Ariadne's Thread
by aaronhowser1
Ariadne's Thread is an equipment item that records the path a player has walked and draws it as a line on screen, meant to help find the way back out of large cave systems.
What it does
Once the Thread is crafted, right-clicking it starts a trail. Every 20 ticks the game checks the player's position and saves a new point once the player has moved far enough from the last one. The saved points are joined by a line that stays visible through blocks, so a route can be followed even when the cave walls hide it. Start and end points are marked in different colors, and the line is drawn in a third color while the player travels back along it.
The mod is aimed mainly at sprawling cave systems, though it works in any setting where a route back is useful. Most settings live in the config file, including the start and end colors, how often the mod checks the position, the minimum gap between recorded points, and a cap on stored locations that keeps long trails from slowing the game down.
The mod needs Kotlin for Forge. Servers that run it need every player to install it too. Builds exist for Forge and NeoForge across the range 1.19.2 – 1.21.1, with 1.4.0 for 1.21.1 as the latest NeoForge file and 1.1.1 for 1.19.2 as the latest Forge file. The code is open source under the MIT License.
Key features
Magic yarn item
A crafted thread item records positions as the player walks and shows the route as a colored line.
Line visible through blocks
The drawn path stays visible through walls and stone, so the way back can be read inside a cave.
Start and end markers
The starting point and the most recent point are shown in distinct colors, and travel back is shown in another color.
Configurable recording
Colors, check interval, minimum distance between points and the cap on saved locations can all be changed in the config.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Requirements
Dependencies declared by the latest file for each loader.
Required 1
Use cases
Finding the way out of caves
A player entering a large cave system can follow the drawn line back to the entrance instead of relying on memory.
Mapping a route
The saved points show where a player has already been, which helps when exploring a large area in several trips.
Who it’s for: Players who explore large cave systems or sprawling underground areas, and server owners who want a route-finding item that they can tune in the config.
Questions
Does Ariadne's Thread need Kotlin for Forge?
Do servers need Ariadne's Thread installed?
Can the trail use too much performance on long journeys?
In the catalog
Ariadne's Thread is one of 17,631 Equipment mods on ModsFinder, and one of 9,216 Equipment mods for Forge. 32,366 mods support Minecraft 1.21.1.
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What the author says
Inspired by AtomicStryker's Magic Yarn mod, named after the myth of the labyrinth and Minotaur, Ariadne's Thread adds an item that lets you see where you've been. Once you've crafted the Thread, simply right-click it to get it to start working. Every 20 ticks, it'll save your position (if you're far away enough from…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/ariadnes-thread
- Owner
- aaronhowser1
- Published
- 2024-07-03
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2025-01-24
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15