How to Install Sodium Correctly in a Modded Launcher

Sodium is a client-side rendering mod, so it goes in your mods folder for the profile you actually play — not into the game's core files.

Before you install

Check which mod loader your profile uses. Sodium is built for one specific loader and will not function on another. Also confirm your Minecraft version matches the Sodium build you have; mismatches are the most common cause of a silent failure where the game launches but Sodium does nothing.

Placing the file

1. Open your launcher and find the profile you want to mod.

2. Use the launcher's button to open the game directory (often labeled as opening the folder or instance folder).

3. Inside, open the mods folder. Create it if it does not exist.

4. Drop the Sodium file in. Do not unzip it.

5. Remove any other rendering-overhaul mod from the same folder.

After launching

Open the mods list and confirm Sodium is present and enabled. Then check Video Settings — if Sodium is active, that screen will look different from vanilla. If it does not, the file is in the wrong folder or the wrong loader is selected for that profile. Keep Sodium and its companion mods on matching versions to avoid startup crashes.