Excavate
by kwahson
Excavate, a NeoForge mod for 1.21.1, adds an enchantment that lets pickaxes, axes, shovels and hoes break or till a whole area at once.
What it does
The Excavation enchantment turns a tool into an area tool. With Excavation the tool affects a 3x3 area around the targeted block, and Excavation II widens that to 5x5. Each block broken in the area takes one point of durability from the tool, and breaking stops when the tool runs out. Blocks the tool cannot break are left alone, and unbreakable blocks such as bedrock are never affected.
Hoes with Excavation harvest mature crops in the area. Auto-replant is enabled by default: one seed is consumed from the crop's drops and the crop is replanted, and a seed drop is left empty in the field. A config screen, opened from the Mods menu, toggles auto-replant. Crouching makes the tool use single-block interactions.
The enchantment can be obtained from an enchanting table, where it has the same weight as Fortune and is rare. Excavate runs on client and server, so the server and every player need it. It is published only for NeoForge 1.21.1, with the latest file 1.2.0 released on 2026-04-09, and the source code is under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later.
Key features
Area mining
Excavation breaks a 3x3 area and Excavation II a 5x5 area, with each broken block costing durability.
Enchanting table availability
The enchantment appears in enchanting tables at the same weight as Fortune, and it is rare.
Crop harvesting with hoes
Hoes with Excavation harvest mature crops across the area, and blocks drop their own correct loot.
Auto-replant option
Auto-replant, on by default, consumes one seed and replants the crop, and a config toggle in the Mods menu turns it off.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
How it compares
Just Paxels is a NeoForge mod for 1.21.1 that is client and server and released under All rights reserved. Breaking Enchantment is a NeoForge mod for 1.21.8, also client and server and All rights reserved. Instant Harvest covers a different range, 1.21 – 1.21.11, is server required with client optional, and is released under the MIT License.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excavate | NeoForge | 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-04-09 |
| Just Paxels | NeoForge | 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-02-17 |
| Breaking Enchantment | NeoForge | 1.21.8 | Client and server | 2026-06-18 |
| Instant Harvest | Fabric, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.21 – 1.21.11 | Server required, client optional | 2026-02-27 |
Questions
Does Excavate need to be installed on the server?
Which loader and version does Excavate support?
Where is the auto-replant setting changed?
In the catalog
Excavate is one of 8,499 Technology mods on ModsFinder, and one of 3,557 Technology mods for NeoForge. 32,366 mods support Minecraft 1.21.1.
More from kwahson
Similar mods
What the author says
Area mining enchantment for NeoForge 1.21.1. Excavation I affects a 3x3 area. Excavation II affects a 5x5 area. Crouch to use single-block interactions.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/excavate
- Owner
- kwahson
- Published
- 2026-03-31
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-04-09
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15