How to Install Shaders on Minecraft 1.21
Shaders transform the visual experience in Minecraft, turning our beloved game of pixels into stunning landscapes with lighting effects that can bring different visual effects such as realism, spooky, cartoonish, and different colorations. In Minecraft 1.21, installing shaders is easy, regardless of your technical expertise. In this post, I'll walk you through three different methods to get shaders running: using Iris Shaders' native installer, CurseForge, and the Modrinth app.
Since 1.21 is so new, the shader software isn't yet available on Forge (Oculus). Fabric mods tend to update much faster, so we'll focus on that for this post. Later, we'll update this for Forge.
Iris is the go-to shader app for running shaders, and it's currently a Fabric mod. We'll go through three ways to install this mod, and then look at various shader packs we can install.
Update: Shaders are now available on 1.21.1 on NeoForge as well as Fabric. This is great news! Everything in this post still applies, but you'll now have additional options to install Iris and Sodium on either Fabric or NeoForge.
Hey, I made a quick modpack on Curseforge that has 10 mods that make Minecraft 1.21 feel like a new game, including shader support, Distant Horizons, and more that don't change the core game. Check it out!
Videos about Installing Shaders on Fabric and NeoForge
There's also an updated video which highlights using Iris on NeoForge. Watch that here...
Three Ways to Install Shaders on Minecraft 1.21
Option 1. Installing Shaders Using Iris Shaders' Native Installer
Iris Shaders is a popular choice for Minecraft players due to its compatibility and ease of use. Here's how to install it manually.
Let me just say right here that I do not recommend this method. But I'm including it here to be thorough. Unless you know why you want to use this method, move on to Option 2 or 3 below. They are so much easier!
Before you start, make sure you've run Minecraft version 1.21 at least once. This assumes that you don't have other mods already installed. If you do, you may run into trouble below. If that happens, open the mod folder in the Minecraft directory and remove any mods and start again.
1. Download Iris Shaders: Go to the Iris Shaders official website and download the universal installer for Minecraft 1.21.
Note that while Iris is now avaialable for NeoForge, this installer still installs only the Fabric version (as of Aug 24 2024)
2. Run the Installer: Once downloaded, run the installer. It should automatically detect your Minecraft installation. Make sure to select the correct version (1.21) if prompted. You'll probably find it in your downloads folder, called Iris-Installer-3.2.1.jar. The version may vary. You can see it here in my downloads folder. If it doesn't have a Java icon on it, or it won't run, you may need to install or update Java. Double Click that file.
Next you'll see the install window.
The defaults will probably work for you. Iris needs the Fabric loader, which it will install even if you choose Iris only. I'm not even sure what the Iris + Fabric is for. Just choose Iris Only. That should work.
Start the Minecraft: Open the Minecraft Launcher. You should see Iris & Sodium for 1.21 with the Fabric launcher as the default instance. If that's not there, open the drop menu and select it.
Click the Play Button.
From here, you're on your own to download any shaders you want to try out. At the bottom of this post, I've lined to some resources for where to find shaders, and direct links to some popular ones.
As you've seen, this is a very manual process, which is really not necessary. I honestly don't understand why every tutorial I've ever seen about installing shaders shows this method when there are better ways to do this. Instead use a Modded Minecraft Launcher like Prism, ATLauncher, Curseforge, Modrinth, etc.
For this post, we'll create a Fabric 1.20 instance with Curseforge and Prism. The process is the same, just a different interface.
Option 2. Installing Shaders Through CurseForge
CurseForge is the most popular mod loading launcher that simplifies mod installations, including shaders:
1. Install CurseForge: Download and install the CurseForge app from their official website.
2. Set Up Minecraft: In CurseForge, select ‘Minecraft’ and make sure it’s set up for the correct version. You might need to install Minecraft within the CurseForge client if it’s not automatically detected.
3. Install Iris Shaders Mod: Search for the Iris Shaders mod within the CurseForge client and install it.
Hit enter and you'll see Iris in the results.
Don't click install! Instead click on the title "Iris Shaders" and on that screen click the Versions tab. If 1.21 isn't the first in the list, it won't install that version. Find 1.21 in the list and click the install button next to that. If you are reading this later, there may be later versions available, like 1.21.1. You should choose the latest one.
Update: Iris is now compatible with NeoForge as well as Fabric. in this screen on your Curseforge, you'll see both! The rests of the instructions is the same.
Unless you already have a profile that you know this can go into, select Create new profile
Give your new Profile a name. Make sure the Minecraft version says 1.21 (or if you are reading this later, it might be a subversion, like 1.21.1)
Click Create and you'll now have your own profile, aka a mod pack! Since Iris requires sodium, that was installed automattically. Plus the Fabric API mod.
Pro Tip: Click that little puzzle piece below the Play button later to add more mods! You're modding now!
Do click that Puzzle piece to add more content and then choose shaders in the drop menu.
Install as many shaders as you want and then hit the 'x' in the upper right.
Click play. The Minecraft launcher will launch with a new instance named 1.21 with Shaders.
With that selected, click Play in the Minecraft Launcher.
Once you're in the game, skip to the Installing and Activating Shaders in Minecraft section below.
Option 3. Install Shaders with Prism Launcher
The Prism Launcher is similar in concept to Curseforge, though it's generally considered a better solution. It doesn't use the Minecraft launcher either. I won't go through this step by step, but it's very easy.
Here's a look at my Prism Launcher. I've already connected my Minecraft account and made a few instances. Click the Add Instance button.
We want to create a Custom instance, click 1.21 (or the latest), Fabric on the lower right, then the latest version in the bottom panel. Then click OK.
You'll now have a 1.21 instance. Double Click it to run it or click Launch on the right side. It won't load the Minecraft Launcher (which is amazing!) and will load the game right away.
Actually I think I just went through all the steps!
Prism is a bit more technical than Curseforge, but it's so much cleaner! I hope you try it.
Installing and Activating Shader Packs in Minecraft
Follow this section after Minecraft is loaded. It's the same no matter how you installed Iris above.
After Minecraft loads, and navigate to Options > Video Settings > Shaders. Here, you can open the shader pack folder and drop in any shaders you want to use. Or you can drag shaders from the file explorer right onto the shaders minecraft screen. We'll look at where to get shader packs later in the post.
If you used the Curseforge or Prism methods above, you'll already have shaders in here. skip down to "Activate Your Shaders"...
If you did this manually, either in the first step or went off to find more shaders that weren't available in Curseforge or Prism, you can install them manually like this.
Here we're dragging the Complementary Shaders Remagined Shaders right into the Minecraft Shader Packs screen. You can also open the Shader Pack Folder from here and do that in the file manager.
Activate Your Shaders: Select "Enable" and the shader you wish to use from the list, click Apply to test it, or just Done to go back to the game and you’re set!
Where to Find Shaders
There are lots of resources for finding and downloading shader packs. When you find them, make sure they support the version of Minecraft you are running. In this case, 1.21.
Some Shaders that I can recommend directly are Complementary and BSL. Complementary are my favorite. Bliss is a new one on the scene and that's really nice too. You can find them in the links above!
Want more out of Minecraft visually?
Level up your Minecraft even more with Distant Horizons, to get breathtaking views of your full world, not limited to your render distance. For now it's only available on 1.20.x, but honestly, it's worth backing off a version. Check out this post on how to use Distant Horizons in Minecraft 1.20.1.