ModsFinder

Sodium Leaf Culling Unofficial

by pepe_yu

Sodium Leaf Culling Unofficial is a Sodium addon that reduces the cost of drawing tree leaves in dense forests.

FabricForgeNeoForgeClient-side onlyMIT LicenseOpen source1.16.3 – 26.3

What it does

Leaves are slower to render than most blocks because they are transparent. This mod plugs into Sodium's chunk mesh render pipeline and adds a smarter leaf culling algorithm, so faces that a player cannot see are skipped. It is an unofficial port of SodiumLeafCulling by Txni, whose original author is credited on the project page, and it targets Sodium 1.21 and newer.

The mod offers a few culling modes. The default Solid Aggressive mode makes the inside of large leaf blocks solid and non-transparent, which is fast to draw. A Fancy mode keeps the outer leaves looking as they do in vanilla. A traditional Hollow mode greedily culls vertices inside the tree. Players can pick the mode that matches the balance of speed and looks they want. Installation requires Embeddium, Fabric API and Sodium, and the mod is published for Fabric, Forge and NeoForge.

Key features

  1. Smart leaf culling

    A culling algorithm removes leaf faces that would never be seen, reducing the work done each frame.

  2. Solid Aggressive mode

    The default mode renders the interior of large leaf blocks as solid, which keeps the outer look and draws quickly.

  3. Fancy mode

    A mode keeps the outside of the leaves in the Fancy style while still culling their hidden parts.

  4. Hollow culling mode

    A more traditional option greedily culls vertices inside the tree for players who prefer that behavior.

Compatibility

Latest build for each game version and loader.

26.x5 of 5 versions with builds
26.33.3.0+mc26.3-fabricNot available3.3.0+mc26.3-neoforge
26.23.3.0+mc26.2-fabricNot available3.3.0+mc26.2-neoforge
26.1.23.3.0+mc26.1.2-fabricNot available3.3.0+mc26.1.2-neoforge
26.1.13.3.0+mc26.1.1-fabricNot available3.3.0+mc26.1.1-neoforge
26.13.3.0+mc26.1-fabricNot available3.3.0+mc26.1-neoforge
1.21.x12 of 12 versions with builds
1.21.113.3.0+mc1.21.11-fabricNot available3.3.0+mc1.21.11-neoforge
1.21.103.3.0+mc1.21.10-fabricNot available3.3.0+mc1.21.10-neoforge
1.21.93.3.0+mc1.21.9-fabricNot availableNot available
1.21.83.3.0+mc1.21.8-fabricNot available3.3.0+mc1.21.8-neoforge
1.21.73.3.0+mc1.21.7-fabricNot available3.3.0+mc1.21.7-neoforge
1.21.63.3.0+mc1.21.6-fabricNot available3.3.0+mc1.21.6-neoforge
1.21.53.3.0+mc1.21.5-fabricNot available3.3.0+mc1.21.5-neoforge
1.21.43.3.0+mc1.21.4-fabricNot available3.3.0+mc1.21.4-neoforge
1.21.33.3.0+mc1.21.3-fabricNot available3.3.0+mc1.21.3-neoforge
1.21.23.3.0+mc1.21.2-fabricNot available3.3.0+mc1.21.2-neoforge
1.21.13.3.0+mc1.21.1-fabricNot available3.3.0+mc1.21.1-neoforge
1.213.3.0+mc1.21-fabricNot available3.3.0+mc1.21-neoforge
1.20.x7 of 7 versions with builds
1.19.x5 of 5 versions with builds
1.18.x3 of 3 versions with builds
1.17.x2 of 2 versions with builds
1.16.x3 of 3 versions with builds
ReleaseBetaAlphaNot available

This mod also publishes snapshot builds. Snapshots are not shown in the matrix.

Requirements

Dependencies declared by the latest file for each loader.

Required 2

Fabric APILightweight and modular API providing common hooks and intercompatibility measures utilized by mods using the Fabric toolchain.
Required
SodiumA high-performance rendering engine replacement for Minecraft, which greatly improves frame rates and reduces micro-stutter.
Required

Use cases

Dense forest worlds

Players who explore large forests with many leaf blocks in view can use the mod to lower the render cost of those scenes.

Who it’s for: Players who run Sodium and want to reduce the rendering load of forests, and anyone who prefers to choose between speed-focused and appearance-focused leaf modes.

How it compares

Full comparison

Cull Leaves is a client-side mod for Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt, covering 1.16 – 26.3 under the MIT License, and it is open source. Cullify is also client-side only and open source under the GNU General Public License v3.0 only, with files for 1.20.1 – 26.1.2. Celeritas Leaf Culling is open source under the MIT License, but it is Forge-only and covers just 1.12.2.

ModLoadersGame versionsEnvironmentUpdated
Sodium Leaf Culling UnofficialFabric, Forge and NeoForge1.16.3 – 26.3Client-side only2026-10-09
Cull LeavesFabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt1.16 – 26.3Client-side only2026-10-10
CullifyFabric, Forge and NeoForge1.20.1 – 26.1.2Client-side only2026-07-16
Celeritas Leaf CullingForge1.12.2Client-side only2026-10-08

Questions

Does Sodium Leaf Culling Unofficial need Sodium?

Yes. Sodium, Embeddium and Fabric API are required dependencies, so they must be installed alongside the mod.

Is the mod needed on a server?

No. Players add it to their own game, and a server needs no copy.

Does the mod conflict with Xenon?

Yes. Xenon is listed as incompatible, so the two should not be installed together.

Which game versions have files?

Files cover 1.16.3 – 26.3, and the latest Fabric and NeoForge files target 26.3 while the latest Forge file targets 1.20.2.

In the catalog

Sodium Leaf Culling Unofficial is one of 3,545 Optimization mods on ModsFinder, and one of 2,575 Optimization mods for Fabric. 8,071 mods support Minecraft 26.3.

Optimization mods3,545Fabric modsMods for 26.38,071

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Sodium1.16.3 – 26.3Iris Shaders1.16.5 – 26.3Entity Cullingb1.7.3 – 26.3FerriteCore1.16.5 – 26.3ImmediatelyFast1.18.2 – 26.3Sodium Extra1.16.2 – 26.3

What the author says

This mod is a rewrite of SodiumLeafCulling that utilizes the Stonecutter Gradle plugin to support multiple mod loaders and versions. It brings SodiumLeafCulling's excellent leaf culling capabilities to a wide range of versions. It also supports the latest version of Sodium for 1.21.1. This Sodium addon optimizes the…
pepe_yu, on the Modrinth page

Official listing

Owner
pepe_yu
Published
2026-04-06
Updated on Modrinth
2026-10-09
Facts verified
2026-10-15

Tags

OptimizationUtility
Open on ModrinthCompare