Chunklocked
by midnight
Chunklocked is a Fabric game mechanics mod in which the world starts as a single open chunk and expands as players pay to claim neighboring chunks.
What it does
Each new world begins with one accessible chunk. Neighboring chunks stay closed behind a border, and a player who looks at a closed edge and interacts with it pays a cost to claim that chunk. The cost is an item and amount drawn from biome-based loot tables, so the price of expansion depends on where the closed neighbor lies. The first chunk a player picks before any paid claim can be chosen at join time.
The mod is a modern Fabric port of a classic datapack, rebuilt for the 26.2 game version. Its interface is integrated, which the author describes as more optimized than the earlier datapack approach. Once the first paid claim has happened, changing difficulty requires cheats, controlled through a chunklock difficulty command. Chunklocked requires Fabric API. It runs on client and server, so the server and every player need it, and it is released under the Apache License 2.0 as open source. Files exist for Fabric only, currently 1.1.0 for 26.2, published 2026-07-30 and last updated 2026-08-08.
Key features
Single starting chunk
A world begins with one accessible chunk, and the rest of the map stays hidden until claimed.
Paid chunk claims
Looking at a closed border and interacting with it spends the cost needed to open that chunk.
Biome-based costs
Closed neighbors show the cost item and amount, which come from loot tables tied to the biome.
Pick the first chunk
Players can choose their starting chunk on first join, before any claim has been paid for.
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
Survival exploration pacing
Players grow the explored area a chunk at a time, so each expansion has to be earned.
Who it’s for: Players who want a progression mechanic in which the world grows only as they spend resources, and server owners who run a shared world with the same expansion rules for everyone.
Questions
Does Chunklocked need Fabric API?
Does the server need Chunklocked?
Can the difficulty be changed after the first claim?
In the catalog
Chunklocked is one of 29,952 Game mechanics mods on ModsFinder, and one of 19,630 Game mechanics mods for Fabric. 13,894 mods support Minecraft 26.2.
More from midnight
Similar mods
What the author says
A modern fabric port for the classic datapack. Now more optimised, with an integrated UI. After your first paid unlock, changing difficulty needs cheats (/chunklock difficulty).
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/chunk-locked
- Owner
- midnight
- Published
- 2026-07-30
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-08-08
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15