How to install Litematica

Litematica is a Fabric mod with a required library, MaLiLib. Files from the schematic generator are built for Java Edition 1.21.4, so the loader, the library, and the mod need to be that version too.

1. Install Minecraft Java Edition and make a profile that can run 1.21.4.
2. Install the Fabric loader for 1.21.4, or create a Fabric instance in Modrinth or CurseForge.
3. Download MaLiLib built for that Minecraft version and Fabric.
4. Download Litematica built for the same version and put both jars in the instance mods folder.
5. Launch a world, press M, and confirm the Litematica menu opens before you download a schematic.

Java first, then Fabric

Install the official Minecraft Java launcher and run 1.21.4 once so the version exists on disk. Bedrock from the store is a different game; it cannot load this mod. The split is explained in Java vs Bedrock.

Fabric is the loader. You can run the Fabric installer and pick Minecraft 1.21.4, then create a launcher profile, or you can click Create instance in the Modrinth App or CurseForge and choose Fabric for 1.21.4. Either path is fine. What fails is mixing them carelessly: mods installed into the global .minecraft/mods folder do not show up inside a CurseForge instance that has its own mods folder. Put MaLiLib and Litematica in the mods folder of the instance you launch.

MaLiLib, then Litematica

Download both from the same place so the versions match. Modrinth and CurseForge each host official files. Filter by 1.21.4 and the Fabric loader. MaLiLib is not optional and it is not included inside the Litematica jar. If you only drop Litematica in, the game still boots, and the mod stays unloaded. Open logs/latest.log and search for Litematica. A missing dependency is the usual line.

Do not copy a 1.20.1 or 1.21.1 jar into a 1.21.4 instance because the file name looked similar. Fabric checks the version metadata and skips the jar. Do not put the mods in resourcepacks or shaderpacks. They are not packs.

This guide does not cover a Forge port. The pages on this site assume Fabric plus MaLiLib. If your pack is Forge-only, Litematica from the Fabric files will not load there. Use a separate Fabric instance for schematic building, even if you play other packs on Forge.

Prove the menu before you chase files

Start the instance, create or open a world, and press M. The Litematica menu should open. Rebind it in the mod’s hotkey list if M is taken by another mod. If nothing opens, stop and fix the loader before you download a schematic. A missing menu is not a bad .litematic.

Then generate a small build, for example a 13×9×11 oak house, and follow how to import a litematic. The schematics folder is created beside the instance’s saves when Litematica has run at least once. On macOS the vanilla path is ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft/schematics. Third-party launchers use the instance folder instead. If Load Schematics is empty, you used the other folder. The checklist is Litematica not working.

After it loads

Place the hologram, then move and rotate it onto your plot. Build with layer mode and easy place. Easy place still spends real blocks. The material list on the generator is the shopping list for that.

Data version 4189 is Java 1.21.4. If you later join a 1.20 server, this client will not connect, and that is a server-version choice, not a broken install. Keep this instance for opening these holograms. Generate prompts with prompt tips so the shape you asked for is the shape the compiler built.

Reviewed 2026-09-23. Not affiliated with Mojang or Microsoft.