Screenshot 1 of 4. A blocky forest with a rainbow under a cloudy blue sky, lit by Butter Shaders.
What Butter Shaders works with.
| Platform | Java Edition |
|---|---|
| Loaders | Iris, OptiFine |
| Minecraft versions | 1.8, 1.13.2, 1.14.4, 1.15.2, 1.16.5, 1.17.1, 1.18.2, 1.19.4, 1.20.6, 1.21.11 |
Butter Shaders is a lightweight, realistic shader pack for Java, built for a warm and soft look. It runs on Iris and OptiFine and is visual only, so there is nothing to install on a host. Typon based it on MakeUp Ultra Fast and reworked the lighting, water and sky.
Shader loaders and versions
- Iris and OptiFine: Minecraft 1.8 to 1.21.11.
What it changes
The pack pushes toward a gentle, sunlit atmosphere instead of a hard overhaul. Lighting is smooth, shadows are soft, and water reflects its surroundings naturally. Clouds are dynamic and sunsets are vivid. Modrinth tags it low and potato for performance, and the creator pitches it at both modest and powerful machines. No hardware figures are published, so frame rates depend on your own setup.
Effects included
- Shadows and improved ambient occlusion
- Volumetric clouds and volumetric light
- Depth of field, motion blur and chromatic aberration
- Temporary anti-aliasing
- Reflections and waving plants
Installing Butter Shaders
Put the pack's .zip in your shaderpacks folder, then pick it in the shader menu of Iris or OptiFine. The steps are laid out in the shader installation guide. Bedrock cannot run it, because Iris and OptiFine are Java mods.
Questions about Butter Shaders.
3 questions
How do I install Butter Shaders?
Install Iris or OptiFine first. Place the Butter Shaders .zip in your shaderpacks folder, launch Java, and open Video Settings, then Shader Packs when using Iris. Select Butter Shaders from the list and apply it. The pack needs no extra dependency beyond the shader loader.
Does Butter Shaders work with Iris and OptiFine?
Yes, both loaders are supported across 1.8 to 1.21.11. The newest release, 1.2d, was published on 2026-02-16 and requires nothing besides the loader itself. Pick whichever loader suits your Java setup.
Is Butter Shaders good for low-end PCs?
The creator describes it as lightweight and suited to both low-end and high-end devices, and Modrinth tags it low and potato. That is positioning, not a hardware promise, and no hardware figures are published, so actual frame rates depend on your own setup.
