Manuals
by Stefan_Rot
Manuals gates certain utility blocks behind reading manuals, so players must find and read them before using Enchanting Tables, Brewing Stands or Anvils.
What it does
Manuals locks some utility blocks until a player has read enough distinct manuals to reach the rank a skill needs. The enchanting, brewing and smithing skills each require three ranks, and every manual adds a single rank to the skills it belongs to. Manuals look like enchanted books with a glint and are read by right-clicking them. After the first read, a configurable experience reward is granted once per manual.
Manuals is a Vanilla-friendly progression layer that adds no new blocks or mobs. Once a skill is available, the blocks and entities involved behave as they normally do. Version 1.1.1 added commands to check and give manuals. Installation requires NeoForge, and the mod runs on client and server, so both the server and every player need it. Files are published for NeoForge 1.21.1 only, under the MIT License, and the code is not open source.
Key features
Manual Enchanting
The Enchanting Table stays locked until enough distinct enchanting manuals have been read.
Manual Brewing
The Brewing Stand becomes usable after the brewing manuals reach the required rank.
Manual Anvils
Anvil, Chipped Anvil and Damaged Anvil are gated by anvil manuals rather than being available from the start.
Manual Smithing
The Smithing Table requires smithing manuals before it can be used.
Experience for first reads
Reading a manual for the first time grants a small experience reward, which server owners can configure.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Gradual progression
Players reach the utility blocks as they explore the world and collect manuals, rather than using them from the start of a world.
Who it’s for: Players who want a light progression layer on top of vanilla survival, and server owners who want to gate utility blocks behind exploration.
How it compares
Mod Recipe Book is open source under the MIT License, for Fabric and NeoForge on 1.21.1, and it works on the client and server side. Recipes You Need is also open source under the MIT License, for NeoForge 1.21.1 only, and runs on client and server. Chest Item : Useful Book is published for NeoForge 1.21.1, under All rights reserved, and is not open source. Manuals differs by gating blocks through read manuals rather than changing recipes or chests.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manuals | NeoForge | 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-08-10 |
| Mod Recipe Book | Fabric and NeoForge | 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-10-10 |
| Recipes You Need | NeoForge | 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-10-11 |
| Chest Item : Useful Book | NeoForge | 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-06-16 |
Questions
Does Manuals need to be installed on the server?
How many manuals does a skill need before it can be used?
Which game versions does Manuals support?
In the catalog
Manuals is one of 19,031 Adventure mods on ModsFinder, and one of 8,588 Adventure mods for NeoForge. 32,366 mods support Minecraft 1.21.1.
Similar mods
What the author says
Manuals is a simple mod that adds a Vanilla-friendly progression layer to Minecraft. Before you can use certain blocks or trade with certain mobs, you must first read their manuals that can be found throughout the world. How it works Skills are the gated capabilities (e.g. Enchanting, Brewing, Anvils). Each skill…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/manuals
- Owner
- Stefan_Rot
- Published
- 2026-06-27
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-08-10
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15