What playerAnimator works with.
| Platform | Java Edition |
|---|---|
| Loaders | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, Quilt |
| Minecraft versions | 1.16.5, 1.18.2, 1.19.4, 1.20.1, 1.21.1, 1.21.7 |
| Environment | Client, Server |
playerAnimator is a Java Edition library mod by KosmX that lets other mods animate the player model, things like emotes, poses, and custom stances, without stepping on each other's changes. It ships for Fabric and NeoForge, with older Forge and Quilt builds still available, and it does nothing on its own: players install it because a mod they use, such as Emotecraft, depends on it.
Not the mod you might think it is
Two other Minecraft projects share very similar names and are not this mod. Nerdy's Player Animator is an unrelated tool built as a plugin for MCreator, a different modding workflow entirely. Player Animation Library, often shortened to PAL, is a separate project from a different developer team, and it is the actively maintained library KosmX now points new mods toward. This page covers playerAnimator by KosmX only, distributed at modrinth.com/mod/playeranimator, on CurseForge under the same name, and from KosmX's own GitHub account.
Development status
Loader and version support
Fabric and NeoForge are the current tracks, both reaching Minecraft 1.21.7 in a beta build published July 2025. The newest upload, from December 2025, is a bugfix release that only covers 1.21 and 1.21.1, not a higher ceiling, so do not read the most recent publish date as the highest supported version. Forge and Quilt builds stopped in June 2023 at Minecraft 1.20.1 and have not shipped since.
- Fabric: up to Minecraft 1.21.7 (beta, published July 2025); newest upload covers 1.21.1 (December 2025)
- NeoForge: up to Minecraft 1.21.7 (beta, published July 2025); newest upload covers 1.21.1 (December 2025)
- Forge (legacy): stopped at Minecraft 1.20.1 (June 2023)
- Quilt (legacy): stopped at Minecraft 1.20.1 (June 2023)
Dependencies and how it's used
playerAnimator is required on both the client and the server, since player animations need to stay in sync for everyone connected. It has one optional dependency, Bendy Lib, which adds the ability to bend a body part in the middle instead of only rotating it; a mod that uses bend transforms needs Bendy Lib installed alongside playerAnimator. Emotecraft is a widely used mod built on top of it, using it to play custom emote animations, and playerAnimator has been installed more than 26 million times largely because mods like it quietly require it in the background.
Questions about playerAnimator.
5 questions
Is playerAnimator the same as Player Animation Library (PAL)?
No. Player Animation Library, or PAL, is a separate project from a different developer team. KosmX, the creator of playerAnimator, now recommends PAL for new mods since playerAnimator itself is no longer under active development. The two are not interchangeable without a mod being rebuilt around PAL's own API.
Is playerAnimator the same as Nerdy's Player Animator?
No. Nerdy's Player Animator is an unrelated plugin built for MCreator, a different modding workflow entirely. playerAnimator by KosmX is a standalone Fabric and NeoForge library mod, and the two share a similar name by coincidence rather than any connection between the projects.
Do I need to install playerAnimator myself?
Only if a mod you use requires it. playerAnimator doesn't add anything to the game on its own; it's a library that other mods, such as Emotecraft, depend on to animate the player. If Modrinth or CurseForge lists it as a dependency for a mod you're installing, add it to the same mods folder.
Which loaders does playerAnimator support?
Fabric and NeoForge get the current builds, reaching Minecraft 1.21.7. Forge and Quilt builds also exist, but development on both stopped in June 2023 at Minecraft 1.20.1, so neither covers anything released since.
Is playerAnimator still being updated?
Not actively. KosmX stopped regular development and now directs new projects to Player Animation Library instead. Existing playerAnimator releases still receive major bugfixes if something breaks, but no new features or newer Minecraft version support are planned.
