Mini Dynamic Lights
by planc_
Mini Dynamic Lights is a Fabric utility for 1.18.2 that makes held and dropped glowing items cast light, with settings aimed at keeping the cost low.
What it does
Glowing item entities produce dynamic light until they reach the ground, and a glowing item held by the player casts a light slightly in front of the player, creating the illusion of a lit item held out ahead. The default setup only renders the nearest four eligible entities at the lowest setting, and the author describes the approach as a reduction of rendering factors meant to focus on performance. Players who want more light can raise the entity count and the radius in the video settings.
The mod ships with a preconfigured set of dynamic lights, including players and glow squids, and it can be extended. Its configuration lives in a directory named dynamic-lights inside the game directory; each YAML file in it is read and its settings applied. Fabric API is required. The mod is client-side only, so servers run without it. It is released under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 only and is open source; its source code is public. Files target 1.18.2 alone, and snapshot builds are published.
Key features
Glowing item lights
Dropped glowing items cast light until they settle on the ground, and held items glow gradually.
Limited entity count
Only the nearest few eligible entities receive dynamic light at the lowest setting, which keeps the rendering load small.
YAML light configuration
Each YAML file in the dynamic-lights config directory adds or changes light definitions for entities.
Adjustable light range
The light radius is kept small by default and can be raised in the video settings for higher resolution lighting.
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
This mod also publishes snapshot builds. Snapshots are not shown in the matrix.
Requirements
Dependencies declared by the latest file for each loader.
Required 1
Use cases
Who it’s for: Players on Fabric 1.18.2 who want modest dynamic lighting, and players who want to add their own entity light definitions through configuration files.
How it compares
Dynamic Textures is client-side only, open source under the MIT License and published for 1.20.1, so it covers a different version. ExtraHUD is also client-side only and open source under the MIT License, but its files target 1.20.4 – 1.21.1 and it changes the HUD rather than light. Radiant Gear runs on Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt for 1.18.2 – 1.20.6 and is released under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 or later.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mini Dynamic Lights | Fabric | 1.18.2 | Client-side only | 2022-05-13 |
| Dynamic Textures | Fabric | 1.20.1 | Client-side only | 2024-03-12 |
| ExtraHUD | Fabric | 1.20.4 – 1.21.1 | Client-side only | 2024-08-12 |
| Radiant Gear | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.18.2 – 1.20.6 | Client-side only | 2024-12-28 |
Questions
Does Mini Dynamic Lights need Fabric API?
Does the server need Mini Dynamic Lights?
Where are the mod's settings stored?
Which game version does the mod support?
In the catalog
Mini Dynamic Lights is one of 36,990 Utility mods on ModsFinder, and one of 25,772 Utility mods for Fabric. 9,044 mods support Minecraft 1.18.2.
Similar mods
What the author says
As a result, the dynamic lighting can appear choppy in expense of performance. However, dynamic lighting settings (Section 4.) can be tweaked to fit into your system. Thanks to this source for giving me the best reference for me to get started on this mod.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/mdl
- Owner
- planc_
- Published
- 2022-04-30
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2022-05-13
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15