What CurseForge is and how it works for Minecraft

CurseForge is a website and desktop app where players find, download and manage mods and add-ons for many games, including Minecraft Java Edition and Bedrock Edition. Overwolf runs it. Creators upload their own projects, and the app can install them into a game instance in one click.

What CurseForge is

There are two parts. The website at curseforge.com is a catalogue of user-made projects, sorted by game. The CurseForge app is a manager that browses the same catalogue and installs, updates and launches what you pick. Its support page says the app is connected to the same repository as the website.

Its homepage, read on 20 October 2026, shows 331.2K and 128.1B beside Minecraft and 26.2K and 852.7M beside Minecraft Bedrock, without labelling the figures in the text we read. The same homepage lists World of Warcraft, The Sims 4, Palworld and others.

Who runs CurseForge

The app download page says it is built by Overwolf and that downloading it means agreeing to Overwolf's terms and privacy policy. Overwolf's own app page describes the company as the developer behind CurseForge, Tebex, Nitro and the Overwolf App Store. CurseForge is a company platform with ads and a paid tier, not a community-run project.

What you can find for Minecraft

The site separates Minecraft (Java) from Minecraft Bedrock. A Java mod never runs on Bedrock, and an add-on never runs on Java, so check the section before saving anything. Our guide to what a Minecraft mod is covers the Java side, and what Minecraft add-ons are covers Bedrock.

What the CurseForge app does

Overwolf's app page lists library management, mod auto-detection, search and auto-updates. The app is for desktop only, on Windows, macOS and Linux. It comes as a standalone app or as an Overwolf version with in-game features. Overwolf's page lists it as free, containing ads, with a subscription available. Premium starts from $2.50 a month on the app download page and removes ads.

The app is one of several launchers. Modrinth App vs CurseForge app vs Prism Launcher compares them, and changing the Minecraft version in the CurseForge app covers its instances.

How creators publish on CurseForge

CurseForge's support pages say mods in the repository are submitted and managed directly by their creators, and that some authors host elsewhere. A new upload can wait for moderators before it appears. The homepage points creators to authors.curseforge.com.

Money is part of the model. The app page says Overwolf shares 70% of the app's ad revenue with authors, and the download page says 70% of a Premium subscription goes to authors and that it has paid $18M+ to creators since 2020. We could not check those figures.

A mod the author never uploaded can still be requested. CurseForge's Non-CurseForge Mods article (modified 12 January 2025) says it may add a mod to its approved list if the mod is hosted publicly, carries a licence that lets CurseForge distribute it, and you supply that information. It says review can take several days.

What a download is on CurseForge

A download is a file a creator uploaded to a project page, and the app advertises one-click installs of it. A Java mod is a .jar that needs the matching loader and Minecraft version, and goes in the mods folder, as in how to install Minecraft mods on Java Edition. Packs of many mods are covered in installing a modpack.

CurseForge states that it scans and moderates every mod. We did not test that claim, and this page gives no safety verdict. Is CurseForge safe takes that question up.

Where to go next

• Choosing between hosts: Modrinth vs CurseForge.
• Other places to find files: where to download Minecraft mods.
• App not opening: fix CurseForge not launching Minecraft.

We read CurseForge's own pages on 20 October 2026. We did not install or run the app.