Only Excavator
by TheGabo56
Only Excavator, by TheGabo56, adds shovel-type tools that break a 3x3 area of blocks in one swing, built from as few as three ores and two sticks.
What it does
The mod adds excavators in several materials, from wood and stone up through iron, gold, netherite and a creative version. Each excavator clears a 3x3 area instead of a single block, and the mod lets players flatten a plain zone or dig out a chunk of ground faster than vanilla tools allow. Crafting uses three ores and two sticks, so the tools are reachable early in survival.
Install Only Excavator on both the client and the server, since the environment is client and server. It is published for Fabric, Forge and NeoForge across 11 release versions, 1.17.1 – 1.21.8, and the code is under the MIT License, though the project is not open source. The mod pairs well with Only Hammer Mod for players who want a wider set of area-clearing tools.
Key features
3x3 area mining
Each excavator breaks a square of nine blocks at once, which speeds up clearing dirt, sand and stone.
Crafted excavator tiers
Iron, gold, netherite and other excavator shovels can be crafted, and each tier mines the 3x3 area.
Cheap recipes
Crafting needs only three ores and two sticks, so the excavators can be made without far-off materials.
Creative tab
Version 3.0.0 adds a creative tab that groups the excavators together, plus Spanish language support.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
1.21.x4 of 4 versions with builds
1.20.x3 of 3 versions with builds
1.19.x2 of 2 versions with builds
1.18.x1 of 1 version with builds
1.17.x1 of 1 version with builds
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Clearing building sites
A 3x3 tool speeds up flattening a plain zone before construction begins.
Digging out large areas
Players who need to remove a chunk of ground can work through it nine blocks at a time.
Who it’s for: Players who want faster area clearing in survival, and server owners who want a shared tool set for their players.
How it compares
Simple Excavators is an MIT-licensed open source mod for Fabric, Forge and NeoForge, published for 1.20.1 – 26.3 and run on client and server. Vanilla Excavators is a Forge-only open source mod under the GNU General Public License v3.0 only, for 1.14.4 – 1.18.2, also client and server. Only Excavator covers 1.17.1 – 1.21.8 on all three loaders, while Simply Tools is open source under the Apache License 2.0 and built for Forge and NeoForge.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Only Excavator | Fabric, Forge and NeoForge | 1.17.1 – 1.21.8 | Client and server | 2025-11-24 |
| Simple Excavators | Fabric, Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 26.3 | Client and server | 2026-09-28 |
| Vanilla Excavators | Forge | 1.14.4 – 1.18.2 | Client and server | 2022-08-04 |
| Simply Tools | Forge and NeoForge | 1.19 – 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2025-04-24 |
Questions
Does Only Excavator need to be installed on the server?
Which loader should be used with Only Excavator?
Are the excavators available in survival mode?
In the catalog
Only Excavator is one of 17,631 Equipment mods on ModsFinder, and one of 8,894 Equipment mods for Fabric. 17,695 mods support Minecraft 1.21.8.
More from TheGabo56
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What the author says
Only Excavator mod is a mod which adds crafteable useful Excavator which are shovels that mine 3x3, from iron excavator till netherite excavator in a vanilla experience, which makes easier to flatten a plain zone or delete a chunk, anything that you come up with. And you only need 3 ores from each material and two…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/only-excavator-mod
- Owner
- TheGabo56
- Published
- 2024-08-02
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2025-11-24
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15