Mods

Mods are widely used on Civ servers to optimize gameplay. Many are bundled into modpacks created by other players to utilize mods.

This page serves as a guide and showing you how to download mods for certain versions. Note that installation may be different depending on Fabric/Forge or depending on version, so please keep in mind what version you are looking for.

Modloader Installation

All mods require one of these mod loaders to run. As of May 2022, Fabric and Forge can't be installed together, so you have to decide which loader you want. This will impact which mods you will be able to install.

Forge is the classic modloader, which has most mods that have been around for ages. It currently has installers for all versions available on Civ.

Fabric is the new modloader that has more of the newer mods that are adapting. It is not compatible with Forge, and has versions from 1.14 to current. Many Fabric mods require the Fabric API, which is another Fabric mod.

Quilt is a hard fork of Fabric intended to have features that are more comprehensive. It is compatible with all Fabric mods, but not with Forge. It has versions from 1.14 to current.

Liteloader is a predecessor to Fabric intended to have a lighter loading module than Forge. It is compatible with Forge, and has versions from 1.8 to 1.12.

Many Fabric mods also require Fabric API to be installed (as a mod), so if you use Fabric, just install the corresponding Fabric API version as well. To install any of these mods, use the installer, and then place any desired mods you want to play with in [minecraft folder]\mods\[version number]\

If you run into issues installing mod loaders, you may consider installing the Prism Launcher (don't use MultiMC or PolyMC), which provides one-click installs for mod loaders, managing multiple accounts and modpacks, and lots of other Minecraft configurations.

	1.8	1.12	1.14	1.16	1.18	1.20
Forge	1.8.9	1.12.2	1.14.4	1.16.5	1.18.2	1.20.1
Fabric			Installer for all versions
Fabric API*			1.14.4	1.16.5	1.18.2	1.20.1
Liteloader	1.8.9	1.12.2
Quilt			Installer for all versions

Mod List

Building Mods

Mod name	Loader	1.8	1.12	1.16	1.18	Description
Effortless Building	Forge		1.12.2	1.16.5	1.18.2	Easy and versatile way to copy common building patterns in order to speed up creative building.
Grid (Fabric)	Fabric		1.16.5	1.18.2	Shows a grid to show each block
Grid (Forge)	Forge		1.12	1.16.4		Shows a grid to show each block
Litematica	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2	A continuation of schematica, allows you to load schematics and display a template on client-side. Requires MaLiLib (see Dependencies)
Schematica	Forge	1.8.9	1.12.2			Allows you to load schematics and display a client-side template
WorldEdit	Forge/Fabric	1.8.9	1.12.2	1.16.5	1.18.2	Multiple tools that help modify the world as a whole, for use on creative servers.
WorldEditCUI	Liteloader/Fabric	1.8.9	1.12.2	1.16.5	1.18.2	Client-side UI that allows you to visualize WorldEdit selections.

Bookkeeping

Mod name	Loader	1.8	1.12	1.16	1.18	Description
Ghostwriter	Forge	1.8.9	1.12.2	1.16.4	1.18.2	Allows loading and saving Minecraft books, great for librarians on the server.
Stendhal	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2	Allows loading and saving Minecraft books as well as including extra features to implement new GUIs and functionality when writing books
Textbook	Fabric/Quilt			1.16.5	1.18.2	Allows you to import books from text files (and your clipboard) and export books to text files.

Bots

Remember to follow the botting rules of your server.

Mod name	Loader	1.8	1.12	1.16	1.18	Description
Advanced Macros	Forge		1.12.2			Write Lua scripts.
JSMacros	Forge/Fabric			1.16.5 (Fabric) 1.16.5 (Forge)	1.18.2 (Fabric) 1.18.2 (Forge)	Write Javascript, Python, or Lua scripts.
MacroKey Keybinding	Forge		1.12.2	1.16.5		Binds keys to send commands with a press of a button.
MacroMod	LiteLoader	1.8.9	1.12.2			Write scripts using an ingame tool.
Angelia	(standalone)	Standalone instructions here				A console bot created by Maxopoly that does not require Minecraft to run.

