Screenshot 1 of 5. Blocky lakeside scene under bright magenta and cyan sky bands, shown with the Aurora Fantasy shader.
What Aurora Fantasy works with.
| Platform | Java Edition |
|---|---|
| Loaders | Iris, OptiFine |
| Minecraft versions | 1.19, 1.19.4, 1.20.6, 1.21.11, 26.1.2, 26.2, 26.3 |
Aurora Fantasy is a fantasy, semi-realistic shader pack for Minecraft Java that runs on Iris and OptiFine. It fills the night sky with northern lights and glowing fireflies, then pushes saturated, cinematic lighting by day. It works on the player's side only, so nothing is installed on a multiplayer host.
Shader loaders and versions
- Iris and OptiFine: Minecraft 1.19 to 26.3. Some builds for 1.19 to 26.1.2 require Iris Shaders.
Effects and presets
The pack offers two visual styles. Aurora Fantasy is the classic take, with vivid palettes and a magical aurora sky. Aurora Astral goes cosmic, with celestial bodies, galactic skies and animated astral rifts.
- Northern lights, realistic stars and glowing fireflies at night.
- Dynamic clouds and soft fog that add depth to the horizon.
- Realistic waves, crisp water reflections, rain droplets and puddles.
- Screen space reflections on water and wet surfaces.
- Dust and sandstorms in desert biomes during rain.
- Glass that lets light through and reflects realistically.
The latest release adds more varied aurora movement, better rain atmosphere, an interactive sun, and a fix for the white glare at the edge of the render distance.
Performance and settings
Two profiles cover the range. Balanced is the smooth, efficient option, with a GTX 1660 or equivalent as the minimum GPU. Extreme chases maximum visuals and recommends an RTX 3060 or equivalent. These are estimates, so if frames drop, open Shader Options and switch to Balanced.
Large-scale rendering with Distant Horizons is supported and can be toggled in the settings.
Installation
- 1.Install Iris Shaders on Fabric or NeoForge, or use OptiFine.
- 2.Put the pack's .zip file in your shaderpacks folder.
- 3.Select Aurora Fantasy under Video Settings > Shader Packs.
Lineage and credits
Aurora Fantasy is modified from MakeUp - Ultra Fast by KDXavier, reworked by in2bubble. Entokito supplied extra code, and Simon Rodriguez wrote the FXAA 3.11 implementation. The trade-off is the Extreme profile, which asks for a capable GPU.
Questions about Aurora Fantasy.
4 questions
How do I install Aurora Fantasy?
Install Iris or OptiFine, place the pack's .zip file in the shaderpacks folder, then choose it under Video Settings > Shader Packs. The pack then loads in the shader menu of your loader.
Does Aurora Fantasy work with Distant Horizons?
Yes. The pack is compatible with Distant Horizons, and that support can be toggled in the shader settings.
Can Aurora Fantasy run on a low-end PC?
It is built to run efficiently across many hardware setups. The Balanced profile lists a GTX 1660 or equivalent as the minimum GPU, while Extreme recommends an RTX 3060. Those figures are estimates, so switch to Balanced if performance drops.
Is there a Bedrock release of Aurora Fantasy?
No. Aurora Fantasy is a Java pack that needs Iris or OptiFine, and neither runs on Bedrock.
