modman/modloader.dart';
+import 'dart:io';
 
 // Global variable to store loaded mods for access across the app
 late ModList modManager;
 
 void main() {
+  // Initialize the mod manager
   modManager = ModList(path: modsRoot);
-  modManager.load().listen((mod) {
-    print(mod);
-  });
-
-  // runApp(const RimWorldModManager());
+  
+  // Start the app
+  runApp(const RimWorldModManager());
 }
 
 class RimWorldModManager extends StatelessWidget {
@@ -95,14 +95,14 @@ class _ModListPageState extends State<ModListPage> {
   bool _isLoading = false;
   String _loadingStatus = '';
   int _totalModsFound = 0;
+  bool _skipFileCount = true; // Skip file counting by default for faster loading
 
   @override
   Widget build(BuildContext context) {
     return Scaffold(
-      body:
-          _loadedMods.isEmpty && !_isLoading
-              ? _buildEmptyState()
-              : _buildModList(),
+      body: _loadedMods.isEmpty && !_isLoading
+          ? _buildEmptyState()
+          : _buildModList(),
     );
   }
 
@@ -119,6 +119,21 @@ class _ModListPageState extends State<ModListPage> {
             'Ready to scan for RimWorld mods.',
             style: Theme.of(context).textTheme.bodyLarge,
           ),
+          const SizedBox(height: 12),
+          Row(
+            mainAxisSize: MainAxisSize.min,
+            children: [
+              Checkbox(
+                value: _skipFileCount,
+                onChanged: (value) {
+                  setState(() {
+                    _skipFileCount = value ?? true;
+                  });
+                },
+              ),
+              const Text('Skip file counting (faster loading)'),
+            ],
+          ),
           const SizedBox(height: 24),
           ElevatedButton(
             onPressed: _startLoadingMods,
@@ -205,14 +220,27 @@ class _ModListPageState extends State<ModListPage> {
       _loadingStatus = 'Scanning for mods...';
     });
 
-    // Use batch loading for better performance
+    // First get the mod directories to know the total count
+    final directory = Directory(modsRoot);
+    if (directory.existsSync()) {
+      final List<FileSystemEntity> entities = directory.listSync();
+      final List<String> modDirectories =
+          entities.whereType<Directory>().map((dir) => dir.path).toList();
+      
+      setState(() {
+        _totalModsFound = modDirectories.length;
+        _loadingStatus = 'Found $_totalModsFound mod directories. Loading...';
+      });
+    }
+
+    // Use the serial loading with our skipFileCount option
     modManager
-        .load()
+        .load(skipFileCount: _skipFileCount)
         .listen(
           (mod) {
             setState(() {
               _loadedMods.add(mod);
-              _loadingStatus = 'Loaded ${_loadedMods.length} mods...';
+              _loadingStatus = 'Loaded ${_loadedMods.length}/$_totalModsFound mods...';
             });
           },
           onError: (error) {
diff --git a/lib/modloader.dart b/lib/modloader.dart
index ff55429..d89cbff 100644
--- a/lib/modloader.dart
+++ b/lib/modloader.dart
@@ -46,12 +46,16 @@ class Mod {
     required this.size,
   });
 
-  static Mod fromDirectory(String path) {
+  static Mod fromDirectory(String path, {bool skipFileCount = false}) {
+    final stopwatch = Stopwatch()..start();
+    
     final aboutFile = File('$path/About/About.xml');
     if (!aboutFile.existsSync()) {
       throw Exception('About.xml file does not exist in $aboutFile');
     }
+    
     final aboutXml = XmlDocument.parse(aboutFile.readAsStringSync());
+    final xmlTime = stopwatch.elapsedMilliseconds;
 
     late final XmlElement metadata;
     try {
@@ -99,7 +103,7 @@ class Mod {
     try {
       description = metadata.findElements('description').first.innerText;
     } catch (e) {
-      print('$name has no description');
+      // Silent error for optional element
     }
 
     List<String> hardDependencies = [];
@@ -115,7 +119,7 @@ class Mod {
               )
               .toList();
     } catch (e) {
-      print('$name has no hard dependencies');
+      // Silent error for optional element
     }
 
