Install Hero Renderer #
Install Fabric Loader for 1.21 (plus Fabric API if the downloads page asks for it), place the JAR in your mods folder, and launch with the Fabric profile.
- Install Fabric Loader and Fabric API for your Minecraft version — builds ship for 1.21, 1.21.1–1.21.5, 1.21.11 and 26.2 (Java 21 for 1.21.x, Java 25 for 26.x).
- Place the Hero Renderer JAR into your mods folder — v2.1 is a beta with real Fabric builds, for testing and feedback.
- Launch the game — the engine's frame is presented inside Minecraft via a GL blit; the chunk renderer runs behind the HGFX abstraction.
- Choose a backend if you want to: OpenGL 4.6 or Vulkan, both complete behind HGFX.
- Tune rendering quality from the engine's config — adaptive quality scaling, render distance, LOD and impostors.
- Explore the visuals: water shader, sky, clouds, shadows, fog, bloom and colour grading.
- Watch the adaptive performance layer — bottleneck detection scales quality dynamically to hold frame rate.
Working with Hero Renderer #
Product-specific steps, separate from the general install guide above.
Milestone builds
2.x engine milestones are complete (HGFX/OpenGL backend, render graph). Install the matching loader build for your version from the downloads page — Fabric builds ship for **1.21, 1.21.1–1.21.5, 1.21.11 and 26.2** (Java 21 for 1.21.x, Java 25 for 26.x).
What you'll see. The engine's frame is presented inside Minecraft via a GL blit; the modular multithreaded chunk renderer runs behind the HGFX abstraction with OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan backends.
- M0–M9 complete: HGFX (OpenGL 4.6 + Vulkan), frame graph, chunk renderer, adaptive performance, distance/LOD, 26.x support.
- Advanced visuals: chunk and entity rendering, water shader, sky, clouds, shadows, fog, bloom and colour grading.
- Adaptive performance: bottleneck detection, dynamic quality scaling, render-distance manager, LODs and impostors.
Tips
- It is the planned rendering foundation for Hero Client and future ecosystem products.
- Advanced lighting (path tracing, GI/SSGI, clustered lighting) and DLSS/FSR are on the roadmap.
Common problems
Is it released?
Folder locations by platform #
| Platform | mods / resourcepacks folder | config folder |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | %appdata%\.minecraft\mods · \resourcepacks | %appdata%\.minecraft\config |
| macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft/mods | ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft/config |
| Linux | ~/.minecraft/mods · ~/.minecraft/resourcepacks | ~/.minecraft/config |
MultiMC / Prism users: these folders live inside Instances/<instance>/.minecraft/. Match the build to your exact Minecraft version — the compatibility table in the docs lists every supported version.
Configure #
Settings live in the config folder (JSON5 files you can edit by hand) and, where available, in the in-game settings screen the mod adds. The exact keys and keybinds are listed in the documentation and the FAQ below.
Tips for Hero Renderer #
- Keep Hero Renderer on the version range shown on its product page.
- If it doesn't load, confirm the JAR is in the right mods folder for the launcher and version you chose.
- Bedrock Edition, mobile, and console can't run Java Edition mods or packs — for a port or custom variant, request a commission.