VanillaConfig is a configuration library for Minecraft mod developers. It provides a framework that handles the core technical work of building mod settings systems, letting creators focus on their mod's features instead of reinventing configuration from scratch.
What VanillaConfig does
Most Minecraft mods with customizable settings face the same recurring problems. How do you persist configuration to disk? How do you load settings reliably when the game starts? How do you give players an intuitive interface to change those settings? VanillaConfig is built to solve these problems once, for any mod that depends on it.
By using the VanillaConfig API, mod developers skip the boilerplate. They define their configuration schema, bind it to their mod's code, and let the library handle everything else: file I/O, serialization, deserialization, and user interface generation. This saves significant development time.
The configuration screens generated by VanillaConfig match vanilla Minecraft's look and feel. They use vanilla UI elements - buttons, text fields, scroll lists, colors - rather than custom graphics. And this consistency keeps the player experience professional and cohesive, without requiring mod developers to build or maintain custom config screens.
For players
Install VanillaConfig only if another mod requires it. On its own, this mod does nothing. It adds no gameplay features, no new items, no new blocks, no visible mechanics. The result exists purely as a dependency for other mods.
You only need VanillaConfig if you install a mod that lists it as a requirement. When you see VanillaConfig mentioned in another mod's download page, it means that mod uses this library's API and won't work without it.
If a dependent mod includes a settings screen in its menu, you're using VanillaConfig - but you likely won't know it, because it works transparently behind the scenes.
For developers
If you're building a Minecraft mod with configuration options, VanillaConfig provides an API for declaring settings declaratively. You specify what options exist, their types, ranges, and default values. The library generates both the in-game screen and the persistent storage mechanism automatically.
This reduces boilerplate significantly. Without such a library, each mod author reimplements settings storage, screen generation, and validation. VanillaConfig centralizes this work.
Compatibility
VanillaConfig runs on Fabric only. It requires Fabric API as a dependency. Real talk, the mod is client-side only - server administrators don't need to install it, and it poses no conflicts with server-side mods or other client-side mods.
Supports specific Minecraft versions in the 1.21 line and the 26.x series.
License
Available under the GNU General Public License v3.0. You may freely read, modify, and redistribute the source code in your own open-source projects.