Chat

Mod name	Loader	1.8	1.12	1.16	1.18	1.20	Description
AdvancedChat	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2 (Core) 1.18.2 (Log) 1.18.2 (Filters) 1.18.2 (Box) 1.18.2 (HUD) 1.18.2 (Macros)		A general chat enhancer mod/set of mods. Prior to 1.18 these mods were all merged into one single mod. - Core: Mostly internal features, filters profanity and display a time - Log: Archives and searches through chat history - Filters: Manipulates incoming messages, can be scripted using Javascript - Box: Complex suggestion/autocompletion features - HUD: Formatting & tab features, similar to TabbyChat2 - Macros: Send messages based on macros
Chat Bubbles	Forge	1.8.9	1.12.2				Adds chat bubbles to proximity chatters
CivRelay	Fabric		1.12.2 (CivRealms)	1.16.5 (CivClassic)			Sends messages to discord channels from ingame
SkyNet	Forge	1.8.9	1.12.2				Alerts users of other users' join/leave. (Usually not shown on Civ servers)
SimpleVoiceChat	Fabric/Forge		1.12.2 (Forge)	1.16.5 (Forge)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric) 1.18.2 (Quilt)		Integrates voice chat in Minecraft, allows you to have voice chat conversations with those nearby. See mod page for more information.
TabbyChat2	Liteloader	1.8.9	1.12.2				Adds tabs to chat similar to AdvancedChat, requires MnmUtils
ChatAbove	Fabric					1.20.1	Adds text bar above of the player head, similar to Chat Bubbles (Included in CivCubed's official modpack). Requires Cloth Config API

Civ-Specific

Mod name	Loader	1.8	1.12	1.16	1.18	1.20	Description
Citadel Mod	Fabric/Forge			1.16.5	(TBA)		Display reinforcement info on the faces of blocks
CivModern	Fabric/Forge			1.16.4	1.18.2	1.20.1	Radar messages; macros for using ice roads and holding down mouse buttons
CivRadar	Forge	1.8.9	1.12.2				Radar, login/out messages.
CombatRadar	Fabric/Forge		1.12.2 (Liteloader)	1.16.5	1.18.2		Radar and login/out messages, with ally/enemy/neutral name colors.
Snitch Mod	Fabric/Forge			1.16.5	1.18.2		Display snitch fields in-game, load snitches from /jalist and chat alerts, help place snitches
Snitchmaster	Forge		1.12.2				Display snitch fields in-game, load snitches from /jalist and chat alerts, browse known snitches
Synapse	Fabric/Forge		1.12.2 (Liteloader)		(TBA)		Help locate and categorize players, and share info in real time with allies

Cosmetic

Mod name	Loader	1.8	1.12	1.16	1.18	1.20	Description
Cosmetica	Fabric/Quilt			1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Fabric)	1.20.1	Shows capes, hats, discord tags, and custom messages.
Dab Mod	Forge		1.12.2				https://giphy.com/gifs/squidward-dab-dabbing-lae7QSMFxEkkE
Ears	Forge, Fabric, Quilt	1.8 (Forge)	1.12 (Forge)	1.16.5 (Fabric) 1.16.5 (Forge)	1.18.2 (Fabric & Quilt) 1.18 (Forge)		Show ears, tails, wings, etc. that are stored on players' skins
Hat List	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2		Shows hat skins on the player tab list.

Dependencies

Mod name	Loader	1.8	1.12	1.16	1.18		Description
Architectury API	Forge/Fabric/Quilt			1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric/Quilt)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric/Quilt)		Dependency for Roughly Enough Items (REI)
Bad Packets	Forge/NeoForge/Fabric/Quilt				1.18.2 (Forge/NeoForge) 1.18.2 (Fabric/Quilt)		Dependency for WTHIT
Cloth Config API	Forge/Fabric			1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric)	1.20.1 (Forge)1.20.1 (Fabric)	A Config API for Fabric and Forge, required for a few HUD and config plugins.
MaLiLib	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2		Dependency for many GUI mods -- note the version number needed, it designates the Fabric version it should be installed with.
MnmUtils	Liteloader	1.8.9					Dependency for TabbyChat2

HUD Mods & PvP

Mod Name	Loader	1.8	1.12	1.16	1.18	Description
5zig Reborn	Forge	1.8.9	1.12.2	1.16.5 (dev, Fabric)		Adds various useful HUD additions and cosmetic features, from and FPS counter to rich discord presence
AppleSkin	Forge/Fabric/Quilt		1.12.2 (Forge)	1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric/Quilt)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric/Quilt)	Adds food value, saturation and health gain to the hunger and health bar.
BetterF3	Forge/NeoForge/Fabric/Quilt			1.16.5 (Forge/NeoForge) 1.16.5 (Fabric/Quilt)	1.18.2 (Forge/NeoForge) 1.18.2 (Fabric/Quilt)	Allows you to completely customize the F3 (or Debug) HUD built in with Minecraft. Requires Cloth Config API.
BetterPVP	Forge/Fabric	1.8.9 (Forge)	1.12.2 (Forge)	1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric)	Shows potion effects, armor and tool durability and other additions making it easier to PVP
InventoryHUD+	Forge/Fabric	1.8.9 (Forge)	1.12.2 (Forge)	1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric)	Allows you to see one's inventory permanently in game, adds other features common in PVP HUDs.
MiniHUD	Liteloader/Fabric	1.8.9 (Forge?)	1.12.2 (Liteloader)	1.16.5	1.18.2	Shows in-game block data, most notably light level data (requires MaLiLib)
WTHIT (What The Hell Is That?)	Forge/NeoForge/Fabric/Quilt			1.16.5 (Forge/NeoForge) 1.16.5 (Fabric/Quilt)	1.18.2 (Forge/NeoForge) 1.18.2 (Fabric/Quilt)	Shows the name of the block you're looking at on-screen. Continuation of HWYLA and WAILA. Requires Bad Packets. Make sure to turn off "Show Entity Health" and "Show Furnace Contents" in the in-game config to comply with server rules.

