Pick Tool
by pajic
Pick Tool lets a player hold a key on a block and swap to the most effective tool in the inventory for that block.
What it does
When a player holds the pick block key while aiming at a block, the mod looks through the inventory for the tools that suit that block and switches to one of them. Repeated presses cycle through every suitable tool that was found, so a player can move between a pickaxe, a shovel or an axe without opening the inventory. Works with vanilla tools and tools added by other mods.
Items can be excluded from the swap through a file called picktool.json, which sits in the game's config directory. The file accepts single items as well as item tags, so whole groups of tools can be left out. Swords and shears are already ignored by the default item tags. The mod is server-side only: only the server needs it, and players join without installing anything. It works on dedicated servers, on LAN hosts and in singleplayer.
Pick Tool is published for Fabric and NeoForge, with files for 26.1, 26.1.1, 26.1.2, 26.2 and 26.3. The code is open source under the MIT License, and the source code and issue tracker are public.
Key features
Hold-to-swap key
Holding the pick block key on a block switches the held item to a tool that works on it.
Cycling through tools
Each further press moves to the next effective tool in the inventory, so several candidates can be reached in turn.
Configurable exclusions
A JSON file in the config directory lists items or item tags that the swap should skip.
Vanilla and modded tools
Tools from other mods are considered in the same way as vanilla tools when choosing an effective one.
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
How it compares
Context Tool Swapping is client-side only and is open source under the MIT License, with files for 1.20 – 26.3 on Fabric and NeoForge. Automatic Tool Swap is client-side only, open source under the Apache License 2.0, and covers Forge and NeoForge across 1.16.2 – 26.3. Pick Tool differs in being server-side only and in using a key on the block being aimed at.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pick Tool | Fabric and NeoForge | 26.1 – 26.3 | Server-side only | 2026-07-03 |
| Context Tool Swapping | Fabric and NeoForge | 1.20 – 26.3 | Client-side only | 2026-05-17 |
| Automatic Tool Swap | Forge and NeoForge | 1.16.2 – 26.3 | Client-side only | 2026-09-30 |
Questions
Does Pick Tool have to be installed on every player's client?
Which loaders does Pick Tool support?
How can a tool be kept out of the swap?
In the catalog
Pick Tool is one of 17,631 Equipment mods on ModsFinder, and one of 8,894 Equipment mods for Fabric. 8,071 mods support Minecraft 26.3.
More from pajic
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What the author says
This is a lightweight mod that allows using the "Pick block" key while holding a tool to swap to the effective tool for the targeted block. Works with all tools, both vanilla and modded ones.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/pick-tool
- Owner
- pajic
- Published
- 2026-03-29
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-07-03
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15