Why Launcher

How to install a modpack

A modpack is a ready set of mods, settings and a loader. The most popular ones live on Modrinth (.mrpack files) and CurseForge (.zip files).

Way 1

With Why Launcher — in a minute

  1. Download and install Why Launcher.
  2. Open Сборки (Profiles) → Каталог сборок (Modpack catalog) and search for the pack.
  3. Press Установить (Install). The launcher creates a new profile and installs the loader, mods and settings.
  4. Downloaded the pack as a file? Press Импорт .mrpack / .zip (Import) and pick it.
  5. Give big packs more memory: the gear on the profile card → Своя память для этой сборки (Own memory for this profile).

The Why Launcher interface is in Russian, so button names are given in Russian with a translation.

The Modrinth and CurseForge modpack catalog in Why Launcher
The Modrinth and CurseForge modpack catalog in Why Launcher

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Way 2

What about without a launcher?

The official Minecraft Launcher can’t install modpacks. Doing it by hand is tedious: the pack file only holds a list of mods and the settings, and every mod has to be downloaded separately. That’s why packs are installed with launchers that can do it.

  1. Look up the Minecraft version and loader on the pack page and install that loader — Forge or Fabric, for example.
  2. Download every mod from the pack’s list for the same version and put them into the mods folder.
  3. Copy the overrides folder (settings) from the pack archive into .minecraft.
  4. Give the game 6–8 GB of memory and start the loader’s installation.

If something goes wrong

  • The first start of a pack takes long — the game prepares hundreds of mods. That’s normal.
  • OutOfMemoryError — add memory. See “How much RAM for Minecraft”.
  • The right Java — every Minecraft version needs its own Java. Why Launcher downloads it by itself.

FAQ

What is an .mrpack file?

Modrinth’s modpack format: a list of mods with links and the settings. Why Launcher opens it with the “Импорт .mrpack / .zip” button.

Can I add my own mods to a pack?

Yes. In Why Launcher pick the profile and install mods in “Моды, паки и скины” (Mods, packs and skins) — they go only into that profile.

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