Mapping

Remember to turn off cavemode if you install a map mod. Most civ servers do not allow cavemode to be used.

Voxelmap: Hit M or your specified full screen map key, and go to Options, then de-select cavemode.

Journeymap: Hit J or your specified full screen map key, and go to Options, under Minimap Preset 1 there should be an option for Show Caves, de-select that option. Note: using the [ or ] keys can change between map modes in Journeymap, be cautious of switching to cavemode.

Xaero's Minimap: Hit Y or your specified settings keybind, and go to Block Map Settings, in this menu there is the cave mode option, click it a few times until it says Cave Mode: Off.

Mod Name	Loader	1.8	1.12	1.16	1.18	Description	Support
Journeymap	Forge/Fabric	1.8.9 (Forge)	1.12.2 (Forge)	1.16.5 (Forge)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric)	Best-looking interface, very customizable; some other mods require it (MapSync, SnitchMod, Synapse)	Discord
Voxelmap	Forge/Fabric		1.12.2 (Forge/Liteloader)	1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Fabric)	Waypoint icons; world map can be zoomed out very far	Discord
Xaero's Minimap	Forge/Fabric	1.8.9 (Forge)	1.12.2 (Forge)	1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric)	Shows a minimap of the world, smoothest experience, has relatively basic features
Xaero's Minimap (Fair Play)	Forge/Fabric	1.8.9 (Forge)	1.12.2 (Forge)	1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric)	Fair play version of the above, removes features to be universally compliant with other servers.
Xaero's World Map	Forge/Fabric	1.8.9 (Forge)	1.12.2 (Forge)	1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric)	World map view in combination with Xaero's Minimap
Map Sync	Forge/Fabric				1.18.2	Synchronize map data with friends live as you explore. Requires Journeymap (v5.8.3+) or Voxelmap (v1.11.2).	Discord

Marketing, Appearance, and Replay

Remember to follow your server's rules on world downloading.

Mod Name	Loader	1.8	1.12	1.16	1.18	Description
Iris Shaders	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2	Shader mod that intends to be compatible with Optifine shader packs
Oculus	Forge			1.16.5	1.18.2	Port of Iris Shaders to work with FML, recommends using Rubidium
MoreChunks	Forge		1.12.2 (beta)			Increases terrain render distance on servers with low-render distance, does not increase performance
ReplayMod	Fabric/Forge	1.8.9 (Forge)	1.12.2 (Forge)	1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Fabric)	Records game sessions and replay afterwards at any perspective.
World Downloader	Liteloader/Forge		1.12.2 (Liteloader)	1.16.4 (Forge)		Downloads world content from the client
Chunky	Standalone	up to 1.18.2				A rendering tool that creates realistic images of Minecraft worlds
Minecraft World Downloader	Standalone		Standalone downloads here			Decrypts network traffic to create a world map of the server

Optimization/Performance Mods

Mod Name	Loader	1.8	1.12	1.16	1.18	Description
Better Beds	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2	Optimizes bed rendering -- low impact on performance
DashLoader	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2	Improves asset loading by caching the games content.
DynamicFPS	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2	Reduces the speed as which Minecraft renders when it's not focused.
Enhanced Block Entities	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2	Increases performance on rendering block entities.
Entity Culling	Forge/Fabric	1.8.9 (Forge)		1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric)	Optimizes entity rendering by not loading any mobs not visible -- medium impact on performance
FastChest	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2	Optimizes chest rendering -- low to medium impact on performance
FerriteCore	Forge/Fabric			1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric)	Reduces memory usage of Minecraft -- high impact on performance
FPS Reducer	Forge	1.8.9	1.12.2	1.16.5	1.18.2	Reduces rendering load when Minecraft is not focused -- low impact in game, medium impact while in another window
Hydrogen	Fabric			1.16.5		Reduces memory usage of Minecraft -- high impact on performance (replaced by FerriteCore)
Lithium	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2	Optimizes the internal game server to reduce tick usage -- medium to high impact on performance
No Fade	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2	Removes the fade out from loading screens -- low impact on performance
Magnesium	Forge			1.16.5	1.18.2 (alpha)	Forge rewrite of Sodium -- provides better graphical rendering on computers (also see Rubidium)
Phosphor	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2	Rewrites the Minecraft lighting engine to better render lighting & shadows -- high impact on performance
Optifine	Forge	1.8.9	1.12.2	1.16.5	1.18.2	Provides an FPS booster, HD texture and shader support -- Consider using Magnesium or Rubidium as an alternative.
OptiFabric	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2	Fabric wrapper for Optifine (not recommended, follow instructions on how to install OptiFabric)
Rubidium	Forge			1.16.5	1.18.2	Forge version of Sodium -- provides better graphical rendering to reduce framerate
Rubidium Extras	Forge			1.16.5	1.18.2	Add-on to Rubidium and Magnesium, increases performance on heavily modded environments, Zoom key, etc.
Sodium	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2	Optimizes graphical rendering on computers, and greatly reduces framerate & stuttering -- medium impact on performance
Smooth Boot	Forge/Fabric			1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Fabric)	Changes multithreading performance on Minecraft -- medium impact on performance

