flashy flashlight

<!– Summary box: Press F to use a flashlight that lights up the actual blocks, with shadows and a real beam pattern. –>

# Realistic Flashlight

Press F to turn on a flashlight. There’s no item to craft or hold.

The beam lights up the blocks you point it at instead of drawing a circle over your screen. It has the bright centre and faint rings you get from a real LED torch. It casts shadows when something is in the way, and some of the light bounces onto the walls and floor nearby.

## Features

– F turns it on and off. You can rebind it under Controls > Key Binds > Flashlight.
– Beam pattern taken from a real flashlight, with a smooth round edge
– Soft shadows from pillars, doorways, cave walls and so on
– Light bounces off whatever you’re pointing at and picks up a bit of its colour
– The beam follows your crosshair with a slight delay, so it feels handheld
– Gets wider and dimmer the further away you point it, and fades out at around 64 blocks
– Much more noticeable at night and underground than in daylight
– Works in multiplayer, so you can see other players’ flashlights

## About the F key

F is also the vanilla key for swapping items into your offhand. If both are set to F, the flashlight takes the press and your hands won’t swap. If you still want to swap hands, change one of the two keys in your controls.

## Requirements

– Minecraft 1.20.1
– Fabric Loader
– Fabric API

On a server, the mod needs to be installed on the server and on every player’s client. For singleplayer, just put it in your mods folder.

## FAQ

**Does it stop mobs from spawning?**
No, it’s only visual. It doesn’t change the actual light level.

**Is there a Forge or NeoForge version?**
Not right now. It’s Fabric only.

**Other Minecraft versions?**
Just 1.20.1 for now.

**Does it work with shaders?**
I’ve only tested it with normal Minecraft graphics, so I can’t say how it looks with shader packs. If you try it, let me know in the comments.

**How’s the performance?**
It’s light indoors. Long beams across big open areas cost a bit more.

**Can I put it in a modpack?**
Yes, go ahead.

If you find a bug, leave a comment and I’ll take a look.