Setting Up Fabric

There are a few ways to go about this. These newer steps are for installing Fabric/Iris/Sodium which would be recommended especially if you like or want to run shaders. You can use this installation as it does perform better than the vanilla game and NOT run shaders to just get the performance improvements.

Installing Fabric/Iris/Sodium
Download IrisShaders installer (make sure its the universal jar) and click to run the installer. Change the Game Version to the current version (Soar is on 1.17.1). If you are technically inclined, it is highly recommended to create new directories each time MC gets updated in order to facilitate updating and reverting on the rare occasions it happens but this is not required. The steps for that are below. (If you created a profile with a different Install Directory then you will change that to match the directory to the path you created). The default directory on Win10 for most of this ([installation directory] references this path) is "c:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\roaming\.minecraft".


 * https://irisshaders.net/download.html
 * https://github.com/IrisShaders/Iris-Installer/releases/download/2.0.0/Iris-Installer-2.0.0.jar



After running the Install, this will create a new profile to your installation. At the bottom left of your launcher it should read something close to "Fabric Loader 1.17.1" and if you click the Installations tab it will show that installation version as "fabric-loader-0.11.6-1.17.1". Start the game up again using the new installation profile, again to create the folders you will need for further steps. After the game loads, you can close it.

At this stage, you should now have a full modded installation running that uses Fabric as the modloader and has Iris/Sodium mods installed. Iris allows you to use shaderpacks that are compatible with Optifine (in "[installation directory]/shaderpacks" folder). Sodium improve the games performance. If you want to install other mods, you can download the JAR file and put it into the "[installation directory]/mods" folder. Resource packs go into "[installation directory]/resourcepacks" folder.

Installing Fabric without Iris/Sodium
This process is more involved and less user friendly, but remains an option if you want to minimize what mods you use for whatever reason.

Download the Windows installer


 * https://fabricmc.net/use/

Click to run it


 * In the popup window select the MC version you are installing for. This should be the version current to Soar.
 * Select your install location if its different than what's default for the Minecraft launcher
 * Check "Create Profile"
 * Click "Install"

Start up your Minecraft launcher


 * Next to the big green "PLAY" button is a profile selector, make sure it says fabric-loader-[version]
 * Additional Recommendation
 * Click the "Installations" tab at the top of the launcher
 * Click the fabric-loader-[version] profile to edit it (don't click "Play")
 * Click the "MORE OPTIONS" to expand
 * Assuming you have Java installed, change the executable to "C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-[find your version folder for here]\bin\javaw.exe"
 * Newer versions of Java are often more optimized than the bundled runtimes Mojang ships, but you must have Java 16 or greater to run Minecraft 1.17. When in doubt, just use the bundled version.
 * You can also adjust the -Xmx2G argument to -Xmx8G if you have more memory, more memory helps Minecraft run better but dont set this higher than half your total memory

Exit out of the game now (you are starting the game to load the profile and create some subfolders for mods)

Download the FabricAPI


 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/fabric-api/
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/fabric-api/download/3454922


 * Move the jar file to C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Roaming\[game path, defaults to .minecraft]\mods

Some of our favorite mods!
When downloading mods, make sure you are downloading the FABRIC version for the MC VERSION you are playing. Also almost EVERY mod requires the FabricAPI mod listed first. The download link is a direct link to the 1.17.1 current version at the time of this writing. The downloaded file should go in "[installation directory]/mods" folder".


 * FabricAPI - Required for virtually all mods
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/fabric-api/
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/fabric-api/download/3454922
 * JellySquid Mods - You dont need Sodium as its included as part of Iris but the rest are awesome
 * https://jellysquid.me/projects
 * Starlight - Fixes the lighting engine
 * https://modrinth.com/mod/starlight
 * https://cdn.modrinth.com/data/H8CaAYZC/versions/Starlight%201.0.0%201.17.x/starlight-1.0.0+fabric.73f6d37.jar
 * LazyDFU - Another optimization mod
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/lazydfu
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/lazydfu/download/3209972
 * FerriteCore - Reduces game memory footprint
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/ferritecore-fabric
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/ferritecore-fabric/download/3435174
 * ModMenu - easier access to some mod settings
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/modmenu
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/modmenu/download/3451992
 * VoxelMap - minimap in HUD, also adds waypoint to last death!
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/voxelmap
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/voxelmap/download/3345206
 * ShulkerboxTooltip - allows to see whats in shulker without opening
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/shulkerboxtooltip
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/shulkerboxtooltip/download/3402342
 * DurabilityViewer - shows gear durability in HUD
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/giselbaers-durability-viewer
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/giselbaers-durability-viewer/download/3379974
 * ToroHealth - Shows mob health
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/torohealth-damage-indicators
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/torohealth-damage-indicators/download/3431913
 * LambsDynamicLights - dynamic lighting like Optifine
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/lambdynamiclights
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/lambdynamiclights/download/3409038
 * AppleSkin Shows food quality and saturation levels
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/appleskin
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/appleskin/download/3420933
 * AudioOutput - Ability to change audio source in game without restarting MC
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/audio-output
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/audio-output/download/3351318
 * Litematica - for working with schematic files
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/litematica
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/litematica/download/3452185
 * Also requires MaLiLib
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/malilib
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/malilib/download/3456920
 * HorseStats - Displays horse stats
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/horsestatsvanilla
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/horsestatsvanilla/download/3346443
 * EasierCrafting - Makes crafting slightly more optimized
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/easiercrafting
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/easiercrafting/download/3458441
 * Indium - Provides Sodium with FabricRenderingAPI support
 * https://modrinth.com/mod/indium
 * https://cdn.modrinth.com/data/Orvt0mRa/versions/1.0.0+mc1.17.1/indium-1.0.0+mc1.17.1.jar
 * LogicalZoom - zoom ability like Optifine
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/logical-zoom
 * https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/logical-zoom/download/3379216

Running MC in a new installation path
Start with creating a new Installation profile in your launcher. You DO NOT have to do this, it is recommended though.

Set the Game Directory to a newer path instead of using the default .minecraft folder. Also not required but recommended. I would recommend [MC VERSION, ie. 1.17.1] as the path. This makes updating later and rolling back way easier.



Now you need to actually save the installation and hit Play on it once before any other step. This is important as it creates the folder paths you need. After the game loads, you can close it.