This is the official way to play with Fabric mods in the normal Minecraft Launcher. The Fabric installer adds a Fabric profile to the launcher, and you put the mods into the mods folder yourself.
What you need
- The official Minecraft Launcher with Minecraft Java Edition.
- The LeiCraftClient jar from the download page or Modrinth.
- Fabric API for 26.3 from Modrinth.
- Fabric Language Kotlin 1.14.2 or newer from Modrinth.
When you download Fabric API and Fabric Language Kotlin, pick a file made for Minecraft 26.3 and Fabric. All versions are listed in Requirements.
Install
Download the Fabric installer
Go to https://fabricmc.net/use/installer/ and download the installer for your system.
Click Download for Windows. You get an .exe file, and you don't need Java for it.
Click Download installer (Universal/.JAR). You get a .jar file. To open it, Java must be installed on your Mac (for example Eclipse Temurin from https://adoptium.net).
Click Download installer (Universal/.JAR). You get a .jar file. To run it, Java must be installed (for example the OpenJDK package of your distribution).
Close the Minecraft Launcher
Close the launcher completely before you install. Otherwise it may not notice the new profile.
Run the installer
Double-click the .exe file you downloaded.
Double-click the .jar file. If macOS blocks it, open System Settings › Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway, then open the file again.
Open a terminal in the folder with the download and run the installer. Use the exact file name you downloaded (it contains a version number):
cd ~/Downloads
java -jar fabric-installer.jar
Choose the settings
- Stay on the Client tab.
- Minecraft Version: choose 26.3. Leave Show snapshots off.
- Loader Version: leave the newest version. Any version from 0.19.5 up works.
- Launcher Location: leave the default, unless you moved your
.minecraftfolder. - Keep Create profile checked.
- Click Install.
On Windows, the installer may ask which Minecraft Launcher you use: Microsoft Store / Xbox or Standalone (Win32). Pick the one you installed. If you got the launcher from the Microsoft Store or the Xbox app, choose the first one.
Start Fabric once
- Open the Minecraft Launcher.
- In the version dropdown at the bottom left, choose fabric-loader-26.3.
- Click Play and wait until the title screen appears. Then quit the game.
This first start downloads Minecraft 26.3 and creates the folders you need next.
Open the mods folder
Press Win + R, type the path below and press Enter.
%appdata%\.minecraft\mods
In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder…, type the path below and press Return.
~/Library/Application Support/minecraft/mods
Open this folder in your file manager:
~/.minecraft/mods
If the mods folder doesn't exist, open the folder above it (.minecraft, or minecraft on macOS) and create a folder named exactly mods in it.
Add the three mods
Copy these three .jar files into the mods folder:
- the LeiCraftClient jar,
- Fabric API,
- Fabric Language Kotlin.
Don't unzip them. If an older LeiCraftClient jar is already there, delete it, so only one version is in the folder.
Start the game
Open the Minecraft Launcher, choose fabric-loader-26.3 again and click Play. Look for the LeiCraftClient button on the title screen, below the Realms button. If you see it, LeiCraftClient is installed.
Next: link your account
You can already see other players' capes and cosmetics. To wear your own, link your Minecraft account: Link your account.
Troubleshooting
- The game stops with an error about missing or incompatible mods. Fabric Loader names the mod that is missing. Most often it is Fabric Language Kotlin or Fabric API. Download the version for 26.3 and put it into the
modsfolder. - There is no LeiCraftClient button. Check that you started the fabric-loader-26.3 profile and not the normal release. Check that the LeiCraftClient jar is in the right
modsfolder. - The profile doesn't show up in the launcher. Close the launcher, run the installer again and keep Create profile checked.
More help: Troubleshooting.