Mods

This article is about game modifications. For server moderators, see Operator.

File:2012-03-11 17.19.59.png

An example of a world generator mod (custom Indev map generator)

Mods (short for modifications) are anything that changes Minecraft's game content from what it originally was.

Purpose

Most mods add content to the game to alter gameplay, change the creative feel, or give the player more options in how they interact with the Minecraft world. Most people who create mods for Minecraft (known as modders) use Minecraft Coder Pack and either ModLoader or Minecraft Forge to do so. Some mods may be bigger expansions, others add more settings and options to optimize speed, graphics, or gameplay of the game. Server mods or plugins mainly give server admins more options and ease of use, and most mods for single-player have a server version that allows or optimizes the mod in multiplayer.

Ideally, the creator of a mod updates the mod whenever the game updates - bringing more content, bug fixes, or optimizations. Otherwise, the mod may not work with a newer version.

Mods are also available for the Pocket Edition via jailbreaking on iOS and through apps such as "BlockLauncher" or "MCPE Master" on Android devices. Mods are not available for the Console Versions.

Types of mods

Client-based

Client mods are modifications to your game files themselves. They are not custom clients, and they require modification of minecraft.jar.

As the Minecraft server software will ignore custom content from client side, most of the client mods which add new content to the game do not work in SMP unless a modification has also been installed on the server. Some authors of client mods have made server versions of their mods available, and others have not. A few of the Loader/API type client mods (e.g. ModLoader and AudioMod) and many of the functional client mods (e.g. Optifine, Rei's Minimap and TooManyItems) have effect in SMP straight away, without any modification on server side.

Mod list on Minecraft Forums

Server-based

Server mods are modifications to the official Minecraft server software. They are commonly designed to make administration of servers easier by implementing tiered privileges for commands (such as kicking, banning etc.). They are frequently implemented as "wrappers" which do not actually modify the main server .jar file, instead monitoring its output and sending commands to it.

Server Modifications
Name	Description	Version	Link	Latest Release
Voidity	All-in-one server mod with great stability and lots of features. Simple and efficient, fully configurable New fight system (arena, Hunger Games, combat bonuses) New teleport system (save locations, go back, limited guest functionality, lock) New community features (building and chest protection, dual credit economy, factions) Better crew handling, admins and configurable ops, on-the-fly config reloading Structure generator with 3 kinds of towers and a sphere Multiworld (even multi-gamemode simultaneously) support Tons of new chat commands, like backup or math, and lots of other custom functions	1.7.2 R1.4	Homepage
CanaryMod	Successor of Canary Classic, a fork of hMod Plugin System. Simple and Efficient. Built-in Permission system. Plugins hardly ever break. Multiworld support Java, Scala, and Lua Plugin support	1.8.0-1.2.0 (Bleeding) 1.7.10-1.1.2 (Stable)	Homepage Forums
Bukkit	A popular mod API with its own server software. Discontinued. Plugin System Efficient Security updates to server Built upon the Minecraft Source Code Multiworld support	1.7.9-R0.2	Homepage download (Unavaliable)) Forum
Spigot	A popular server software based on Bukkit. Plugin System Less lag All features of Bukkit Built upon the Minecraft Source Code Multiworld support Built-in X-ray hack protection	1.11.2	Homepage Forum
MC Port Central	Modified Server combining forge with Bukkit allowing you to play mods and bukkit plugins on the same server. Combines the features of bukkit while using Forgemodloader. Updated regularly Allows you to use bukkit plugins	Build #18	Ported Mods for 1.4.6
Sponge	Sponge is a combination of a new API (based off of Spout/Flow’s APIs) implemented on top of Forge, with assistance from other parts of Minecraft’s modding community (Glowstone, Cauldron, Spout, etc.).	1.8	Homepage Downloads

Mod packs

Mod packs are collections of mods that have been put together and configured so that they will all work together. Mod packs are often centered around a general theme like tech, quests, or magic. Mod packs often have either custom launchers or installers that make installing and running the mod pack easy. Some of the more popular mod packs are Feed The Beast Infinity and the slightly outdated Tekkit and Hexxit. There are of course also smaller mod packs, such as e.g. Crafting Dead, most of which using the special Minecraft Technic Launcher from Technic Pack.

Most mod packs can be found on custom launchers, which make it easy to install and launch various mod packs. The most popular of these are the Feed the Beast, Technic, ATlauncher, and the new Curse.com client launchers. In addition to making it easy to install mod pack clients, certain launchers can also download mod pack servers.

Bugs

If you install a mod, it may stop the game from working properly. If you encounter a problem while using mods and want to report it, first remove all of your mods and see if the problem still happens. If the problem continues to happen, it can be reported on the bug tracker. Otherwise, try to reproduce the problem with the fewest possible number of mods, and then report the problem to the author(s) of those mods.

If Minecraft crashes, a modified game is flagged in the crash report. The following link explains how to obtain a crash report. (Note: If your Minecraft has never crashed, following those instructions won't find anything.)

The crash report text will include a line near the bottom which will say one of:

Is Modded: Probably not. Jar signature remains and client brand is untouched
Is Modded: Very likely; Jar signature invalidated
Is Modded: Definitely: client brand changed to (present loader, such as "fml,forge" or modloader)
Is Modded: Unknown (can't tell)

A shortened example crash report is given below:

Crash Report

Minecraft has crashed! ---------------------- Minecraft has stopped running because it encountered a problem; Unexpected error --- BEGIN ERROR REPORT 1aa09c6 -------- Generated 03/09/12 12:00 - Minecraft Version: 12w34a - Operating System: Windows 7 (amd64) version 5.2 - Java Version: 1.7.0_03, Oracle Corporation - Java VM Version: Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (mixed mode), Oracle Corporation - Memory: 500000000 bytes (477 MB) / 600000000 bytes (572 MB) up to 900000000 bytes (858 MB) - LWJGL: 2.4.2 - OpenGL: NVidia ABC 999 Ti/PCI/SSE2 GL version 0.9.0, NVIDIA Corporation '''- Is Modded: Probably not. Jar signature remains and client brand is untouched - Type: Client - Profiler Position: N/A (disabled) - World MpServer Entities: 1 total; [anx['Blockbuilder567'/1135, l='MpServer', x=8.50, y=66.62, z=8.50]] ...

The code that checks for mods is fairly simple, and it's not always correct; it may say 'probably not' even with mods installed. However, it's very difficult to get the 'very likely' message if you haven't modified minecraft.jar somehow, so that's essentially a 'yes'. There's also a 'definitely' message, seen when a Bukkit server crashes and under other similar circumstances, like when the Minecraft Forge API is installed.

'Probably not' appears when the client/server brand appears to the in-game check to be unaltered (often termed 'vanilla') and the META-INF folder is still there. 'Very likely' appears when the META-INF folder is not present but the client/server brand seems to be vanilla. 'Definitely' plus the client name appears when the client is not vanilla. For example, you might see something like:

Is Modded: Definitely: Client brand changed to 'fml,forge'

See also

• Plugin API, an upcoming feature that allows modders to more easily add content to the game.
• Cheating and exploits.
• Mods/Installing mods for a guide on how to install mods.
• Mods/Installing forge mods for a guide on how to install mods using Forge.
• Mods/Creating mods for a guide on how to create mods.
• Programs and editors/Modding showcases tools for installing and making mods.