Improved Barrels
by xarilas
Improved Barrels adds barrels in copper, iron-style and netherite tiers that players can upgrade in place without breaking the barrel open.
What it does
Placed barrels can be upgraded to a higher tier while they stay in the world, and the items inside an upgraded barrel are left untouched. Existing worlds keep working, so a barrel already in use can move up a tier without being dismantled and rebuilt.
The tiers follow a clear progression from copper to netherite, with each step adding capacity. The new barrel blocks and items are added to the game, and both the server and every player need the mod installed. Files are published for Forge only, for Minecraft 1.20.1, with 1.0.2 as the latest file, released 2026-03-24 under the MIT License. The project is not open source.
Key features
Tiered barrel progression
Barrels come in copper, netherite and intermediate tiers, so storage can grow as a base develops.
In-place upgrades
A placed barrel can be upgraded without being removed, and its contents stay where they are.
Lossless upgrade path
Items stored in an upgraded barrel are kept, so upgrading does not require emptying a chest first.
Optional crafting integration
An optional integration adds crafting station support, and the mod works fully without it.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Growing a storage base
A base that starts with copper barrels can upgrade them in place as the player gathers better materials.
Keeping existing worlds
Players with an established world can add the new tiers without losing the items already stored in their barrels.
Who it’s for: Players who want barrels with more tiers than vanilla offers, and server owners who want storage upgrades that do not disrupt existing containers.
How it compares
Extended Barrels is a Forge mod for 1.20.1 with client and server environment, released under All rights reserved, so it is not open source. NetherBarrels is open source under the MIT License, but it targets 1.18.2 instead. fishermans do not use barrels is server-side only for 1.20.1 and is also under All rights reserved, so players can join without installing it.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Improved Barrels | Forge | 1.20.1 | Client and server | 2026-03-24 |
| Extended Barrels | Forge | 1.20.1 | Client and server | 2026-01-29 |
| NetherBarrels | Forge | 1.18.2 | Client and server | 2023-01-03 |
| fishermans do not use barrels | Forge | 1.20.1 | Server-side only | 2026-08-21 |
Questions
Does Improved Barrels need other mods?
Do both sides need the mod?
Will upgrading a barrel delete its contents?
Which game version does Improved Barrels support?
In the catalog
Improved Barrels is one of 4,058 Storage mods on ModsFinder, and one of 1,886 Storage mods for Forge. 34,764 mods support Minecraft 1.20.1.
Similar mods
What the author says
This mod adds improved barrels with different tiers. Upgrade your storage without tearing it down. Improved Barrels adds a clean tiered progression for barrels, from Copper all the way to Netherite, with in‑world upgrades.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/improved-barrels
- Owner
- xarilas
- Published
- 2026-03-24
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-03-24
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15