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The Essential Container is a lightweight mod that downloads Essential on first launch, rather than bundling it directly.

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What is Essential Container?

The Essential Container is a thin mod which:
  • Does nothing but download Essential on first launch
  • Is available on essential.gg/download
  • Is installed by the Essential Installer
  • Does not contain a specific version of Essential
  • Downloads whatever version is latest at first launch
This is different from the jars published on Modrinth/CurseForge (“pinned” jars), which contain a specific version of Essential bundled with the loader.

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Container vs Pinned Mods

  • Small file size (under 1 MB)
  • No Essential code bundled
  • Downloads latest Essential on first launch
  • Available on essential.gg/download
  • Used by the Essential Installer
  • Larger file size (includes Essential)
  • Contains specific Essential version
  • No download required on launch
  • Available on Modrinth/CurseForge
  • Built from: versions/<MC-Version>/build/libs/pinned_*.jar
For more technical details about container vs pinned mods, see loader/docs/container-mods.md in the source repository.

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Container Platforms

Since the container only contains code to load Essential (not to interact with Minecraft directly), there are only four different versions:
For all Minecraft versions using Fabric mod loader.
For Forge on Minecraft 1.8.9 and 1.12.2 (legacy Forge versions).
For Forge on Minecraft 1.16.5 (modern Forge).
For Forge on Minecraft 1.17 and above (latest Forge).
For more technical details about these platforms, see loader/docs/platforms.md in the source repository.

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Build Container

To build the Essential Container for a specific platform: 
./gradlew :loader:container:<platform>:build

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Examples

./gradlew :loader:container:fabric:build

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Build All Containers

To build all container platforms at once: 
./gradlew :loader:container:fabric:build :loader:container:launchwrapper:build :loader:container:modlauncher8:build :loader:container:modlauncher9:build
Or use a wildcard (if your shell supports it): 
./gradlew :loader:container:*:build

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Output Files

Built container jars are located at: 
loader/container/<platform>/build/libs/

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Directory Structure

loader/container/
├── fabric/build/libs/
├── launchwrapper/build/libs/
├── modlauncher8/build/libs/
└── modlauncher9/build/libs/

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Platform Selection by Minecraft Version

Choose the container platform based on your target Minecraft version and mod loader:
Minecraft VersionMod LoaderContainer Platform
1.8.9Forgelaunchwrapper
1.12.2Forgelaunchwrapper
1.16.5Forgemodlauncher8
1.17+Forgemodlauncher9
1.18+Forgemodlauncher9
1.19+Forgemodlauncher9
1.20+Forge/NeoForgemodlauncher9
1.21+Forge/NeoForgemodlauncher9
AnyFabricfabric

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Checksum Verification

Container jars are included in the CI checksum verification: 
sha256sum loader/container/{fabric,launchwrapper,modlauncher{8,9}}/build/libs/*
See the Verification guide for details.

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Use Cases

Distribution

Container mods are used on essential.gg/download for users who want automatic updates.

Third-Party Integration

Third-party mods can embed the Essential Loader to integrate with Essential.

Essential Installer

The installer uses container mods to set up Essential.

Auto-Updates

Container mods automatically download the latest Essential version.

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Next Steps

Verify Your Build

Verify container checksums match official releases

Build Essential Mod

Build the full Essential mod with pinned versions

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