This setup is for Minecraft: Java Edition. Sodium improves rendering performance; Iris loads shader packs; Complementary Reimagined supplies the lighting and visual style. Install these on your own computer. Start with the version and joining details on our Minecraft page, then use a separate launcher installation so your working setup remains easy to find.
Choose a compatible setup
Read the Sodium project page and Iris compatibility FAQ before adding them to an existing modpack. Match the Minecraft version, mod loader and dependencies. Iris supports Fabric and supported NeoForge versions; ordinary Forge is different. OptiFine and other competing renderers cannot simply be combined with Iris.
Install Iris and Sodium
- Launch the required Minecraft version once, then close the game and launcher.
- Download the installer from the official Iris download page. Its automatic installation includes both Iris and Sodium; Sodium alone does not provide a shader-pack menu.
- Choose the compatible Minecraft version and your intended game installation, then install. Reopen the launcher and select the profile created by Iris.
- Start the game and first test a local world with shaders disabled. A clean launch gives you a useful baseline before adding more effects.
Add Complementary Reimagined
Our starting recommendation is Complementary Reimagined: its default look keeps Minecraft’s recognisable visual style, while offering plenty of settings. The public shader download does not require a paid tier. On the official page, use the manual shader-pack download for the Iris installation you already made; you do not need to run a second installer.
- Keep the downloaded shader-pack ZIP together. Open Iris’s Shader Packs menu from the game’s video settings; the exact placement can vary by version.
- Use the menu’s shader-pack folder option and put the ZIP there, or use its supported drag-and-drop action. The shader ZIP belongs with shader packs, not in the mods folder.
- Return to the menu, select the pack and apply it. Follow the Iris installation guide if your menu differs.
Make it comfortable to play
Begin with a modest quality preset. Walk through a forest, a busy base and an open landscape before raising shadows or render distance. Change one option at a time so you can judge its cost. If the world flickers or runs poorly, disable the pack first and compare with your baseline.
A missing shader menu usually means the wrong launcher profile is running or Iris did not load. A pack that appears but fails to render needs a compatibility check against your pack, Iris release and graphics hardware. Shaders are optional: switch them off whenever smoother play matters more than extra effects.
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