Please confirm the following.
What parts of Modrinth is your feature request related too?
Modrinth App
Is your suggested feature related to a problem? Please describe.
Some mods on Modrinth have missing, incomplete, or incorrect environment fields (e.g., marked incorrectly as client-only, server-only, or both). When exporting a modpack, Modrinth currently forces pack creators to rely fully on the mod’s metadata, even if the environment data is wrong or not present.
This creates multiple issues:
- Incorrectly marked mods cannot be excluded properly from server installations.
- Mods with no environment data default to both, even if they shouldn’t.
- Mods from outside Modrinth or older imports cannot be corrected.
- Servers may crash or load unnecessary client-only mods unless manually cleaned.
- Users lose their enabled/disabled states when updating modpacks with optional mods.
Describe the solution you'd like
I would like Modrinth to add an Environment Override UI when exporting or editing a modpack.
For each mod, allow the pack creator to manually select:
- Client-only
- Server-only
- Both (default)
This would override the metadata provided by the original mod. These settings would be stored inside the modpack configuration itself and applied when installing the pack.
Additionally, add a setting for each mod called:
Update Behavior:
- Forced (default) – When the modpack updates, the mod’s enabled/disabled state follows the modpack developer’s defaults.
- Follow Previous – When updating, the user’s personal setting (enabled/disabled) is preserved, even if the update changes the default.
This is extremely useful for optional mods or side-specific mods.
For example:
If a mod is disabled by default but the user enables it locally, updating the pack should not remove it unless the user chooses to.
This gives modpack creators fine-grained control and gives users a smoother update experience.
Describe alternatives you've considered
Using third-party launchers to override environments.
- This defeats the purpose of Modrinth supporting standalone modpack configuration.
Asking individual mod authors to fix their metadata.
- This can take months, and some mods are abandoned or imported automatically with incomplete metadata.
None of these options provide a consistent or scalable solution.
Additional context
This feature is particularly important for:
- Large or modpacks with many client/server-specific mods
- Packs including older mods, imports, or mods from outside Modrinth
- Packs where optional client-side mods enabled/disabled status should persist across updates
- Ensuring servers do not load unnecessary or incompatible client mods
A per-mod environment selector and update behavior setting would significantly improve the accuracy, stability, and control of Modrinth modpack exports.
Please confirm the following.
What parts of Modrinth is your feature request related too?
Modrinth App
Is your suggested feature related to a problem? Please describe.
Some mods on Modrinth have missing, incomplete, or incorrect environment fields (e.g., marked incorrectly as client-only, server-only, or both). When exporting a modpack, Modrinth currently forces pack creators to rely fully on the mod’s metadata, even if the environment data is wrong or not present.
This creates multiple issues:
Describe the solution you'd like
I would like Modrinth to add an Environment Override UI when exporting or editing a modpack.
For each mod, allow the pack creator to manually select:
This would override the metadata provided by the original mod. These settings would be stored inside the modpack configuration itself and applied when installing the pack.
Additionally, add a setting for each mod called:
Update Behavior:
This is extremely useful for optional mods or side-specific mods.
For example:
If a mod is disabled by default but the user enables it locally, updating the pack should not remove it unless the user chooses to.
This gives modpack creators fine-grained control and gives users a smoother update experience.
Describe alternatives you've considered
Using third-party launchers to override environments.
Asking individual mod authors to fix their metadata.
None of these options provide a consistent or scalable solution.
Additional context
This feature is particularly important for:
A per-mod environment selector and update behavior setting would significantly improve the accuracy, stability, and control of Modrinth modpack exports.