Most Downloaded Minecraft Tech Mods on Modrinth

Create is the most downloaded Minecraft tech mod we list on Modrinth, Applied Energistics 2 is the storage network pick, and Modern Industrialization is the standalone route to full automation. This page picks 12 technology mods from our Java mods listing that cover machines, power, automation or storage networks, sorts them by Modrinth downloads and groups them by what each player wants to build. Modrinth counts were read on 7 October 2026.

How we picked these tech mods

Seven pages with no Modrinth count could not be ranked against the rest. The sort is Modrinth downloads. We did not benchmark or play-test any of these mods, downloads favour older projects, and a count is not a score.

Factory and automation mods

Five of the 12 picks are Create or built on it, so loader choice matters here. If you are still choosing a loader, read Fabric vs Forge vs NeoForge first.

Create

Create

@simibubi · Java Mod

JavaForge, NeoForgev 1.18.2 to 1.21.1

Checked May 21, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Pick Create if you want machines you arrange and watch move rather than menus you click through. Its creator's page describes animated contraptions and an in-game guide called Ponder. The trade-off is the loader: it runs on Forge and NeoForge, and the Fabric port is a separate project. The page also says the vanilla recipe book cannot guide you, so it asks for a recipe viewer such as JEI. Our JEI, REI and EMI comparison covers that choice.

Create Enchantment Industry

Create: Enchantment Industry

@MarbleGateKeeper · Java Mod

JavaFabric, NeoForge, Forgev 1.18.2 to 26.1.2

Checked Oct 2, 2026Source and install notes ↗

This one suits players who already run Create and want enchanting and experience handled by machines. It adds liquid experience, a Blaze Enchanter, a Blaze Forger, a Mechanical Grindstone and a Printer that copies books and name tags. The cost is dependencies: the newest NeoForge and Forge builds need Create plus Create: Dragons Plus, and the newest Fabric build needs Create Fabric plus Dragons Plus, neither of which has a page on our site. The newest builds on every loader are betas.

Create Ore Excavation

Create Ore Excavation

@tom5454 · Java Mod

JavaNeoForge, Fabric, Forgev 1.18.2 to 1.21.1

Checked Oct 2, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Choose it if you want mining to become an automated, rotation-powered job instead of a trip underground. It adds hidden infinite ore veins and fluid reservoirs, with at most one vein per chunk, and you extract them with a Drilling Machine and a Fluid Extractor. It needs Create, so it only suits worlds already built around that mod. Vein types can be changed with a data pack or KubeJS.

Power generation mods

Create Crafts & Additions

Create Crafts & Additions

@mrh0 · Java Mod

JavaNeoForge, Fabric, Forgev 1.18.2 to 1.21.1

Checked Sep 25, 2026Source and install notes ↗

This is the bridge between Create's rotational force and electricity. Its page lists an Electric Motor, and an Alternator that converts back at 75% efficiency, plus wires, an Accumulator and a Tesla Coil. Pick it if you want Forge Energy machines beside Create ones. The Fabric build is described by the creator as not actively maintained, and the Quilt build stopped in March 2024.

Create Diesel Generators

Create: Diesel Generators

@GeorgeVI · Java Mod

JavaNeoForge, Forgev 1.18.2 to 1.21.1

Checked Oct 2, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Pick this for fuel-based power inside Create. It adds compact diesel engines, pumpjacks, oil barrels and a crude oil refinery, and the creator's README says it aims for simple industrial features in Create's style. It has NeoForge and Forge builds only, and no Fabric build. Its newest builds on both loaders require Create.

Immersive Engineering

Immersive Engineering

@BluSunrize · Java Mod

JavaForge, NeoForgev 1.12.2 to 1.21.1

Checked Sep 10, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Immersive Engineering suits players who like visible infrastructure: its page describes hanging power lines instead of cable blocks, large multiblocks, waterwheels, windmills and biodiesel. It uses Forge Energy but plays standalone. The limit is loaders. The creators say they will not port it to Fabric or Quilt, and its last Modrinth update on 2025-07-05 is the oldest of the 12 picks.

