Most Downloaded Client Side Mods for Java on Modrinth

These twelve client side mods for Java are the most downloaded on Modrinth among our pages whose stored environment is client side, and none of them needs to be installed on the server you join. Sodium is the most downloaded and the base for three other picks, Entity Culling skips drawing what you cannot see, and Xaero's Minimap is the one for a corner map with waypoints. The wider set sits in our client side mods listing.

How we picked these client side mods

We chose from 454 of our Java mod pages. Of those, 426 carry a Modrinth download count read on 6 October 2026, and 28 come from another source and are not ranked. The filter was stored environment client side and the sort was Modrinth downloads. Two picks, both by Xaero, are stored as server optional, which the next section explains. We did not benchmark or play-test anything. Downloads favour older projects, and a count is not a score.

What client-side only means for servers

A mod stored as client required, server unsupported goes in your own mods folder and nothing goes on the server. Ten of the twelve carry that setting. The two Xaero mods are stored as server optional, and their pages say a server install only adds extras such as world identification. Entity Culling's page says it never touches mob behaviour or farms, and Not Enough Animations says it works on servers without it because everything it changes is visual. A server can still set its own rules, and Sodium Extra shows how: its fog controls stay vanilla on normal multiplayer servers unless the server authorises them. For the definition itself, read how client-side and server-side mods differ.

Performance and rendering mods

Sodium

Sodium

@CaffeineMC · Java Mod

JavaFabric, NeoForgev 1.21.11

Checked Aug 27, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Pick Sodium if you want the rendering engine that Iris, Sodium Extra and Reese's Sodium Options all depend on. Its Modrinth page says it raises frame rates and reduces micro-stutter while keeping the vanilla look, and the newest builds list no required dependencies. The page also says it officially supports desktop graphics cards with OpenGL 4.5 drivers, and that Android and OpenGL translation layers are unsupported. The trade-off: the newest builds sit on the alpha channel, there is no Forge build, and the Quilt line has stopped.

Iris Shaders

Iris Shaders

@coderbot · Java Mod

JavaFabric, NeoForge, Quiltv 1.16.5 to 1.21.11

Checked May 21, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Pick Iris to run shader packs. Its Modrinth summary says it aims to work with existing OptiFine shader packs, and our shader install guide covers the steps. The newest builds on Fabric, NeoForge and Quilt require Sodium, so you always install two mods. Its page links a list of unsupported shader packs and a list of limitations it calls unfixable, so check both before settling on one pack. Support is decided pack by pack, not by the mod alone.

Entity Culling

Entity Culling

@tr7zw · Java Mod

JavaFabric, Forge, NeoForge, Quiltv 1.16.5 to 26.2

Checked Aug 28, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Pick Entity Culling when many entities or block entities sit on screen, such as animal pens or storage rooms. Its page says it uses spare CPU threads to skip drawing what you cannot see. It also warns that a computer with its CPU already maxed has no spare time for those checks, and that block entities which draw outside their bounds, like beacons and Create pulleys, need whitelisting in its config. Fabric builds also require Fabric API, and the Quilt line stopped in 2023.

ImmediatelyFast

ImmediatelyFast

@RaphiMC · Java Mod

JavaFabric, Forge, NeoForge, Quiltv 1.18.2 to 26.2

Checked Aug 28, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Pick ImmediatelyFast for busy screens full of text, maps, particles and HUD elements. Its page says it batches immediate mode draw calls, and it publishes tables from a Ryzen 5 1600 with a GTX 1060 on 1.19.3. Those are the author's numbers, and the page says gains appear where the CPU is the bottleneck. It lists OptiFine, OptiFabric and closed-source clients such as Lunar Client and LabyMod as known incompatibilities. Forge builds trail Fabric and NeoForge.

Sodium Extra

Sodium Extra

@FlashyReese · Java Mod

JavaFabric, NeoForge, Quiltv 1.16.5 to 26.2

Checked Aug 27, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Pick Sodium Extra if you miss OptiFine's toggles. Its page lists animation, particle, detail and render settings, plus an FPS and coordinates display, and it says you must install Sodium. Its README adds a limit for multiplayer: protected gameplay fog stays vanilla on normal servers unless the server authorises it through Greenlight and you have that mod. The Quilt line ends earlier than Fabric and NeoForge.