     List<String> softDependencies = [];
@@ -128,7 +132,7 @@ class Mod {
               .map((e) => e.innerText.toLowerCase())
               .toList();
     } catch (e) {
-      print('$name has no soft dependencies');
+      // Silent error for optional element
     }
 
     List<String> incompatabilities = [];
@@ -141,21 +145,31 @@ class Mod {
               .map((e) => e.innerText.toLowerCase())
               .toList();
     } catch (e) {
-      print('$name has no incompatabilities');
+      // Silent error for optional element
     }
+    
+    final metadataTime = stopwatch.elapsedMilliseconds - xmlTime;
 
-    final size =
-        Directory(path)
-            .listSync(recursive: true)
-            .where(
-              (entity) =>
-                  !entity.path
-                      .split(Platform.pathSeparator)
-                      .last
-                      .startsWith('.'),
-            )
-            .length;
-
+    int size = 0;
+    if (!skipFileCount) {
+      size = Directory(path)
+          .listSync(recursive: true)
+          .where(
+            (entity) =>
+                !entity.path
+                    .split(Platform.pathSeparator)
+                    .last
+                    .startsWith('.'),
+          )
+          .length;
+    }
+    
+    final fileCountTime = stopwatch.elapsedMilliseconds - metadataTime - xmlTime;
+    final totalTime = stopwatch.elapsedMilliseconds;
+    
+    // Uncomment for detailed timing
+    print('Mod $name timing: XML=${xmlTime}ms, Metadata=${metadataTime}ms, FileCount=${fileCountTime}ms, Total=${totalTime}ms');
+    
     return Mod(
       name: name,
       id: id,
@@ -177,7 +191,8 @@ class ModList {
 
   ModList({required this.path});
 
-  Stream<Mod> load() async* {
+  Stream<Mod> load({bool skipFileCount = false}) async* {
+    final stopwatch = Stopwatch()..start();
     final directory = Directory(path);
     print('Loading configuration from: $path');
 
@@ -186,32 +201,34 @@ class ModList {
       final List<String> modDirectories =
           entities.whereType<Directory>().map((dir) => dir.path).toList();
 
-      print('Found ${modDirectories.length} mod directories:');
+      print('Found ${modDirectories.length} mod directories (${stopwatch.elapsedMilliseconds}ms)');
+      int processedCount = 0;
+      int totalMods = modDirectories.length;
       
       for (final modDir in modDirectories) {
         try {
-          // Add a small delay to prevent UI freezing and give time for rendering
-          await Future.delayed(const Duration(milliseconds: 5));
+          final modStart = stopwatch.elapsedMilliseconds;
           
-          final mod = Mod.fromDirectory(modDir);
+          final mod = Mod.fromDirectory(modDir, skipFileCount: skipFileCount);
           mods[mod.id] = mod;
-          print(
-            'Loaded mod: ${mod.name} (ID: ${mod.id}) from directory: $modDir. '
-            'Size: ${mod.size}, '
-            'Hard Dependencies: ${mod.hardDependencies.join(', ')}, '
-            'Soft Dependencies: ${mod.softDependencies.join(', ')}, '
-            'Incompatibilities: ${mod.incompatabilities.join(', ')}',
-          );
+          processedCount++;
+          
+          final modTime = stopwatch.elapsedMilliseconds - modStart;
+          if (processedCount % 50 == 0 || processedCount == totalMods) {
+            print('Progress: Loaded $processedCount/$totalMods mods (${stopwatch.elapsedMilliseconds}ms, avg ${stopwatch.elapsedMilliseconds/processedCount}ms per mod)');
+          }
           
           yield mod;
-          print('Current total mods loaded: ${mods.length}');
         } catch (e) {
           print('Error loading mod from directory: $modDir');
           print('Error: $e');
         }
       }
+      
+      final totalTime = stopwatch.elapsedMilliseconds;
+      print('Loading complete! Loaded ${mods.length} mods in ${totalTime}ms (${totalTime/mods.length}ms per mod)');
     } else {
-      print('Mods root directory does not exist: $modsRoot');
+      print('Mods root directory does not exist: $path');
     }
   }
 }