Hotbar Cycle

A Fabric client-side mod that lets you cycle inventory rows into your hotbar using a modifier key + scroll.

Inspired by Shifty Hotbar by Kir-Antipov (abandoned since 2023, last available for 1.20.4) — this is a focused hotbar swap mod for modern versions, not a fork. There are no current plans to implement additional functionality from Shifty Hotbar.

Behavior

Hold Left Alt (rebindable) and scroll while playing (no screen open):

Input	Action
Modifier + scroll up	Rows shift upward — row 1 becomes the hotbar
Modifier + scroll down	Rows shift downward — row 3 becomes the hotbar

The 4 inventory rows (hotbar + 3 rows, 36 slots total) rotate as a wheel. Items stay in their columns — slot 0 always maps to the leftmost column.

Compatibility

Minecraft >=1.21.1 through 1.21.4. Client-only — works on any server (vanilla or modded) without the server needing this mod.

How it works

The mixin intercepts Mouse.onMouseScroll and sends 27 SWAP packets per scroll tick (9 columns × 3 row swaps), simulating number-key hotbar swaps. The server processes them as normal inventory interactions.

Hold Alt + scroll
  → MouseMixin intercepts onMouseScroll
  → 27 clickSlot(SWAP) calls rotate all rows
  → ci.cancel() prevents vanilla slot selection

Project structure

├── build.gradle                     ← Fabric Loom, dependencies
├── gradle.properties                ← MC version, mappings, mod info
├── settings.gradle                  ← project name
└── src/main/
    ├── java/com/hotbarcycle/
    │   ├── HotbarCycle.java         ← ClientModInitializer, key binding
    │   └── mixin/
    │       ├── KeyBindingAccessor.java ← exposes KeyBinding.boundKey
    │       └── MouseMixin.java         ← intercepts mouse scroll
    └── resources/
        ├── fabric.mod.json          ← mod metadata
        ├── hotbar-cycle.mixins.json ← mixin configuration
        └── assets/hotbar-cycle/
            └── lang/en_us.json      ← controls menu labels

Build

./gradlew build

Output: build/libs/hotbar-cycle-1.0.0.jar

Contributing

Pull requests for newer Minecraft versions are welcome.

1. Branch off master as mc-<version> (e.g., mc-26.2)
2. Update minecraft_version and yarn_mappings in gradle.properties
3. Fix any compile errors, rebuild with ./gradlew build
4. Open a PR back to the repo

Licensed under MIT — forks and ports are explicitly allowed.