Install Night Vision Mod on Fabric
Build the jar, set up Fabric Loader and Fabric API, and get the N toggle working.
Night Vision Mod: light up Minecraft with one key
Night Vision Mod is a small client-side Minecraft mod by offkiltermc. Press N and the game draws the world with the same lighting the Night Vision effect uses. No potion, no command, no server install. Press N again to switch it off.
- Loaders
- Fabric and NeoForge
- Current source targets
- Minecraft 26.1.2 to 26.x
- Runs on
- Your client only
- License
- MIT, open source
What is Night Vision Mod?
Night Vision Mod adds one thing to Minecraft: a key that switches night vision on and off. It does not brew potions or run commands for you. Instead, when the toggle is on, the mod answers the game's question "does this player have Night Vision?" with yes, and Minecraft's own lighting code brightens everything as it would with the real effect.
The author describes it as a tool for messing around in Creative mode or flying through the world in Spectator, where being able to see an entire cave network at a glance is the point. It is completely client-side, so it never needs to be installed on a server.
The project is open source under the MIT License and lives in the OffKilterMC/NightVision repository on GitHub. One source tree builds for both the Fabric and NeoForge loaders.
What the mod is made of
- A key binding named Night Vision in the Miscellaneous controls, set to N by default.
- An effect check that reports Night Vision as active while the toggle is on.
- A status message above the hotbar: ON in green, OFF in red.
- A reset on Fabric that turns the toggle off when a new level loads.
- Version in source
- 1.2
- Author
- offkiltermc
- License
- MIT
- Build target
- Java 25
Features, as built
Everything below comes from the mod's source code and README. It is a deliberately small mod, so the list is short and specific.
One key, two states
Press the hotkey once and night vision is on; press it again and it is off. The binding is a normal Minecraft key mapping, so you can move it to any key from the Controls screen if N is already taken.
Night Vision: ON
Night Vision: OFF
Vanilla lighting
It switches on the same lightmap the Night Vision effect uses, rather than pushing your gamma past its limits.
Clear status
An ON or OFF message appears above the hotbar each time you press the key.
No timer
Unlike a potion, there is no duration counting down. It stays on until you turn it off.
Clean reset
On Fabric the toggle goes back to off when a new level loads, so you start each world in normal lighting.
Client-side only
Nothing to install on a server. Install it in your own game and it works in single-player worlds and anywhere you play.
Open source, two loaders
MIT-licensed code with Fabric and NeoForge projects side by side, plus a module that packages a combined jar.
How it works, station by station
Four stops on the line, from the archive on GitHub to a lit-up cave in your world.
-
Download
Get the source ZIP from the Download section. It contains the Fabric and NeoForge projects and the Gradle wrapper.
-
Install
Build the jar, then place it in the mods folder of a Fabric or NeoForge profile for a matching Minecraft version.
-
Configure
Optional: open Controls, find Night Vision under Miscellaneous and change the key if N clashes with another mod.
-
Launch
Start the game with your loader profile, enter a world and press the key. The status message confirms it is on.
Setup work order
The download is source code, so setup has one extra step most mods skip: building the jar. After that, follow the track for your loader.
Before you start
- Minecraft: Java Edition with a version inside the jar's range (26.1.2 to 26.x for the current source).
- A Java 25 JDK installed, so the Gradle build can compile the current source.
- An internet connection the first time you build, so Gradle can fetch its dependencies.
- A backup of any world you care about before adding mods to a profile.
Build the jar
Unzip the archive, open a terminal in the extracted NightVision-master folder and run the wrapper:
./gradlew build
On Windows, run gradlew.bat build instead. Each module writes its jar to its own build/libs folder. The nightvision-mod module packages a combined jar intended for both loaders. The full build guide covers errors and outputs.
Fabric track Loader 0.19.3+ with Fabric API
- Install Fabric Loader for your Minecraft version using the Fabric installer.
- Put Fabric API in the profile's
modsfolder. The mod lists it as a dependency. - Copy the Night Vision jar into the same
modsfolder. - Launch the Fabric profile, load a world and press N.
NeoForge track NeoForge 26.1.2.94+
- Install NeoForge for your Minecraft version with the NeoForge installer.
