Sandstorm
by tomalbrc
Sandstorm, a Fabric server-side particle engine by tomalbrc, lets server owners build particle effects from emitters that use the Polymer library and display entities.
What it does
Sandstorm reads emitter definitions and draws particles through packet-based display entities, so players on a server see the effects without installing anything. Its emitter settings cover initialization, lifetime that either loops or runs once, and shapes including disc, box, point and sphere, with an instant emission rate. The engine is meant to work with Bedrock-style particle definitions compatible with the Snowstorm format.
Polymer is a required dependency and must be installed on the server. Sandstorm runs on the server alone, so clients join without any mod. Effects can be authored in the snowstorm.app web app or a VS Code extension, and the resulting files are loaded by the server. Fabric builds are published for 26.3 with 0.3.0-beta.3+26.3 as the latest file on the beta channel, released under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 only.
Key features
Emitter initialization
Emitters have an initialization stage that sets up their state before particles are spawned.
Looping and one-shot lifetimes
An emitter can loop its lifetime for continuous effects or run once for a single burst.
Emitter shapes
Particles can spawn from a disc, box, point or sphere shape, giving a range of effect layouts.
Display entity output
Particles are sent through Polymer packet-based display entities, so no client-side code is needed to see them.
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
Server-side effects
Server owners can add ambient or event particles to a world that every connecting player sees without a client install.
Effect authoring
Effects can be built in the snowstorm.app web app or a VS Code extension before being placed on the server.
Who it’s for: Server owners and developers who want particle effects on a Fabric server, with Polymer installed alongside Sandstorm.
How it compares
Custom Totem Particles is a client-side only Fabric mod, open source under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 only, published for 1.18.2 – 26.3, so it changes what each player sees rather than running on the server. Dex Cosmetics is server-side only, not open source, under the GNU General Public License v3.0 only, and supports 1.21.1 alone, while Sandstorm runs server-side only with a server-side environment.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandstorm | Fabric | 1.21 – 26.3 | Server-side only | 2026-10-01 |
| Custom Totem Particles | Fabric | 1.18.2 – 26.3 | Client-side only | 2026-10-10 |
| Dex Cosmetics | Fabric | 1.21.1 | Server-side only | 2026-06-07 |
Questions
Does Sandstorm need Polymer?
Do players need to install Sandstorm to see the effects?
Which game versions does Sandstorm support?
In the catalog
Sandstorm is one of 7,216 Magic mods on ModsFinder, and one of 3,630 Magic mods for Fabric. 8,071 mods support Minecraft 26.3.
More from tomalbrc
Similar mods
What the author says
Bedrock/Snowstorm compatible particle engine but for fabric, java - using polymer for packet-based display entities Use the webapp snowstorm.app (or VSCode extension or app from Microsoft Store) to create particle effects.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/sandstorm
- Owner
- tomalbrc
- Published
- 2024-11-06
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-10-01
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15