Installing Modpacks (Forge & Fabric)
Transform your Minecraft experience with custom mods and massive modpacks. Learn the technical differences between Forge, Fabric, and Quilt.
1. Forge, Fabric, or NeoForge?
As of 2026, the Minecraft modding landscape is split between three primary loaders.
- NeoForge: The dominant successor for high-version modding (1.20.x and 1.21.x+). It offers superior performance and stability compared to the original Forge, which is now primarily used for legacy modded play.
- Fabric: The lightweight champion. In 2026, Fabric remains the go-to for "Vanilla+" and performance-heavy servers. It is often the first to support new Minecraft sub-versions within hours of release.
- Quilt: A community-driven fork of Fabric that focuses on modularity and power-user features.
2. Server-side vs. Client-side Mods
Understanding mod locality is crucial for a crash-free experience.
- Universal: Mods that add content (Industrial Revolution, Aeon Sky). These must be on both the server and client.
- Server-side: Logic mods (LuckPerms, Spark). Players don't need these.
- Client-side: Visual mods (Iris/Sodium, Shaders). Do not put these on your Deduck server files.
3. Installing a Modpack in 2026
Step 1: The Core Version
On Deduck, select either 'NeoForge' or 'Fabric' from the version selector. This installs the correct server.jar and libraries automatically.
Step 2: Dependency Management
Modern mods often share 'Lib' mods. We recommend using a modpack manager or carefully checking the latest.log for "Missing dependency" errors during the first boot.
4. Essential Performance Mods
To run a heavy modpack on 2026 hardware, you MUST use these optimization bridges:
- Sodium/Lithium/FerriteCore: Standard for Fabric/Quilt performance.
- ModernFix: Fixes memory leaks and startup times for heavy NeoForge packs.
- Canary/Starlight: Optimizes light calculations and chunk ticking.