MinecraftUpdated 1 min read

How to Install OptiFine (or Better Alternatives)

OptiFine adds shaders and performance settings to Minecraft. It's client-only, and Sodium and Iris often work better.

OptiFine is a client mod: it goes in your game, never on the server. It adds shader support, zoom and graphics settings.

Install OptiFine

  1. Download the OptiFine version for your Minecraft version from optifine.net.
  2. Run the downloaded .jar and click Install. It adds an OptiFine profile to the Minecraft Launcher.
  3. Choose the OptiFine installation in the launcher and play.

To use it with Forge, put the OptiFine .jar in your mods folder instead. Check it supports your Forge version first.

Better on modern versions: Sodium and Iris

On recent versions, Sodium (performance) and Iris (shaders) usually give more FPS than OptiFine and work with other Fabric mods. Install them with Fabric in your launcher (the Modrinth App does it in a few clicks).

Don't put it on the server

OptiFine, Sodium and Iris do nothing on a server and can stop it starting. If you added one to your server's mods folder, delete it in Files and restart.