MultiLoader 26.1+ · Part 1

Getting Started with MultiLoader 26.1+

BEGINNER MULTILOADER 26.1-26.1.2 12 min read · Jun 12, 2026
MultiLoader 26.1+ · 17 parts
1 Getting Started with MultiLoader 26.1+ 2 Setting Up RegistrationUtils (MultiLoader 26.1+) 3 Creating Items (MultiLoader 26.1+) 4 Creating Blocks (MultiLoader 26.1+) 5 Data Generation: Block & Item Models (MultiLoader 26.1+) 6 Data Generation: Block Loot Tables (MultiLoader 26.1+) 7 Data Generation: Crafting Recipes (MultiLoader 26.1+) 8 Data Generation: Block & Item Tags (MultiLoader 26.1+) 9 Data Generation: Language Files (MultiLoader 26.1+) 10 Data Generation: Advancements (MultiLoader 26.1+) 11 Data Generation: Sound Definitions (MultiLoader 26.1+) 12 Data Generation: Particle Descriptions (MultiLoader 26.1+) 13 Data Generation: Enchantments (MultiLoader 26.1+) 14 Custom Food Items (MultiLoader 26.1+) 15 Custom Tools (MultiLoader 26.1+) 16 Custom Armour (MultiLoader 26.1+) 17 Block Entities (MultiLoader 26.1+)

This tutorial walks you through setting up a MultiLoader development environment for Minecraft 26.1.2 from scratch. By the end you will have a working Gradle project that compiles and runs on both Fabric and NeoForge from a single shared codebase. If you are migrating from the 1.21 series, note that 26.1 ships with several toolchain improvements - most notably, Minecraft is now fully unobfuscated, and the project requires Java 25.

Installing JDK 25

Minecraft 26.1 requires Java 25. Java 25 is the latest LTS release, succeeding Java 21. The recommended distribution is Eclipse Temurin 25 from Adoptium, which provides open-source, production-ready builds for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Download the JDK 25 installer for your platform, run it, then verify the installation:

shell
java -version
# Should print something like:
# openjdk version "25" ...
TIP
On Windows you may need to restart your terminal after installing the JDK for the JAVA_HOME environment variable to take effect. If java -version still reports an older version, check that the JDK 25 bin folder appears first in your system PATH.
NOTE
If you previously installed JDK 21 for the 1.21 series, you can keep both side by side. IntelliJ IDEA lets you choose which JDK each project uses, so nothing is broken by having multiple versions installed.

Getting the Template

The easiest way to start a MultiLoader 26.1 project is with the MultiLoader-Template maintained by jaredlll08. Head to the repository, switch to the 26.1.2 branch, and click Use this template to generate your own repository. Alternatively, clone the branch directly:

shell
git clone --branch 26.1.2 https://github.com/jaredlll08/MultiLoader-Template.git MyMod
cd MyMod

The project structure is identical to the 1.21 template - three Gradle subprojects:

  • common: shared code that compiles against both loaders
  • fabric: Fabric-specific entry points and dependencies
  • neoforge: NeoForge-specific entry points and dependencies
NOTE
A notable improvement in 26.1 is that Minecraft is now fully unobfuscated - Mojang ships official names for all classes, fields, and parameters. This means there is no longer any need for Parchment mappings or a mappings dependency declaration anywhere in your build. The template already reflects this: if you compare it to the 1.21 template you will notice those lines are gone entirely.

Configuring the Project

Open gradle.properties in the root directory and update the mod identity fields. These are the same fields as the 1.21 template, with updated version values:

properties
# Project
version=26.1.2.0
group=com.example.examplemod
java_version=25
# Mod identity
mod_name=ExampleMod
mod_author=YourName
mod_id=examplemod
# Minecraft / loader versions (update as new builds release)
minecraft_version=26.1.2
minecraft_version_range=[26.1.2, 26.2)
neo_form_version=26.1.2-1
# Fabric
fabric_version=0.145.4+26.1.2
fabric_loader_version=0.18.6
# NeoForge
neoforge_version=26.1.2.7-beta
neoforge_loader_version_range=[4,)
TIP
Check fabricmc.net/develop and projects.neoforged.net for the latest stable loader and API versions for your target Minecraft release.

Also confirm settings.gradle has the correct project name:

groovy
rootProject.name = 'ExampleMod'
WARNING
The mod_id must be all lowercase with no spaces or special characters. It is used as the namespace for all registry names and resource paths, so choose it carefully - renaming it later is tedious.

Setting Up IntelliJ IDEA

Java 25 requires IntelliJ IDEA 2025.3 or newer for full language support. If you are on an older version, update via Help → Check for Updates before continuing.

Open IntelliJ IDEA and choose Open, then select the root folder of your project (the one containing settings.gradle). IntelliJ will detect the Gradle project and begin importing.

Once imported, set the Gradle JVM to Java 25:

  1. Open File → Settings → Build, Execution, Deployment → Build Tools → Gradle
  2. Under Gradle JVM, select your JDK 25 installation
  3. Click OK, then click the Gradle refresh button to re-sync

Also set the Project SDK to Java 25 under File → Project Structure → Project → SDK.

TIP
If IntelliJ does not list JDK 25 in the dropdown, click Add JDK… and point it at the installation directory (e.g. C:\Program Files\Eclipse Adoptium\jdk-25 on Windows). Once added it will appear in both the Gradle JVM and Project SDK selectors.

Running the Project

After the Gradle sync completes you will see run configurations appear in the top-right dropdown of IntelliJ. There will be separate configurations for Fabric and NeoForge:

  • Fabric Client / Fabric Server
  • NeoForge Client / NeoForge Server

Run Fabric Client first to confirm the Fabric setup works, then run NeoForge Client. Both should launch a vanilla Minecraft 26.1.2 instance with your empty mod loaded. If you see the game start without errors, your environment is ready.

Before moving on, rename the package structure in the fabric and neoforge subprojects to match the group you set in gradle.properties, and update the Constants class in the common project with your MOD_ID value.

NOTE
If you do not plan to use mixins immediately, you can safely delete the mixin packages and their accompanying .mixins.json config files in each subproject to keep things tidy. We will cover mixins later in this series.

Building Your Mod

To build release jars, run the build task from the Gradle tool window. This produces three jars - one each for common, fabric, and neoforge - located in each subproject's build/libs directory. When publishing your mod, upload only the fabric and neoforge jars; the common jar is not intended for end users.

You can find the source for this tutorial here:

View Source on GitHub
NEXT IN SERIES

Setting Up RegistrationUtils (MultiLoader 26.1+)

Add the RegistrationUtils Gradle plugin (26.1-0.1.0) to your 26.1 multiloader project, configure the fabric/neoforge/common project blocks, and get registration helpers ready for blocks and items.

Continue →