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github-actions[bot] edited this page Oct 5, 2026 · 4 revisions

Content Sources

Content entries in evoker.json are keyed source:name. With no prefix, the source is modrinth:

evoker add sodium                       # modrinth:sodium, latest
evoker add modrinth:terralith@2.5.8     # pinned
evoker add hangar:ViaVersion
evoker url geyser https://…/spigot plugin

A version is latest or pinned: the version number Modrinth or Hangar shows, or its version id. Each entry resolves to one version, used on every side it is installed on.

Types

Type Server Client
mod mods/ minecraft/mods/
plugin plugins/ –
datapack <level-name>/datapacks/ –
resourcepack server.properties (see Resource packs) minecraft/resourcepacks/
shaderpack – minecraft/shaderpacks/

Usually the source says what a project is. When a Modrinth project is published as more than one type, evoker picks in this order: a mod or plugin for the pack's loader, then a data pack, then a resource pack. --type overrides that.

Sides

Every entry is installed on the client, the server, or both. evoker works it out; --side overrides it.

Type Side
plugin, datapack server
resourcepack, shaderpack client
mod from Modrinth's client_side / server_side, below
client_side server_side Side
required required both
optional optional both
required optional client
optional required server
required or optional unsupported client
unsupported required or optional server

unknown counts as optional. Then the pack's own side applies: on a server pack a both mod is installed on the server only, and adding something that runs only on a side the pack doesn't have is an error.

Data packs have no client side: Minecraft loads them per world, and client worlds are the player's own.

Optional entries

--optional (or "optional": true) lets players choose. Clients ask when the pack is installed, and when a new optional entry appears in an update (see Clients). Servers always install optional entries that run on the server: a client that chose a mod that needs the server side can then still join.

An optional entry that isn't chosen brings none of its dependencies.

Modrinth

Mods, plugins, data packs, resource packs and shaders from modrinth.com. No account or API key needed.

Which version is picked

Versions are filtered to the pack's game version, then to what runs on its loader:

loader Modrinth loaders accepted (server) (client)
fabric fabric fabric
quilt quilt, fabric quilt, fabric
neoforge neoforge neoforge
spigot spigot, bukkit – (vanilla client)
paper paper, spigot, bukkit – (vanilla client)
purpur purpur, paper, spigot, bukkit – (vanilla client)
vanilla – –

Resource packs, data packs and shaders don't depend on the loader (shaders do need a shader mod such as Iris on the client: add it).

latest takes the newest release, or the newest version of any kind if there is no release. A pinned version that isn't marked compatible with the game version is still used, with a warning.

Dependencies

Required dependencies are resolved automatically and recursively. They go into evoker.lock only (with requiredBy), not into evoker.json. A dependency is installed on the sides of the entries that need it, where it supports that side.

Modrinth dependency type evoker
required added (recursively)
optional skipped
embedded skipped (already inside the jar)
incompatible warning if both are in the pack
  • An entry you list in evoker.json always wins over a version a dependency asks for.
  • If two entries need different exact versions of the same dependency, the newer one is used, with a warning.
  • A dependency hosted outside Modrinth can't be added automatically; evoker warns so you can add it yourself.
  • remove deletes an entry and every dependency nothing else needs anymore.

Resource packs

Clients install resource packs into the instance. A server doesn't host one: server.properties points players at a URL. For a resource pack whose side includes server, install server and server update set resource-pack to its download URL and resource-pack-sha1 to its SHA-1, and nothing else in server.properties. server.properties holds a single pack: with more than one, evoker uses the first and warns.

Hangar

Paper plugins from hangar.papermc.io, keyed hangar:<slug> (the slug is case-sensitive, as shown on Hangar). Always server-side.

  • Only for paper and purpur packs (Hangar plugins may use Paper-only APIs).
  • latest is the newest version in the Release channel for the game version, or the newest version of any channel if there is no release. A pinned value is the Hangar version name, e.g. 5.0.3.
  • Required plugin dependencies hosted on Hangar are added automatically. Ones that only link elsewhere produce a warning; add them yourself.
  • Some Hangar versions are only an external link with no checksum. evoker downloads the file once when the entry is added or updated, and locks its SHA-256.

URL

Any file from a URL, for things on neither Modrinth nor Hangar:

evoker url geyser https://download.geysermc.org/v2/projects/geyser/versions/latest/builds/latest/downloads/spigot plugin
evoker url my-shader https://example.com/MyShader.zip shaderpack --optional
"url:geyser": { "url": "https://…/spigot", "type": "plugin", "side": "server" }
  • The type is required. --side is required for mod and resourcepack; the other types imply it.
  • The name becomes the key (url:<name>) and the installed file name (url-<name>.<ext>).
  • No dependencies and no version checks. url downloads the file once, to a temporary location, and locks its SHA-256.
  • Installs that download a file no longer matching the lock (the file at that URL changed) keep what is installed and warn. The pack author's update re-downloads URL entries and accepts new files, so "latest" style links work.
  • Plain http:// works, with a warning.

Modpacks (.mrpack)

evoker import writes a new pack from a Modrinth modpack:

evoker import cobblemon-fabric        # a modpack's Modrinth slug: its newest release
evoker import ./MyPack-1.2.mrpack     # a local file
evoker import https://…/MyPack.mrpack # a URL
  1. Pack: name, game version, loader and build come from the modpack (fabric-loader, quilt-loader, neoforge, or vanilla); side is both. Forge packs aren't supported.
  2. Files: every file becomes an entry. Its side and optional come from the file's env (client / server: required, optional or unsupported); optional on the client makes the entry optional.
    • Files Modrinth recognizes (by hash) become modrinth:<slug> entries pinned to the modpack's version, so they upgrade like any other entry.
    • Other files become url:<file name> entries.
  3. Overrides (overrides/, client-overrides/, server-overrides/: configs, mostly) are copied into the pack folder as they are. See Overrides.

Runs in an empty folder (it refuses if evoker.json exists). The import is one-time: afterwards the modpack isn't tracked.

Packwiz packs

evoker import also reads a packwiz pack: its pack.toml, at a URL or on disk, or the folder holding it.

evoker import https://raw.githubusercontent.com/me/pack/main/pack.toml
evoker import ./my-packwiz-pack
  1. Pack: name, the Minecraft version and the loader (fabric, quilt, neoforge) come from pack.toml; side is both. Forge packs aren't supported.
  2. Mods, resource packs, shaders (the .pw.toml metafiles) become entries, the same way as .mrpack files: files Modrinth recognizes by their sha512 become pinned modrinth: entries, others with a download URL become url: entries.
    • A metafile's side = "client" or "server" is kept. side = "both" is packwiz's default, so it says nothing: evoker works the side out from Modrinth instead (url entries stay on both sides).
    • [option] optional = true makes the entry optional.
    • CurseForge-only files (no download URL) are skipped, with a warning.
  3. Other files in index.toml (configs, mostly) are checked against their hash and copied into the pack's overrides/.

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