Drop Highlighter
by jhughes-dev
Drop Highlighter outlines item entities on the ground, so players can spot dropped stacks that have landed in sand, water or behind other objects.
What it does
Dropped items are often hard to see, especially when they land on sand or fall behind a block or into water. The mod draws an outline around each item entity so it stands out against the background. Players can switch the highlights off with the O key when they do not want them, and an item filter lets them choose which items get highlighted and which are ignored.
The mod is client-side only, so only the player's game needs it and servers do not have to install anything. It requires Fabric API and Rosetta. Drop Highlighter is published for Fabric and NeoForge, with builds covering 1.21.1 – 26.3 across 16 release versions, and the code is available under the MIT License, though the project is not open source. Issues can be reported on the project's issue tracker.
Key features
Outlined item entities
Each dropped item entity is outlined, making it easier to see on busy or similarly colored ground.
Item filtering
A filter lets players pick which items get highlighted, so unwanted drops such as rotten flesh stay unmarked.
Toggle key
The O key turns the highlights off and on again without changing the filter settings.
Item radar
An item radar shows drops that are off-screen, which helps when a dropped pickaxe has been carried away by a creeper explosion or a current.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
26.x5 of 5 versions with builds
1.21.x11 of 11 versions with builds
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Requirements
Dependencies declared by the latest file for each loader.
Required 2
Use cases
Recovering items after mining
After mining sand or gravel, a player can see which drops landed in nearby terrain instead of searching by eye.
Finding items carried by water
Items that drift in water or fall behind another block remain visible through their outline.
Who it’s for: Players who lose dropped items in busy terrain, sand, water or dim areas, and players who want to limit highlights to specific items.
How it compares
Selected Block Highlighter is a Fabric client mod for 1.20.1 – 1.20.6 under All rights reserved, outlining blocks instead of item drops. ListMore is a Fabric client mod for 1.21.6 – 26.2, released under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 or later, and it is open source. Toggle highlight outline box is a Fabric client mod for 1.21.11 – 26.3 under the MIT License, and it is open source. Drop Highlighter covers both Fabric and NeoForge, which the alternatives do not.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drop Highlighter | Fabric and NeoForge | 1.21.1 – 26.3 | Client-side only | 2026-09-27 |
| Selected Block Highlighter | Fabric | 1.20.1 – 1.20.6 | Client-side only | 2025-11-11 |
| ListMore | Fabric | 1.21.6 – 26.2 | Client-side only | 2026-09-18 |
| Toggle highlight outline box | Fabric | 1.21.11 – 26.3 | Client-side only | 2026-10-03 |
Questions
Does Drop Highlighter need Fabric API?
Which loaders can run Drop Highlighter?
Does a server need to install Drop Highlighter?
Can highlights be turned off during play?
In the catalog
Drop Highlighter 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.
More from jhughes-dev
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What the author says
Added in 1.0, item filtering. Don't highlight what you don't want to pick up. Bye bye Rotten Flesh! Drop Highlighter adds an outline to item entities so you can see them more clearly. This is especially helpful when items might fall behind something, get carried away by water, or when the item matches the background…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/drop-highlighter
- Owner
- jhughes-dev
- Published
- 2026-01-30
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-09-27
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15