What Moonlight Lib works with.
| Platform | Java Edition |
|---|---|
| Loaders | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge |
| Minecraft versions | 1.16.5, 1.18.2, 1.19.2, 1.19.4, 1.20.1, 1.20.4, 1.21.1, 26.1.2 |
| Environment | Client, Server |
Moonlight Lib is a support library for Minecraft Java Edition mods, built by MehVahdJukaar and shipped for Fabric, Forge and NeoForge. It generates resource packs and data packs while the game is loading, registers whole families of blocks from a single wood or stone type, and drives custom map markers. On its own it changes nothing you can see, so you install it because a mod like Supplementaries lists it as a requirement.
What the Moonlight Lib mod does
The work happens at load time, before you reach the title screen. Instead of a mod author shipping thousands of hand-made texture and recipe files for every wood type in every other mod you have installed, Moonlight builds those assets in memory from a template and a palette. That is why mods built on it tend to pick up matching variants for modded woods automatically.
- Dynamic resource pack and data pack generation, including recoloured textures built from a source texture and a palette.
- Block set registration, so one definition produces the full run of blocks for every registered wood or stone type, vanilla and modded.
- Custom, data-driven map markers that show structures and points of interest on a filled map.
- Shared helpers for configs, networking, dispenser behaviour, item animations and villager activities.
Loader and version support
The three loaders are not on the same track, and the newest upload is not the highest game version. Read this before you match a file to your instance.
- Fabric and NeoForge share a build. The current stable release is 1.21.1-3.6.0 for Minecraft 1.21.1, published 2 September 2026.
- Support for Minecraft 26.1.2 exists on Fabric and NeoForge as version 26.1.2-4.0.1, but it is marked beta, not release.
- Forge is on a separate, older line. The current Forge file is 1.20-2.16.34-forge for Minecraft 1.20.1, from June 2026.
- Older builds go back to Minecraft 1.16.5, so a mod pinned to an older version usually still has a matching Moonlight file.
Installing Moonlight Lib on Fabric, Forge and NeoForge
- 1.Install the loader your mods use, following our walkthrough for Forge and NeoForge if you need it.
- 2.On the Modrinth page, filter by your loader and your exact Minecraft version, then download the matching .jar.
- 3.Drop the file into your mods folder alongside the mod that required it.
- 4.For multiplayer, put the same file in the server's mods folder as well as every client's.
Version numbers matter more here than with most mods. A Moonlight build for 1.20.1 will not load a mod compiled against the 1.21.1 line, and mismatched pairs usually fail at startup rather than in-game.
Questions about Moonlight Lib.
5 questions
Which mods need Moonlight Lib?
Mostly MehVahdJukaar's own mods. Supplementaries names Moonlight as a required dependency, and other projects from the same author do the same. Moonlight is not a general-purpose library the way Fabric API is, so a mod that does not list it does not need it. Check the dependency list on the mod's own download page, because a mod that needs Moonlight will name it there and will not start without it.
Do I install Moonlight Lib on the client, the server, or both?
Both. The project marks Moonlight as required on the client and required on the server, because it generates assets the client needs and registers content the server needs. On a multiplayer setup, put the same file at the same version in the server's mods folder and in every player's mods folder. Treat a client-only or server-only install as unsupported.
What is the Moonlight library in Minecraft?
It is a code library, not content. Mod authors use it to avoid rewriting the same plumbing for asset generation, block registration and cross-loader code. Nothing in it appears in your world by itself, so installing it alone gives you no new blocks, mobs or recipes. It only matters once a mod that depends on it is installed too.
Which Minecraft versions does Moonlight Lib support?
Files exist from Minecraft 1.16.5 up to 26.1.2, but not evenly across loaders. Fabric and NeoForge have a stable release on 1.21.1 and a beta on 26.1.2. Forge stops at 1.20.1. Pick the file that matches both your loader and your exact game version, because a near miss will not load.
Does Moonlight Lib need Fabric API?
The project declares no required dependencies of its own on any loader, so Moonlight does not pull in Fabric API by itself. In practice most Fabric setups already have Fabric API because other mods ask for it. Check the requirements listed by the mod that sent you here rather than assuming.
