Hold Your Breath
by nielsvoss
Hold Your Breath is a Fabric mod that makes players hold their breath in real time when they go underwater, so air runs out based on how the player uses the R key.
What it does
The mod requires players to press the R key before entering water to avoid drowning. While R is held down, the player keeps air for longer. Once R is released, the player starts losing air at a sharply increased rate, and pressing R again underwater stops the air loss. The mod treats exhaling underwater as the cause of water filling the mouth, which blocks breathing.
The key behavior can be changed in the config so R toggles holding breath instead of requiring it to stay held down. The option is set separately for each player, and a server can enable it for itself. Doors placed underwater can be prevented from making air pockets through another config option, which is disabled by default. Hold Your Breath runs on client and server, so the server and every player need it, and it is published for Fabric 1.20.1 – 1.21 and is open source under the MIT License. Fabric API is required, and MidnightLib is bundled inside the mod.
Key features
Real-time breath
Air is tracked in real time, so time spent underwater depends on how long the player holds the R key.
Toggle option
A config option lets R toggle holding breath rather than requiring it to be held down.
Underwater door setting
An option keeps doors placed underwater from creating air pockets and is disabled by default.
Per-player option
The toggle option is set separately for each player, so one player's choice does not affect others.
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
Embedded 1
Use cases
Who it’s for: Players who want a breath system closer to real-life holding of breath, and server owners who can allow it on their server.
How it compares
Cold Breath is a Fabric mod released under the MIT License and open source, for versions 1.20 – 26.1.2, and it is client-side only. HybridToggle is a Fabric mod for 1.21.11 only, open source under the GNU Lesser General Public License v2.1 or later, and also client-side only. Dragons Breath Recipe is a multi-loader mod for Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt, covering 1.16 – 26.3, with server required and client optional, and it is not open source.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hold Your Breath | Fabric | 1.20.1 – 1.21 | Client and server | 2024-07-24 |
| Cold Breath | Fabric | 1.20 – 26.1.2 | Client-side only | 2026-04-14 |
| HybridToggle | Fabric | 1.21.11 | Client-side only | 2026-07-27 |
| Dragons Breath Recipe | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.16 – 26.3 | Server required, client optional | 2026-09-21 |
Questions
Does Hold Your Breath need Fabric API?
Does the server need Hold Your Breath installed?
Can the R key behavior be changed?
In the catalog
Hold Your Breath is one of 7,555 Cursed mods on ModsFinder, and one of 4,235 Cursed mods for Fabric. 15,770 mods support Minecraft 1.21.
More from nielsvoss
Similar mods
What the author says
A Minecraft Fabric mod which makes players hold their breath in real life when they go underwater. Players press the R key (configurable) to tell the server that they are holding their breath. When a player stops holding their breath, they will release the R key. This requires the honor system to work.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/holdyourbreath
- Owner
- nielsvoss
- Published
- 2024-07-16
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2024-07-24
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15