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Table of Contents
Setting up a mod development environment
Prerequisites
- A Java Development Kit (JDK) for Java 8 (recommended) or newer https://adoptopenjdk.net/
- Any Java IDE, for example Intellij IDEA and Eclipse. You may also use any other code editors, such as Visual Studio Code.
Mod Startup
Manual Steps
- Copy the starting files from fabric-example-mod (or from the Kotlin version, if you wish to use Kotlin,) excluding the
LICENSE
andREADME.md
files - as those apply to the template itself, not necessarily to your mod. - Edit
gradle.properties
:- Make sure to set
archives_base_name
andmaven_group
to your preferred values. - Make sure to update the versions of Minecraft, the mappings and the loader - all of which can be queried through this website - to match the versions you wish to target.
- Add any other dependencies you plan to use in
build.gradle
.
- Import the build.gradle file to your IDE. You may refer to the next section for specific IDE's.
- Happy modding!
You can generate the Minecraft sources for reference (since IDEA already has a decompiler this is only useful for searching through the code) :
Run the genSources
Gradle task. If your IDE doesn't have Gradle integration, then run the following command in the terminal: gradlew genSources
(or .gradlew genSources
on Linux/MacOS).
IntelliJ IDEA
If you are using IntelliJ IDEA by JetBrains, please follow these steps:
- Run
gradlew idea
first, then import the Project to IDEA. - In order to run/debug your project, go to menu
Run → Edit Configurations…
. InRun/Debug Configuration
dialog, findApplication > Minecraft Client
and changeUse classpath of module
form[ProjectName]
to[ProjectName].main
, then change forApplication > Minecraft Server
as well. After pressing OK, you will know see Minecraft Client and Minecraft Server now showing up at Run/Debug Toolbar.
Eclipse
If you are using Eclipse and you would like to have the IDE run configs you can run gradlew eclipse
.
Visual Studio Code
If you are using VSCode by Microsoft, please follow these instructions
Generator
You many also use GeneratorFabricMod by ExtraCrafTX, a convenient tool to automatically generate new fabric mods from template. Follow these steps:
- Download latest release of GeneratorFabricMod here and extract them.
- Make a new directory, then run a command shell there and type
path/to/GeneratorFabricMod/bin/GeneratorFabricMod
. - After letting it get its dependencies, follow the instructions and input required information.
- You're now done, just open the project folder with in your IDE.
Getting started
Try adding an item or a block. It's also a good idea to visit Applying changes without restarting Minecraft.
Advice
- While Fabric API is not strictly necessary for developing mods, its primary goal is to provide cross-compatibility and hooks where the game engine does not, and as such it is highly recommended!
- As Fabric is in early development, occasionally, with development of fabric-loom (our Gradle build plugin) issues may crop up which require a manual clearing (deleting) of the cache (which can be found in
.gradle/caches/fabric-loom
). Those will generally be announced as they are identified. - Don't hesitate to ask questions! We're here to help you and work with you to make your dream mod a reality.
Troubleshooting
Missing sounds
Sometimes, when importing the Gradle project into an IDE, the assets might not download correctly. In this case, run the downloadAssets
task manually - either using IDE's built-in menu or by simply running gradlew downloadAssets
.