Fabric Support

BadWolfMC supports Fabric for a limited selection of approved client-side mods. Fabric is intentionally very open, which is great for things like performance improvements and shaders, but it also means there are thousands of client mods with widely different features.

Rather than banning Fabric completely, BadWolfMC uses our own Guardian plugin and the required Cerberus client mod to support a small, approved Fabric ecosystem.

How does it work?

Guardian runs on BadWolfMC.
Cerberus runs in your Fabric installation.
When you connect, Guardian checks that Cerberus is present.
Cerberus reports the Fabric mods loaded in your Minecraft session.
Guardian compares them with our approved mod list.
If everything is approved, you connect normally.
If Cerberus is missing or a mod is not approved, Guardian tells you why the connection was refused.

Cerberus

Cerberus is required to connect to BadWolfMC using Fabric. Cerberus is an intentionally small mod with no gameplay features. Its job is simply to let Guardian verify that your Fabric installation follows BadWolfMC's mod policy.

What does Cerberus send?

Cerberus reports information Fabric Loader already knows about your Minecraft session, including the mods that are loaded and their versions. Guardian can also use a SHA-256 fingerprint of approved mod files to distinguish the exact builds we have approved.

Cerberus does not send:

the contents of your mod files;
absolute file or folder paths;
Windows usernames contained in paths;
Minecraft launch arguments; or
unrelated information about your computer.

Cerberus also verifies that it is communicating with BadWolfMC's Guardian before sharing its mod information.

Download Cerberus

GitHub: https://github.com/BadWolfMC/Guardian/releases
Modrinth: https://modrinth.com/plugin/guardian-cerberus (pending approval)

Only download Cerberus from an official BadWolfMC source.

Cesar's Mod Collection

Don't want to build your Fabric installation yourself? Cesar's Mod Collection provides an easy starting point with the Fabric mods we recommend from the approved list below.

Download: https://modrinth.com/collection/cpfkrIRU

This is the easiest option if you mainly want the recommended performance, graphics, and quality-of-life improvements without choosing everything individually.

You can still add other mods from the approved list, but every mod in your installation must be allowed by Guardian.

Approved Fabric Mods

Only the mods listed below are approved for use on BadWolfMC.

The minimum version is the oldest version currently supported by Guardian. New releases may take some time to review, so do not assume that a brand-new version is approved immediately.

View Approved Fabric Mods

`[MOD NAME]`

Short description of what the mod does.

Download: [OFFICIAL MOD LINK]
Minimum version: [VERSION]

`[MOD NAME]`

Short description of what the mod does.

Download: [OFFICIAL MOD LINK]
Minimum version: [VERSION]

Installing Fabric

Using the official Minecraft Launcher

Use Fabric's official installer. Do not download a Fabric installer from a random third-party website.

On Windows:

Close Minecraft and the Minecraft Launcher.
Download and run the official Fabric Installer.
Select the Minecraft version currently used by BadWolfMC.
Make sure Create Profile is checked.
Click Install.
Open the Minecraft Launcher.
Select the new Fabric installation and launch it.

Fabric's current Windows installer uses the Java installation bundled with the official Minecraft Launcher.

Using the Modrinth App instead? You do not need to install Fabric separately into the official Minecraft Launcher. Fabric can be selected for the Modrinth instance itself.

Installing Mods

Option 1: Modrinth App

The Modrinth App is the easiest way to manage a separate Fabric installation and keep its mods organized.

Download the official Modrinth App

Install and open the Modrinth App.
Create a Minecraft instance for the version currently used by BadWolfMC.
Open the instance settings and select Fabric as the mod loader.
Add Cerberus.
Add only mods from the approved list above, or install Cesar's Mod Pack.
Launch Minecraft from that instance.

Modrinth supports installing and managing mods directly inside an instance.

Option 2: Install Mods Manually

If you use the official Minecraft Launcher with Fabric:

Press Windows Key + R.
Enter: %appdata%\.minecraft\mods
Press Enter.
Place the Cerberus .jar file in this folder.
Place any other approved Fabric mod .jar files in the same folder.
Open the Minecraft Launcher.
Select your Fabric installation and start Minecraft.

Fabric's official documentation uses %appdata%\.minecraft\mods as the standard Windows mods folder.

If the mods folder does not exist, you can create it.

Why can't we use any Fabric mod?

Because approving a mod once is the easy part.

Every approved mod creates ongoing work:

new releases need to be reviewed;
supported versions need to be maintained;
dependencies can change;
Minecraft updates can change a mod's behavior;
compatibility with other approved mods can change; and
Guardian's approval information has to stay current.

For that reason, the approved list is intentionally small.

We may occasionally add another mod when there is a strong reason to do so, but we are unlikely to approve mods simply because someone would like to use one.

Keeping a smaller list lets us support Fabric without creating an approval list that becomes impossible to maintain.

Having trouble connecting?

Guardian should normally tell you what needs to be fixed.

Cerberus required

: You are using Fabric, but Guardian could not verify Cerberus. Make sure Cerberus is installed in the Fabric instance you are actually launching.

Mod not approved

: Remove the listed mod or replace it with an approved version.

Unsupported version

: Check the approved mod list above and install a supported version.

If you recently updated a mod and can no longer connect, check this page first. A new release may not have been approved yet.