How to install shaders in Minecraft Java Edition

Shaders change Minecraft's lighting, shadows, water and sky. They are not regular mods: they need a shader loader to apply them. There are two main options.

Option A: Iris and Sodium (recommended)

Iris is an open-source shader loader that works with Fabric, NeoForge and Quilt and pairs with Sodium, a performance mod. It is the most used option on modern versions and gives the best performance.

1. Install Fabric, NeoForge or Quilt following its guide.
2. Download Iris and Sodium for your version and loader from their MINEMODS pages and copy both .jar files into the mods folder. If you use Fabric, add Fabric API too.
3. Launch the game once so the shaderpacks folder gets created.

Option B: OptiFine

OptiFine is a classic mod that includes its own shader loader. It is downloaded only from its official site, optifine.net, and installs by double-clicking the .jar, which creates its own launcher profile. OptiFine is not distributed on Modrinth or MINEMODS. Note it is not compatible with Sodium or with many Fabric mods.

Place the shader pack

Shaders download as a .zip that you do not extract. Copy it into the shaderpacks folder:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\.minecraft\shaderpacks
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft/shaderpacks
• Linux: ~/.minecraft/shaderpacks

Enable the shaders

1. Open the game with the matching profile.
2. Go to Options, Video Settings. With Iris you get a Shader Packs button; with OptiFine, Shaders.
3. Select the pack from the list and apply. From there you can also open each pack's own settings.

Performance

• Shaders are demanding on the graphics card. Start with the lightest profile or variant of the pack (many have Low, Medium and High versions).
• Lower the render distance and disable soft shadows if the game stutters.
• Keep your graphics drivers up to date.
• On MINEMODS every shader lists its compatible loader (Iris, OptiFine or both) and players discuss performance in the reviews.