Radiance (Linux)
by Radiance
Radiance replaces the vanilla OpenGL renderer with a Vulkan C++ renderer and adds hardware ray tracing on supported GPUs, for players who want rendering beyond OpenGL limits.
What it does
Radiance rebuilt the Minecraft rendering backend in C++ on Vulkan. The mod swaps out the vanilla OpenGL renderer completely, so the game draws its frames through the new pipeline instead. The C++ backend is aimed at high-performance rendering, and it leaves room for add-on rendering modules such as DLSS and FSR because the pipeline is built as a modern, industrial-style renderer.
Hardware-accelerated ray tracing is native to the Vulkan renderer. It uses the VK_KHR_ray_tracing_pipeline extension, which requires a Vulkan-compatible GPU; NVIDIA RTX series cards and supported AMD and Intel cards expose it. Radiance requires Fabric API and runs on the client only, so players install it alone and servers do not need it. The mod is published for Fabric, Forge and NeoForge, with builds for 1.20.1, 1.21.1 and 1.21.4, and is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 only, which makes it open source.
Key features
Vulkan C++ renderer
The vanilla OpenGL renderer is replaced with a renderer written in C++ on the Vulkan API.
Hardware ray tracing
Ray tracing runs on GPUs that support the VK_KHR_ray_tracing_pipeline extension, including NVIDIA RTX cards.
Rendering module support
The C++ pipeline is built so rendering modules such as DLSS and FSR can be integrated.
OpenGL limits removed
Frame drawing no longer goes through OpenGL, which the mod's description presents as the reason for its rebuild on Linux.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Requirements
Dependencies declared by the latest file for each loader.
Required 1
Use cases
Who it’s for: Players with a Vulkan-compatible GPU who want hardware ray tracing, and players on Linux who want Vulkan rendering instead of OpenGL. Only the client needs the mod.
How it compares
CLab is a client-side mod for Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt, covering 1.20 – 1.21.1, released under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 only and open source. VulkanModNeoForge is also client-side and open source under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 only, but it runs only on NeoForge, for 1.21 – 1.21.3. Beryl is client-side and Fabric-only for 1.21 – 26.1.2, and is not open source.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radiance (Linux) | Fabric, Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.4 | Client-side only | 2026-09-29 |
| CLab | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.20 – 1.21.1 | Client-side only | 2026-05-04 |
| VulkanModNeoForge | NeoForge | 1.21 – 1.21.3 | Client-side only | 2026-06-29 |
| Beryl | Fabric | 1.21 – 26.1.2 | Client-side only | 2026-06-14 |
Questions
Does Radiance need Fabric API?
Which GPUs can use the ray tracing?
Does Radiance have to be installed on the server?
In the catalog
Radiance (Linux) is one of 3,545 Optimization mods on ModsFinder, and one of 2,575 Optimization mods for Fabric. 17,979 mods support Minecraft 1.21.4.
More from Radiance
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What the author says
Radiance is a Minecraft mod that completely replace the vanilla OpenGL renderer with our Vulkan C++ renderer, which supports high performance rendering and hardware-accelerated ray tracing. Due to the variety of C++ usage in the modern industrial rendering pipeline, a seamless integration of a modern industrial…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/radiance-mod-linux
- Owner
- Radiance
- Published
- 2026-03-21
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-09-29
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15