Fixing a World That Won't Load Because of Missing Component Data

Recognizing the Symptom

After removing or updating a mod that relied on Cardinal Components, your world may fail to load, crash on join, or spawn you with missing stats. The log usually mentions a component class that can't be found, or a NullPointerException tied to component retrieval. This happens because the library stores data keyed to specific component types, and the mod that registered those types is gone.

Recovery Steps

1. Back up the world folder before doing anything else.

2. Reinstall the mod you removed, or restore the previous version, so its component registrations exist again.

3. Load the world and confirm it opens normally.

4. If you still want the mod gone, look for a config option in the dependent mod to clear or migrate its stored data before uninstalling.

5. Only remove the mod once the world loads cleanly without it.

Preventing Recurrence

Treat Cardinal Components like any other library: don't strip it out while dependents remain. When updating a dependent mod, update Cardinal Components alongside it if the mod's page says a newer library version is required. Keep a world backup before any mod-list change that touches component-using mods.