ModsFinder

Sulkan

by mravatin

Sulkan, a client-side Fabric mod, adds native shader rendering to Minecraft's Vulkan backend, with Sodium as a required companion.

FabricClient-side onlyGNU General Public License v3.0 onlyOpen source26.2 – 26.3

What it does

Sulkan is a client-side mod for Fabric that brings a native shader pipeline to Minecraft's Vulkan renderer. It is designed around the Vulkan renderer and the Fabric and Sodium stack, and it does not run through OpenGL. Shader compilation targets Vulkan, and a Vulkan-capable GPU driver is needed for the renderer to start. Sodium is a required dependency and is bundled with Sulkan.

Shader packs use Sulkan's own format, which is a folder or ZIP containing a sulkan.json manifest, placed directly in the game's shaders directory. The built-in Sulkan Realistic pack ships with the mod, though it has to be installed separately. Unmodified Iris and OptiFine shader packs are supported as well. Effects cover lighting, water, sky and anti-aliasing, and quality can be adjusted in game.

Sulkan is open source under the GNU General Public License v3.0 only, with public source code, an issue tracker and a wiki. Files are published for 26.2 and 26.3, and the latest Fabric file is 0.6.0 for 26.3, dated 2026-10-15. Snapshot builds are published as well.

Key features

  1. Native Vulkan shaders

    Shaders run through a dedicated Vulkan pipeline rather than the OpenGL path used by the vanilla renderer.

  2. Built-in shader pack

    The Sulkan Realistic shader pack covers shadows, water, clouds and atmosphere in one installable package.

  3. Adjustable shader quality

    Shader effects such as ambient occlusion, bloom and FXAA can be tuned from in-game settings.

  4. Fallback to OpenGL

    If the Vulkan renderer cannot start, Minecraft falls back to OpenGL, and Sulkan pauses shader effects while showing a message on the title screen.

Compatibility

Latest build for each game version and loader.

26.30.6.0
26.20.4.2
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 1

SodiumA high-performance rendering engine replacement for Minecraft, which greatly improves frame rates and reduces micro-stutter.
Required

How it compares

Full comparison

Fornax is client-side only and open source under the MIT License, for 26.2 only. WaterLightingFix is client-side only and open source under the GNU General Public License v3.0 only, for 26.2 – 26.3. Vulkan PostFX is client-side only, uses a custom license that is not open source, and is for 26.2 only. VulkanMod is client-side only and open source under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 only, for 1.18.2 – 26.1.2, with Quilt support as well as Fabric. FramePace is client-side only and open source under the MIT License, for 26.2, on Fabric and NeoForge.

ModLoadersGame versionsEnvironmentUpdated
SulkanFabric26.2 – 26.3Client-side only2026-09-24
FornaxFabric26.2Client-side only2026-09-25
WaterLightingFixFabric26.2 – 26.3Client-side only2026-09-16
Vulkan PostFXFabric26.2Client-side only2026-07-10
VulkanModFabric and Quilt1.18.2 – 26.1.2Client-side only2026-06-14
FramePaceFabric and NeoForge26.2Client-side only2026-08-17

Questions

Does Sulkan need Sodium?

Yes. Sodium is a required dependency, and it is bundled with Sulkan.

Does Sulkan have to be installed on a server?

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

What GPU support does Sulkan need?

The renderer requires a Vulkan-capable GPU driver. Driver updates and GPU selection can affect whether it starts successfully.

In the catalog

Sulkan 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

Similar mods

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

Sulkan is a client-side Fabric mod that adds native shader support to Minecraft's Vulkan renderer. Built on Sodium, Sulkan provides a dedicated Vulkan shader pipeline, a built-in shader pack, and support for native Sulkan shader packs. It is designed for Minecraft 26.2 and requires a Vulkan-capable GPU and driver.
mravatin, on the Modrinth page

Official listing

Owner
mravatin
Published
2026-03-09
Updated on Modrinth
2026-09-24
Facts verified
2026-10-15

Tags

Optimization
Open on ModrinthCompare