Miscellaneous

Mod Name	Loader	1.8	1.12	1.16	1.18	1.20	Description
Better Sprinting	Forge/Fabric	1.8.9	1.12.2	1.16.3			Adds more toggle keybinds for sprinting
Boosted Brightness	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2	1.20.1	Adds an increased slider for brightness beyond 100%.
Chest Tracker	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2	1.20.1	Remembers chest contents on client side.
Critical Orientation	Fabric			1.16.5			Perfectly place ice boats.
Ding	Forge	1.8.9	1.12.2	1.16.5	1.18.2	1.20.2	Adds a 'ding' sound on loading and joining servers, great for long loading times.
Full Brightness Toggle	Forge/Fabric			1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric)	1.20.4	Simple toggle button to increase gamma.
Gammabright	Liteloader	1.8.9	1.12.2				Turn brightness to increase gamma.
GammaUtils	Fabric/Quilt			1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2	1.20.4	Allows you to change the gamma value in game, and have fully client side effects.
GJEB	Forge/NeoForge			1.16.5 (Forge)		1.20.1	Turn brightness up to 1000%.
In-Game Account Switcher	Forge/Fabric	1.8.9 (Forge)	1.12.2 (Forge)	1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric)	1.20.1 (Forge) 1.20.4 (Fabric)	Allows you to switch accounts in the game, without having to restart Minecraft.
I Know What I'm Doing	Forge/Fabric		1.12.2 (Forge)	1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric)		Suppresses in-game tooltips.
Just Enough Items (JEI)	Forge/Fabric	1.8.9 (Forge)	1.12.2 (Forge)	1.16.5 (Forge)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric)	1.20.2 (Forge) 1.20.2 (Fabric)	Recipe & item shower. (Note: does not show Factory recipes)
Roughly Enough Items (REI)	Forge/Fabric/NeoForge			1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric)	1.20.4 (Forge) 1.20.4 (Fabric) 1.20.4 (NeoForge)	Fabric equivalent of Just Enough Items, with a Forge version for some reason? Requires Architectury API
Krypton	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2	1.20.4	Optimizes the Minecraft networking stack -- low to medium performance
Magnesium Dynamic Lights	Forge			1.16.5	1.18.2	1.20.1	Adds dynamic lighting compatible with Magnesium and Rubidium
Mod Menu	Fabric/Quilt			1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2	1.20.4	Adds a mod menu for Fabric, showing all the mods installed (it's built into Forge.)
Notes	Forge		1.12.2	1.16.5	1.18.2		Write notes for yourself in game.
Notes for Fabric	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2		Write notes for yourself in game.
OAuth	Forge/Fabric		1.12.2 (Forge)	1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric)		Attempts to reauthenticate your client and allows you to log into multiple accounts.
Ok Zoomer	Fabric/Quilt			1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Fabric) 1.18.2 (Quilt)		A comprehensive Zoom mod that gives a configurable keybounded zoom key.
Pling	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2		Adds a sound when Minecraft is done loading.
Screenshot to Clipboard	Forge/Fabric		1.12.2 (Forge)	1.16.5 (Forge) 1.16.5 (Fabric)	1.18.2 (Forge) 1.18.2 (Fabric)		Allows you to send screenshots to the clipboard. Not compatible with Optifine.
Time Changer	Fabric			1.16.5	1.18.2		Allows you to change the time on the server, visible on client-side only.
WI Zoom	Fabric		1.12.2 (Forge)	1.16.5	1.18.2		A comprehensive zoom mod with configurable key and zoom magnification.
Zoomify	Fabric				1.18.2