ModsFinder

Build Guide

by brentmaas

With Build Guide, players can project shapes such as circles, spheres and catenaries into the world as a visual guide while they build.

FabricForgeNeoForgeClient-side only CC-BY-NC-3.01.16.4 – 26.3

What it does

A shape is placed around an origin cube, which is set at the player's feet and can be moved with buttons or text fields. Properties such as radius and orientation are edited in a panel beside the shape selector, and some properties accept negative values to flip a shape along an axis. A shape list allows several shapes to be displayed together, each with its own origin, visibility toggle and deletion.

The mod is a client-side only utility: only the client needs it, and it works in singleplayer and on multiplayer servers even when the server does not have it installed. Shape settings are saved per world name or server address and per dimension, and a config option called persistenceEnabled keeps them between client restarts. Build Guide is published for Fabric, Forge and NeoForge, and it is not open source. Its license is CC-BY-NC-3.0, and the source code is publicly available. Files cover 29 release versions, 1.16.4 – 26.3, with the latest file, 0.4.9-26.3, dated 2026-10-03.

Key features

  1. Shape projection

    Shapes are rendered in the world around a configurable origin cube, which marks where a line begins or where a circle is centred.

  2. Editable shape properties

    Radius, orientation and other values of the selected shape can be changed in a dedicated panel, with negative values where allowed.

  3. Multiple shapes

    A shape list lets players add several shapes at once, select one to edit, hide it temporarily or delete it.

  4. Visualization options

    Colours of the shape and origin cube can be set with sliders, and depth testing can be turned off to see shapes through blocks.

  5. Per-world persistence

    Shapes are tied to a world name or server address and dimension, and can be kept across restarts with a config option.

Compatibility

Latest build for each game version and loader.

26.x3 of 3 versions with builds
26.30.4.9-26.30.4.9-26.30.4.9-26.3
26.20.4.9-26.20.4.9-26.20.4.9-26.2
26.1.20.4.9-26.1.20.4.9-26.1.20.4.9-26.1.2
1.21.x8 of 8 versions with builds
1.21.110.4.9-1.21.110.4.9-1.21.110.4.9-1.21.11
1.21.100.4.9-1.21.100.4.9-1.21.100.4.9-1.21.10
1.21.80.4.9-1.21.80.4.9-1.21.80.4.9-1.21.8
1.21.50.4.9-1.21.50.4.9-1.21.50.4.9-1.21.5
1.21.40.4.9-1.21.40.4.9-1.21.40.4.9-1.21.4
1.21.30.4.9-1.21.30.4.9-1.21.30.4.9-1.21.3
1.21.10.4.9-1.210.4.9-1.210.4.9-1.21
1.210.4.9-1.210.4.9-1.210.4.9-1.21
1.20.x7 of 7 versions with builds
1.20.60.4.9-1.20.60.4.9-1.20.6Not available
1.20.50.4.9-1.20.40.4.9-1.20.4Not available
1.20.40.4.9-1.20.40.4.9-1.20.4Not available
1.20.30.4.9-1.20.20.4.9-1.20.2Not available
1.20.20.4.9-1.20.20.4.9-1.20.2Not available
1.20.10.4.9-1.200.4.9-1.20Not available
1.200.4.9-1.200.4.9-1.20Not available
1.19.x5 of 5 versions with builds
1.18.x3 of 3 versions with builds
1.17.x1 of 1 version with builds
1.16.x2 of 2 versions with builds
ReleaseBetaAlphaNot available

Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.

Use cases

Building round structures

A circle or sphere shape can be placed as a template so that walls or domes follow its outline.

Planning terrain shapes

Several shapes can be combined in the shape list to outline a layout before construction starts.

Who it’s for: Builders who work with geometric shapes in singleplayer or on servers where they play as clients.

How it compares

Full comparison

PhantomShapes is a client-side mod for Fabric only, covering 1.20.3 – 1.21.4, and is open source under the GNU General Public License v3.0 only. HitRange is also client-side only and open source under the MIT License, but it is for Fabric, NeoForge and Quilt, covering 1.20 – 26.3. Build Guide is not open source and is limited to CC-BY-NC-3.0 terms.

ModLoadersGame versionsEnvironmentUpdated
Build GuideFabric, Forge and NeoForge1.16.4 – 26.3Client-side only2026-10-03
PhantomShapesFabric1.20.3 – 1.21.4Client-side only2024-12-28
HitRangeFabric, NeoForge and Quilt1.20 – 26.3Client-side only2026-10-08

Questions

Does Build Guide need to be installed on the server?

No. The mod is client-side only, so players can use it on multiplayer servers that do not have it installed.

Which loaders does Build Guide support?

Fabric, Forge and NeoForge are supported, with files for 26.3 released on 2026-10-03.

Are shapes kept after the game closes?

Only if the persistenceEnabled config option is turned on. Otherwise the shapes are lost when the client closes.

In the catalog

Build Guide is one of 36,990 Utility mods on ModsFinder, and one of 25,772 Utility mods for Fabric. 8,071 mods support Minecraft 26.3.

Utility mods36,990Fabric modsMods for 26.38,071

Similar mods

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What the author says

Pressing the 'Open Build Guide' key (default: 'B') will open the Build Guide GUI, which is at the Shape sub-GUI initially. Toggling the 'Enable' checkbox on the top-left will determine whether or not a shape will be rendered. A bit below this checkbox, you can find two buttons to cycle through the available shapes…
brentmaas, on the Modrinth page

Official listing

Owner
brentmaas
Published
2023-10-03
Updated on Modrinth
2026-10-03
Facts verified
2026-10-15

Tags

Utility
Open on ModrinthCompare