Minecraft mod installer

Project presentation (February 2025)

Since March 2023, my friends and I have been playing on a Minecraft server. We installed mods to enhance our gaming experience.

Installing mods can be tedious, so I decided to create a Minecraft mod installer, specifically for our server.

There are two versions of this software: the first one, which is not (or rather, no longer) presented here, was a prototype made in a single day.

This program is developed entirely in Java and JavaFX, because Minecraft is a game coded in Java and it seemed logical to code this installer in Java.

Lightweight (11 MB), it nonetheless stores user data in appdata (you can't store data written on the fly in a .JAR).

The first version required several prerequisites and was more of a proof-of-concept than actual software usable by the general public; this second version sought to correct those problems.

In my opinion, possible improvements to this software would be for it to be able to update itself, or to bundle it directly into an executable .exe file.

Features

• Install the server's mods remotely, without the user having to enter anything.
• Retrieve mod updates and check if a software update exists.
• Complete portability, only Java 17 is required to run the software.
• Choose the installation folder.
• Update the mods.
• Force the mods to update.

How it Works

Mod Update

1. The program checks for an update using a remote JSON file that lists the updates for the mods and the software.
2. If there is one, the program downloads a compressed .ZIP file from a remote server.
3. The program empties the user's mod folder.
4. Once the file is downloaded, the program decompresses it using Zip4j.
5. Once the file is decompressed, the program deletes the compressed .ZIP file.
6. The program informs the user that the update is complete.

Software Update

1. The program checks for an update using a remote JSON file that lists the updates for the mods and the software.
2. If there is one, the program informs the user that an update exists.