Hilt

Shared foundations. Modern mods.

A shared library and compatibility layer for Modern Mods and other NeoForge projects. Ported from Mantle

Maintained and published by Modern Mods.

About Hilt

Hilt is a shared Minecraft modding library maintained by Modern Mods for Minecraft 1.21.1 and NeoForge.

It provides common code, APIs, utilities, data systems, registration infrastructure, and other shared foundations used across projects that would otherwise need to duplicate the same functionality.

Hilt is primarily a developer dependency rather than a standalone gameplay mod.

Its purpose is simple:

Put the shared machinery in one place so the mods built on top of it can focus on their own systems.

Hilt also carries forward portions of the architecture and implementation lineage of Mantle and related Slime Knights projects while adapting that foundation for the modern NeoForge ecosystem.

What Hilt Is For

Hilt provides reusable infrastructure for systems commonly shared between larger Minecraft mods.

Depending on the consuming project, this can include foundations for:

• Registries and content registration
• Data-driven content
• Materials and material-related systems
• Recipes and serialization
• Networking
• Menus and screens
• Fluid-related systems
• Tags and resource handling
• Datagen
• Common utilities
• Mod interoperability
• Client and server helpers
• Shared APIs
• Extensible systems for additional Modern Mods projects

Not every Hilt system is necessarily used by every dependent mod.

The goal is to provide a stable shared foundation without forcing unrelated gameplay systems into the library itself.

Used by Modern Mods

Hilt is developed as part of the broader Modern Mods ecosystem.

Modern Mods builds substantial NeoForge projects centered around crafting, automation, progression, exploration, interoperability, and other large gameplay systems.

Hilt exists underneath those projects as shared infrastructure rather than as another gameplay-focused mod.

Modern Mods

Modern Minecraft. Bigger systems.

View the Modern Mods organization

Platform

Current primary development target:

| | |
| ——— |——– |
| Minecraft |1.21.1 |
| Loader |NeoForge |
| Java |21 |
| Language |Java |

Individual releases may require a particular NeoForge build or dependency version.

Always check the metadata included with the release or the requirements of the mod depending on Hilt.

For Players

You generally only need to install Hilt when another mod lists it as a dependency.

Hilt is not intended to provide a major standalone gameplay experience.

If a mod requires Hilt:

1. Make sure your Minecraft version matches.
2. Make sure you are using NeoForge.
3. Install the required version of Hilt.
4. Install the mod that depends on it.
5. Place the required .jar files in your mods directory.

Dependent mods may require a specific Hilt version.

For Developers

Hilt is intended to provide common infrastructure that can be shared between multiple NeoForge projects.

When developing against Hilt, keep in mind that APIs may evolve alongside the projects using them, especially while active ports and migrations are still underway.

Where practical, shared systems should remain:

• Data-driven
• Server-aware
• Multiplayer-safe
• Extensible
• Compatible with modern NeoForge APIs
• Independent from unnecessary client-only code
• Suitable for reuse across multiple projects

Mantle – Original Mod