Managing mods

Mod management

Mods are the core feature of any modpack, and like any other Minecraft launcher or modpack manager, Pax allows you to install and uninstall mods.

Installing / removing mods

Installing and uninstalling is simple.

• To install a mod, use the ./pax add <name> command.
  • This will search Curseforge for your mod with the given name and install it.
  • If you want to install a specific version or search doesn't work for you, you can also:
    • ./pax add https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/jei (CF page of a mod)
    • ./pax add https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/mc-mods/jei/files/3383214 (CF page of a mod file e.g. version)
    • ./pax add 238222 (projectID of a mod, which is displayed on the "About Project" section on the right side of the page)
    • ./pax add 238222#3383214 (# scheme, with fileID being visible in the url)
  • Installing local mods directly from *.jar files is currently unsupported.
• To remove an installed mod, use the ./pax remove <name> command.
  • This will search for an installed mod with the given name and uninstall it.

Dependencies and needed library mods are installed automatically. If you don't like that, you can add the --no-deps option to skip installing them.

In order to control which version of the mod is installed by Pax, you can use version strategies.

If you "add" a mod, their .jar file isn't directly downloaded - instead, the mod's Curseforge project & file id is written to the manifest.json file in your modpack/ folder. The .jar files are only downloaded before the modpack is started for the first time. Don't worry: That's exactly what Curseforge expects when you upload a modpack, and launchers with support for importing .zip files can import your modpack easily.

Displaying installed mods

• In order to list currently installed mods, use the ./pax ls command.

Installed mods are displayed with an • icon, an ↑ icon, the name of the mod and a link to the currently installed version.

The icons in front of the name have a special meaning: The • indicates how compatible the installed mod is with the modpack, and the ↑ icon indicates if the mod is up to date.

Icon	Color	Meaning	Example
•	Green	The mod is compatible with the modpack's minecraft version.	a mod for MC version 1.16.5 in a modpack for MC version 1.16.5
•	Yellow	The mod's version only matches the major modpack version.	a mod for MC version 1.16.4 in a modpack for MC version 1.16.1
•	Red	The mod is incompatible with the modpack's minecraft version.	a mod for MC version 1.14.1 in a modpack for MC version 1.12.2

The compability icon shows you if there are any incompatible mods that are 100% going to crash, and if there are any mods where issues may arise due to version incompability.

Icon	Color	Meaning	Example
↑	Green	No updates available.	a mod being the latest version
↑	Yellow	Your installed version is newer than the recommended version.	mod version 1.2.3 is installed, but mod version 1.1.1 is recommended for MC 1.16.4
↑	Red	There is a newer version available.	mod version 2.3.4 is installed, but 2.3.5 is available

The freshness icon allows you to quickly see if mods are outdated and newer versions are available. Keeping up-to-date is important in preventing bugs with your modpack.

Updating mods

If you want to retrieve newer versions for your mod, you can simply update either one specific mod or all installed mods at once.

• For updating one specific installed mod, use ./pax update <name>.
• For updating ALL installed mods, use ./pax upgrade.

In order to control which version of the mod is installed when updating/upgrading, you can use version strategies.

If you want a specific mod to remain on its current version and not be affected by updates or upgrades, you can pin it.

• To pin a mod to its current version, use ./pax pin <name>.
• To unpin a pinned mod, just use ./pax pin <name> again.

Update minecraft version

Sometimes you might need to migrate to a new Minecraft version.

• To migrate to another Minecraft version for your pack (and set the loader version accordingly), use ./pax version <mc-version>.
  • Pax automatically chooses the recommended version of Forge. If you need the latest one, use ./pax version <mc-version> --latest.
  • You can also switch to another loader. Curseforge now supports Fabric modpacks directly, so for modpacks that still use Jumploader to load Fabric mods in Forge modpacks, you can do:
    • ./pax remove jumploader
    • ./pax version <mc-version> --loader fabric, which will change your loader from Forge to Fabric