OptiFine for Fabric

OptiFine for Fabric uses a structured versioning system. Every release follows this format:

<major>[.<minor>[.<build>]][-channel[.<channelBuild>]]

Examples:

• 2.5 — stable
• 2.5.1 — hotfix for 2.5
• 2.6-alpha.1 — first alpha release for a seperate Minecraft version

The version number describes the pack itself, not the Minecraft version. Minecraft compatibility is shown separately on Modrinth.

Version Number Breakdown

Major — <major>

Large updates to the pack.
This number only increases when the pack undergoes a significant redesign or major feature shift.

Minor — <minor>

Normal updates within a major version.
This increases when the pack receives meaningful improvements, mod additions, compatibility changes, etc.

Build — <build>

A patch‑level counter within the same Minecraft version.

This number increases when the pack receives bug fixes or small adjustments for that specific Minecraft version.

This number resets when Minecraft updates, because each Minecraft version starts its own patch sequence.

Examples:

• 2.5 → Minecraft 1.21.1 (stable release)
• 2.5.1 → Minecraft 1.21.1 (first patch)j
• 2.5-alpha.1 → Minecraft 1.21.2 (first alpha build)
• 2.5-beta.2 → Minecraft 1.20.1 (second beta build)

Build numbers simply indicate bug fixes and other minor changes tied to Minecraft versions.

Release Channels

Channels appear after a dash.

• -dev — Experimental development builds. Unstable and incomplete, highly likely to not even work.
• -alpha — Early testing builds. Features may be missing or broken.
• -beta — Feature‑complete testing builds. Mostly stable.
• No suffix — Stable release and/or hotfix. Fully tested and recommended.

Recency is shown by the dot and the number.

• A channel followed by .<number> indicates the senority of the build. For example:
  • -alpha.1 indicates the first alpha build
  • -dev.3 indicates the third dev build
  • -beta.4 indicates the fourth beta build

Choosing the Right Version

• Use the latest stable version for your Minecraft version.
• Only use alpha, beta, or dev builds if you need early access or want to help test.

Minecraft compatibility is shown on Modrinth, while the version number reflects the evolution of the pack itself.