Reese's Sodium Options

Reese's Sodium Options

@FlashyReese · Java Mod

JavaFabric, NeoForge, Quiltv 1.16.5 to 26.2

Checked Aug 28, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Pick Reese's Sodium Options only if you want a different settings screen for Sodium. Its page lists a search bar, tabs, collapsible groups, per-option reset and undo, and optional Controlify support. The same page says modern Sodium already has a full configuration screen and that this is not required for configuring it. It requires Sodium, is MIT licensed, and says it has no affiliation with CaffeineMC, so send support questions to its own issue tracker.

Maps, menus and quality-of-life mods

Mod Menu

Mod Menu

@Terraformers · Java Mod

JavaFabric, Quiltv 1.14.4 to 26.2

Checked Aug 26, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Pick Mod Menu if you run Fabric or Quilt and want one screen that lists your installed mods and opens their config screens, which is where Not Enough Animations and Entity Texture Features say their settings live. Its page also mentions an update checker for mods hosted on Modrinth. It is the only pick here with no Forge or NeoForge build. The newest builds require Fabric API and a second text library, and we have no page for that library.

Xaero's Minimap

Xaero's Minimap

@thexaero · Java Mod

JavaFabric, Forge, NeoForge, Quiltv 1.16.5 to 1.21.11

Checked May 21, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Pick Xaero's Minimap for a corner map with waypoints and an automatic cave mode. Its page calls it mostly client-sided and describes a full and a fair-play variant, the second meant for servers with rules about mods, so read a server's rules first. The trade-offs: all rights reserved with no public source repository, and the newest Fabric builds require Fabric API. Our Xaero's guide covers its use.

Xaero's World Map

Xaero's World Map

@thexaero · Java Mod

JavaFabric, Forge, NeoForge, Quiltv 1.12.2 to 26.2

Checked Sep 3, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Pick Xaero's World Map for a self-writing full-screen map that its page says works in singleplayer, multiplayer and Realms. Run beside the minimap, the two share map textures and waypoints. The page asks you to optimize a singleplayer world first, since maps generate far slower from unoptimized saves, and warns against pairing it with XaeroPlus. Like the minimap it is all rights reserved with no public source repository, and the server install is optional.

Animation and model mods

Entity Texture Features (ETF)

Entity Texture Features (ETF)

@Traben · Java Mod

JavaFabric, Forge, NeoForge, Quiltv 1.16.5 to 1.21.5

Checked May 22, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Pick ETF for resource packs that use OptiFine-format custom, random or emissive entity textures. Its page also lists blinking mobs and player skin features, and the newest builds on all four loaders require nothing else. The limits are on its page: modded mobs work only if their mod uses vanilla rendering code, and Iris support varies by shader. Entity Model Features depends on it, and Forge builds end below Fabric and NeoForge.

[EMF] Entity Model Features

[EMF] Entity Model Features

@Traben · Java Mod

JavaFabric, Forge, NeoForge, Quiltv 1.18.2 to 1.21.11

Checked May 20, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Pick EMF for resource packs with OptiFine custom entity models, and its page names Fresh Animations as working. The newest builds require Entity Texture Features on every loader, so plan on two files. Its page says it is not compatible with dorianpb's CEM mod or OptiFine and OptiFabric, and it recommends Entity Culling for animation-heavy packs.

Not Enough Animations

Not Enough Animations

@tr7zw · Java Mod

JavaFabric, NeoForge, Forgev 1.16.5 to 26.3

Checked Oct 1, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Pick Not Enough Animations if you watch other players in third person. Its page lists eating, drinking, shield, boat rowing, horse, ladder and crawling animations, each switchable in its config, and says it is fully compatible with servers because the changes are visual. The newest builds need nothing extra. The trade-offs: Forge builds trail Fabric and NeoForge, and the licence is tr7zw's own Protective License, a custom text.

How to choose between them

Start with your loader: Mod Menu is Fabric and Quilt only, Sodium has no Forge build, and Forge owners should read the table row by row. Then count dependencies. Iris, Sodium Extra and Reese's Sodium Options need Sodium, Entity Model Features needs ETF, and several Fabric builds need Fabric API. The mod install guide covers the steps. For everything we left out, browse the client side mods listing.