- Run that profile once so the game creates its
modsfolder. - Copy the Night Vision jar into the
modsfolder. - Launch the NeoForge profile, load a world and press N.
Compatibility matrix
Based on the project's changelog and build files. Older rows describe past releases; the download on this site is the current source only.
| Mod version | Minecraft | Fabric | Forge | NeoForge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2 (current source) | 26.1.2 and 26.2; range up to 27 | Supported | Not built | Supported |
| 1.1 | 1.21 | Supported | Dropped | Added |
| 1.0.3 to 1.0.6 | 1.19 onward (1.20.4 on Forge unverified by the author) | Supported | Supported | Not yet |
| 1.0 to 1.0.2 | 1.19.x, then 1.20 | Not stated | Not listed | Not yet |
Looking for 1.20.1 or 1.21.11?
The current source will not build for either. Use a release whose declared range includes your exact version; see the version support guide for how to check.
Shader packs
Known conflict: shaders such as BSL bypass the lightmap code the mod changes, so night vision may appear to do nothing.
Servers
No server install is needed. The mod runs in your client; server rules about vision aids still apply.
Bedrock and Minecraft PE
Not supported. Fabric and NeoForge are Java Edition loaders.
Release information
The project's changelog, newest first. The changelog lists no dates, so none are shown here.
- 1.2
Support for Minecraft 26.1.2 and 26.2.
- 1.1
Support for Minecraft 1.21. Forge dropped in favour of NeoForge.
- 1.0.6
Fixed the Fabric version compatibility range.
- 1.0.5
Allowed the mod to run on Minecraft 1.19 onward. The author could not verify 1.20.4 with Forge.
- 1.0.4
Changed how night vision is turned on.
- 1.0.3
Support for both Fabric and Forge.
- 1.0.2
Support for Minecraft 1.20.
- 1.0.1
Support for Minecraft 1.19.x.
- 1.0
Initial release.
Where a one-key night vision toggle earns its place
Building in Creative after dark
Keep working on a build through the night or deep underground without placing torches you will only remove later.
Surveying caves in Spectator
Fly through stone in Spectator mode with night vision on and the shape of a whole cave system becomes readable at once.
No-clip exploring
The author mentions using it with Carpet mod's creative no-clip to fly through terrain and see everything around you.
Screenshots of dark places
Capture interiors, mineshafts or night scenes with every block visible, then switch back to normal lighting with one press.
Where it fits less well: normal survival play, which the author does not recommend it for, and checking light levels for mob spawning, since night vision hides exactly the darkness you would be looking for.
Download Night Vision Mod
The button below downloads a ZIP of the Night Vision Mod source code from the master branch of the OffKilterMC/NightVision repository on GitHub. Build it with the included Gradle wrapper to get the mod jar, as described in the setup work order.
- File type
- Source code ZIP
- Hosted on
- GitHub, master branch
- Builds for
- Fabric and NeoForge
- Minecraft
- 26.1.2 to 26.x
The file comes straight from github.com and is not a pre-built jar. Because the branch can change, open CHANGELOG.md in the archive to confirm the version you received.
Troubleshooting
Symptoms on the left, likely causes and fixes on the right. The full troubleshooting guide goes deeper.
Pressing N does nothing
Check Controls, Key Binds, Miscellaneous for a conflict on N, and make sure you are in a world rather than a menu. If no ON or OFF message appears at all, the mod probably did not load.
The game will not start with the mod
Usually a mismatch: a jar built for 26.x will not load on 1.21, a Fabric profile needs Fabric API, and a NeoForge profile needs NeoForge 26.1.2.94 or newer.
Status says ON but nothing gets brighter
A shader pack is the likely cause. Shaders such as BSL skip the lightmap the mod uses. Turn the shader pack off and try again.
It turned itself off
On Fabric the toggle resets when a new level loads, for example after joining another world. Press the key again.
The Gradle build fails
Confirm a Java 25 JDK is installed and selected, run the command from the folder containing gradlew, and make sure Gradle can reach the internet to download dependencies.
From the guide library
Step-by-step help for setup, version questions and fixes.
Build the mod from source with Gradle
Turn the source ZIP into a working jar with the Gradle wrapper and Java 25.
