Install a Fabric or NeoForge Mod on Your Computer
Where the mods folder is on Windows, Mac, and Linux, what else has to be installed, and how to tell whether the mod actually loaded.
You've downloaded the JAR. Getting it into the game takes three things: the right loader installed, the file in the right folder, and the right launcher profile selected. This is for Client and Both mods on your own computer. Plugins go on a server instead, covered in Add a plugin to your server.
#What you need
- The mod JAR from Creator Hub
- The loader the mod was built for (Fabric, NeoForge, or Forge), installed for the matching Minecraft version
- For Fabric mods: Fabric API, a separate download from Modrinth or CurseForge, also matching the version
The loader and the version have to match the dropdowns you picked when you generated. A 1.21.1 Fabric mod needs Fabric for 1.21.1.
#Find your mods folder
The loader installer creates it the first time you launch that profile.
| System | Path |
|---|---|
| Windows | %appdata%\.minecraft\mods |
| Mac | ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft/mods |
| Linux | ~/.minecraft/mods |
On Windows, paste the path into the File Explorer address bar. On Mac, use Finder's Go menu, Go to Folder. If the folder doesn't exist, launch the loader profile once and it will.
#Install it
Install the loader
Download the installer from the loader's site (Fabric, NeoForge, or Forge), run it, and pick the Minecraft version that matches your mod. It adds a new profile to the Minecraft launcher.
Drop the JAR in the mods folder
Copy the mod JAR into the folder above. For Fabric, put Fabric API in there too. Don't unzip anything.
Launch the right profile
In the Minecraft launcher, pick the Fabric, NeoForge, or Forge profile, not the vanilla one. The profile name usually includes the loader and version.
Check the Mods list
On the title screen, open Mods. Your mod should be in the list. If it's a Both mod, also check the creative inventory or run the command you asked for.
#Keep your main install clean
Testing on the same install you play on is how worlds get corrupted. Two ways to avoid it:
- Make a separate launcher profile with its own game directory, so test mods never touch your main mods folder.
- Use Loom, our desktop app for Windows. It keeps a mod library and separate instances, so you can spin up a test instance per mod and play it without touching your main install. Get Loom.
#If it doesn't show up
Work through these in order. It's almost always one of them.
- Wrong profile. You launched vanilla. Pick the loader profile.
- Version mismatch. The mod is for 1.21.1 and the profile is 1.21.4. Rebuild for the version you play, or install the loader for the mod's version.
- Wrong loader. A Fabric mod in a NeoForge profile does nothing. Check the platform you picked in Creator Hub.
- Missing Fabric API. Fabric mods crash on launch or fail to load without it.
- Wrong folder. The file is in Downloads, or in a
modsfolder inside a different game directory.
If it's in the Mods list but the feature doesn't work, that's a prompt problem, not an install problem. Go back to the project and say what's wrong.
For a Both mod on a server, the server needs the same JAR in its own mods folder. Test before your players see it covers the server side.
Build it yourself
Turn an idea into a working Minecraft mod
Describe it in plain English. Download the build. Drop it in your mods folder. No coding.
Start building