EnvironmentDetector API

A lightweight and crash-safe Minecraft environment detection API for Fabric, Quilt and modern modpack launchers.

EnvironmentDetector automatically identifies:

Launcher
Modpack instance
Loader
Minecraft version
Special client environments

The API is designed for:

Mods
HUDs
Placeholder systems
Analytics
Compatibility layers
Launcher-aware integrations

✨ Features

Automatic Launcher Detection

EnvironmentDetector can automatically detect:

Modrinth App
CurseForge
GDLauncher
Prism Launcher
MultiMC
ATLauncher
Feather Client
NoRisk Client
Lunar Client
Badlion Client
Official Minecraft Launcher

No manual configuration required.

🧩 Compatibility

Supported Minecraft Versions

Primary Support

Minecraft 1.21.x (1.21, 1.21.1, 1.21.2, etc.)
Optimized and tested for modern Minecraft environments.

The project currently targets:

Java 21
modern Fabric Loader versions
current launcher ecosystems

Backwards Compatibility

EnvironmentDetector mainly relies on:

Fabric Loader APIs
filesystem checks
runtime analysis

The API does NOT deeply modify Minecraft internals and avoids complex mixins for detection logic.

Because of this, the project can also be ported to older versions like:

1.20.1
1.19.4

with only minimal adjustments:

lowering the Java target from 21 → 17
adjusting fabric.mod.json
rebuilding the project

Supported Mod Loaders

Fabric

✅ Full native support (Main target platform)

Quilt

✅ Full native support

Quilt supports Fabric mods natively and EnvironmentDetector includes dedicated Quilt detection logic.

This means logs will correctly show:

Loader=Quilt

instead of Fabric when running on Quilt.

NeoForge / Forge

⚡ Not natively supported

EnvironmentDetector is primarily a Fabric mod.

However, the mod works correctly through compatibility layers such as:

Sinytra Connector
Fabric Connector implementations

When used through these layers, the API can even detect that the environment is running on:

Forge
NeoForge

Technical Requirements

Java Version

Java 21 required for Minecraft 1.20.5+

Fabric Loader

Fabric Loader 0.16.0+

Compatibility Overview

Feature	Status
Minecraft 1.21.x	✅ Optimized & Tested
Fabric	✅ Native Support
Quilt	✅ Native Support
NeoForge / Forge	⚡ Via Connector Only
Dedicated Server	✅ Fully Compatible
Java 21	🛠️ Required

🧠 High Precision Detection System

Unlike many other mods, EnvironmentDetector does NOT rely on process names only.

Instead, it uses:

file-based validation
recursive directory scanning
launcher metadata verification
classpath analysis
runtime environment analysis

This avoids false positives and duplicate detections.

Example: Other mods may simply scan for "Modrinth" running on the system.

EnvironmentDetector instead uses a more advanced runtime-based detection system.

1. JVM Argument Scan

The API scans Minecraft startup arguments (the same information normally visible in logs and runtime launch parameters).

If the word:

modrinth

appears inside JVM arguments, launch paths or runtime parameters, the launcher is automatically detected as:

Modrinth App

This works reliably because the Modrinth launcher usually injects Modrinth-related paths or identifiers into the Minecraft runtime environment.

2. Manual Configuration Fallback

On first startup, EnvironmentDetector automatically creates:

config/environmentdetector.properties

Inside this file, custom values can be manually configured:

manual_pack_name=Your Modpack Name
manual_launcher_name=Your Custom Launcher

If these values are set, they always take highest priority and override automatic detection.

This allows:

custom launchers
private modpacks
unsupported launchers
development environments
portable instances

to work reliably with the API.

🔍 Detection Logic

The API scans multiple directory levels to identify launcher structures.

Supported Markers

Modrinth App

Runtime JVM analysis
launch argument analysis
optional metadata validation

CurseForge

CURSEFORGE_INSTANCE_NAME
minecraftinstance.json
.curseclient

Feather Client

feather
feather-core
.feather

NoRisk Client

norisk.config
Mod ID: norisk

GDLauncher

gd-launcher.json
gdlauncher.json

Prism Launcher / MultiMC

prism.config
prism.json
multimc.cfg

ATLauncher

instance.json
atlauncher.json

Lunar / Badlion

Classpath keyword analysis:

lunar
badlion

Official Launcher

launcher_profiles.json

📜 Standardized Logging

After initialization, EnvironmentDetector outputs a unified log entry.

Example:

[EnvironmentDetector] Launcher=Modrinth App, Instance=Ultra Survival, NoRisk=false, Loader=Fabric, Version=1.21.1

Other examples:

[EnvironmentDetector] Launcher=CurseForge, Instance=BetterMC, NoRisk=false, Loader=Fabric, Version=1.21.1

[EnvironmentDetector] Launcher=NoRisk Client, Instance=Unknown Pack, NoRisk=true, Loader=Fabric, Version=1.21.1

Fallback:

[EnvironmentDetector] Unknown Environment

⚡ Performance

Single startup scan
Cached results
Thread-safe internals
Minimal overhead
No background scanning

EnvironmentDetector runs once during startup and afterwards only serves cached data.

🛠 Developer Integration

Gradle Setup

repositories {
    exclusiveContent {
        forRepository {
            maven {
                name = "Modrinth"
                url = "https://api.modrinth.com/maven"
            }
        }
        filter {
            includeGroup "maven.modrinth"
        }
    }
}

Dependency

dependencies {
    modImplementation "maven.modrinth:environmentdetector-api:VERSION"
}

Replace VERSION with the latest release.

💻 Usage Example

public String getLauncherName() {
    if (FabricLoader.getInstance().isModLoaded("environmentdetector")) {
        return de.felixfgf.environmentdetector.EnvironmentDetectorAPI
                .getEnvironment()
                .launcher();
    }

    return "Vanilla";
}

⚠ Best Practices

Always use optional integration

Do NOT hard depend on EnvironmentDetector.

Always check:

FabricLoader.getInstance().isModLoaded("environmentdetector")

before using the API.

🚫 Common Mistakes

Wrong package

Correct package:

de.felixfgf.environmentdetector

NOT:

de.felixfgf.environmentdetector.api

Missing modLoaded check

Direct API access without checking if the mod exists can crash other mods.

Using placeholders every frame

Do not resolve placeholders every render frame. Cache values when opening menus or HUDs.

🐛 Bug Reports & Support

Found a bug or detection issue?

Please report:

launcher used
Minecraft version
loader
latest.log
detected environment output

Join the Discord server for support, bug reports and API discussions:

🎯 Goals

Maximum environment transparency
Reliable launcher identification
High compatibility
Zero-config setup
Crash-safe integration
Lightweight architecture

EnvironmentDetector is built to become the standard environment API for modern Minecraft launcher ecosystems 🚀

EnvironmentDetector (API)

Compatibility

Minecraft: Java Edition

Platforms

Supported environments

Links

Tags

Creators

Details