Version support: 1.20.1, 1.21 and 26.1.2
What the current source covers and how to check any jar's Minecraft range.
Change the hotkey and fix conflicts
Find the Night Vision binding, move it off N and avoid clashes with other mods.
Why shaders can block the effect
BSL and similar packs skip the lightmap the mod uses. Here is what to do.
Strengths and limits
A balanced look at what you get, and what you do not.
Strengths
- One job, done with one key. Nothing to configure unless N clashes.
- Uses vanilla night vision lighting, so the result looks like the real effect.
- Client-side, with no server install.
- Open source under MIT, so you can read exactly what it changes.
- Fabric and NeoForge supported from the same source.
Limits
- The download is source code, so you have to build the jar yourself.
- No brightness levels or settings screen; it is on or off.
- Shader packs like BSL can stop it from having any visible effect.
- The current source targets Minecraft 26.x only; older versions need older builds.
- Some multiplayer servers do not allow vision aids.
Night Vision Mod FAQ
Twenty answers, filed in two sections of the manual.
Setup and compatibility
No. The download button links to a ZIP of the mod's source code from the master branch on GitHub. To get a jar you can drop into your mods folder, unzip it and run the included Gradle wrapper build. The Setup section and the build guide walk through it.
The current source contains two loader projects: Fabric and NeoForge. The Fabric build depends on Fabric Loader 0.19.3 or newer plus Fabric API. The NeoForge build declares NeoForge 26.1.2.94 or newer.
Only older releases. Forge support was added in version 1.0.3 and kept through 1.0.6. Version 1.1 dropped Forge and moved to NeoForge, so the current source does not build a Forge version.
The source is set up for Minecraft 26.1.2, and its version range accepts any release from 26.1.2 up to (not including) 27. The changelog for version 1.2 lists support for 26.1.2 and 26.2.
Version 1.1 of the mod is the release that added 1.21 support. The current master source targets 26.x instead, so building it will not give you a 1.21 jar. For any 1.21.x version, use a build whose declared Minecraft range includes your exact version.
The changelog shows 1.20 support arriving in version 1.0.2, and version 1.0.5 opened the range to Minecraft 1.19 onward. A 1.0.x build with a matching range is what you would need for 1.20.1; the current source is not set up for it.
No. The mod's own description says it is completely client-side, so it only needs to be in your game's mods folder. Nothing is added to the server.
The current Fabric project targets Java 25, so you need a Java 25 JDK on your machine to run the Gradle build. Playing the game uses whatever Java runtime your launcher provides for that Minecraft version.
This site only links to the GitHub source archive and does not track third-party listings. If you get a compiled jar from any mod platform, check that the author is offkiltermc and that the jar's Minecraft version range matches your game.
No. It is a Java Edition mod built for the Fabric and NeoForge loaders, which only run on Minecraft: Java Edition. Bedrock and Pocket Edition use a different add-on system.
Using the mod
Load into a world and press N. Press N again to turn it off. Each press flips the setting and shows its new state above the hotbar.
Open Options, then Controls, then Key Binds, and look in the Miscellaneous category for the entry named Night Vision. Click it and press the key you want instead of N.
Each time you press the key, a short message appears above the hotbar reading Night Vision: ON in green or Night Vision: OFF in red.
On Fabric, the mod resets the toggle to off whenever the client loads a new level, such as joining a different world. Press the key again to turn it back on. The NeoForge source has no such reset.
The brightening is the same: the mod tells the game you have the Night Vision effect, so the vanilla lighting code does the work. The difference is that there is no potion to brew, no timer and no command; you switch it on and off yourself.
Not reliably. The README notes that shaders such as BSL bypass the lightmap code the mod relies on, so you may see no change while a shader pack is active.
No. There is no settings screen or brightness level. The mod has two states, on and off, and uses the game's normal night vision lighting when it is on.
That depends on each server. Because it removes darkness, some servers treat client-side vision aids as unfair. Read the server rules or ask the staff before joining with it installed.
Yes. The source code is published on GitHub under the MIT License, which lets you use, modify and share it as long as the license notice is kept.
The toggle works in any game mode. The author suggests it mainly for Creative and Spectator, for example flying through terrain to look at cave networks, and says it is not recommended for normal survival play.