How to Run Shaders Using Fabric in Minecraft

You probably know that you can run shaders using OptiFine, one of the most popular performance mods for Minecraft. But, you can also achieve this magical effect using Fabric, and that’s what we’ll cover in this guide. So, buckle up and let’s learn how to run shaders using Fabric in Minecraft.

What Do You Need to Run Shaders with Fabric?

To run shaders using Fabric in Minecraft 1.21, you will need a few components, including Fabric, Sodium, and Iris. Here are the steps you can follow to download and install them.

To download and install Fabric, you should visit the official Fabric download page and get the installer. Then, run the installer and finally install Fabric. All of this is explained in detail in our guide on how to install Fabric in Minecraft linked here. There, you’ll also learn how to install Fabric API mod, which is very useful to have.

One more reason why you should follow our linked guide about Fabric mods is because Sodium and Iris are both Fabric mods. You can visit Sodium and Iris download pages to download the mods. Or, you can follow our guides to install Sodium and install Iris in Minecraft.

Once you have downloaded the mods, you can drag and drop their files into the mods folder inside the main Minecraft folder. If the mods folder doesn’t exist, you can always create it yourself. This step is also explained in our linked guide.

How to Download and Install Shaders for Minecraft Fabric

Now that you have set up Sodium and Iris, let’s see how to download and install some Minecraft shaders.

• Visit the CurseForge website, which lets you download various shader packs.
• Then, find a shader pack that works for Iris. This should be displayed in the info panel on the right.
• Find the latest file for the matching version of the game, click on the three dots next to it, and then the Download file button to get the shader pack.

• You then open the main Minecraft folder by typing this into the Run app on your Windows PC: %appdata%/.minecraft.
• Now find and open the shaderpacks folder. Drag and drop the downloaded shader pack file into the shaderpacks folder, and you have successfully installed a shader pack using Fabric.

How to Use Shaders with Fabric in Minecraft

The only thing left to do now is to run shaders using Minecraft Fabric. Here are the steps you should follow:

• Open the Minecraft Launcher.
• Select Fabric Loader as the game version on the left.
• Click on the Play button.

• Jump into an existing world (or create a new world) and pause the game.
• While in the Options section, click on Video Settings.
• Here, you need to select the Shader Pack tab at the top.

• Finally, click on the shader pack you want to enable and then click the Apply button at the bottom.

Once you close the menu, you’ll see the world in the shader pack you chose. You can just as easily replace and disable the shader in the same menu. Moreover, you can check out other Fabric mods for Minecraft while you’re here.

Just like that, you can now not only play with shaders but easily run Minecraft with mods too using Fabric. However, this may be quite a difficult task for your machine. So, which shader pack are you going to try out first? Share with us in the comments below!