Powah!

Powah!

@Technici4n · Java Mod

JavaFabric, Forge, NeoForgev 1.18.2 to 26.1.2

Checked Sep 15, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Powah! is the pure energy mod here, focused on generating, storing and moving power. It adds Furnators, Magmators, Solar Panels, Thermo Generators, Reactor multiblocks, Energy Cables and Energy Cells. Technici4n maintains it after the original author, owmii, stopped. Dependencies vary by loader: NeoForge builds need Cloth Config API and GuideME, and the newest NeoForge build is an alpha, while Fabric and Forge builds need Cloth Config API and Architectury API.

Storage network mods

Both storage picks turn scattered chests into one network with auto-crafting, and their loader support differs. Our Refined Storage vs AE2 comparison goes deeper.

Applied Energistics 2

Applied Energistics 2

@shartte · Java Mod

JavaFabric, Forge, NeoForgev 1.18.2 to 1.21.1

Checked May 22, 2026Source and install notes ↗

AE2 is for players who want a planned, deep storage and auto-crafting system. Its page describes a digital network, crafting patterns, a channel system that caps devices per cable, and Spatial Storage for whole regions. The newest NeoForge build is an alpha that requires GuideME, which has no page on our site, and the newest Forge build requires it too.

Refined Storage

Refined Storage

@Refined Mods · Java Mod

JavaFabric, Forge, NeoForgev 1.20.1 to 26.1.2

Checked Sep 10, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Refined Storage suits players who want a single Grid interface for items and fluids, with importers, exporters, constructors and destructors around it. It has current Fabric and NeoForge builds, and Fabric needs Fabric API. Forge builds stopped in 2023, so a Forge world on older versions stays on the old line. Its Modrinth categories also include transportation.

Tech mods for programming and tech-pack progression

CC Tweaked

CC: Tweaked

@squiddev · Java Mod

JavaFabric, Forge, NeoForgev 1.4.7 to 26.2

Checked Sep 16, 2026Source and install notes ↗

CC: Tweaked is for players willing to write Lua. It adds programmable computers, mobile turtles, monitors, speakers and modems, and its page says computers can work with chests. The newest Fabric and NeoForge builds are alphas, and Fabric needs Fabric API. We found no licence file in its repository, and Modrinth labels it LicenseRef-CCPL, so check the terms before putting it in a public modpack.

Mekanism

Mekanism

@aidancbrady · Java Mod

JavaForge, NeoForgev 1.7.10 to 1.21.1

Checked May 22, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Mekanism is the tiered route from basic ore processing to factories. Its page says machines upgrade to factories handling 3, 5, 7 or 9 items at once, and lists a Digital Miner, Logistical Transporters and hydrogen jetpacks. The Fusion Reactor needs Mekanism Generators, a separate module we do not pick here. It has no Fabric build.

Modern Industrialization

Modern Industrialization

@Technici4n · Java Mod

JavaFabric, NeoForgev 1.16.2 to 1.21.1

Checked Sep 10, 2026Source and install notes ↗

Pick Modern Industrialization if you want a standalone mod with total automation as the end goal. Its FAQ says it is inspired by GregTech but drops the many crafting tools and keeps vanilla ore generation. Recent builds are NeoForge only, and Fabric builds stopped in July 2024. The newest build requires GuideME, and the creators ask players to add EMI, JEI or REI to see recipes in game.

Which tech mod suits which player

Start with the loader. Immersive Engineering, Mekanism and Create: Diesel Generators have NeoForge and Forge builds only, while Refined Storage, AE2 and CC: Tweaked also have Fabric builds. Next, decide whether you want one big system (Create and its add-ons) or a standalone progression mod (Mekanism, Modern Industrialization, Immersive Engineering). Storage is a separate choice between AE2 and Refined Storage.

Everything else we list is in the Java mods listing, and the most downloaded mods by use page covers other categories.