Surface Light
by miout.13
Surface Light changes how bright the night sky is, using the phase of the moon, which in turn decides where mobs spawn after dark.
What it does
Night-time light on the surface follows the moon phase. Brightness is high when the moon is full, so nights stay safe, and low when the moon is new, leaving the surface dark and dangerous. Between these two extremes the light level follows the normal night curve, so the phases in between behave like ordinary nights. The same light value also decides where hostile mobs can spawn at night, which is why the phase matters for players walking outside.
Surface Light is a server-side Fabric mod, so only the server needs it and players join without installing anything. It requires Fabric API, and the config screen through Mod Menu also needs Cloth Config. The mod is released under the MIT License and is open source, and its source code is public. Files target 1.21.11 only, and the latest Fabric file is 1.3.2, published on 2026-07-31.
Key features
Full moon safe nights
On a full moon the surface is lit, so mobs have far fewer places to spawn on the ground.
New moon darkness
On a new moon the surface stays dark, which turns the night into a riskier period outdoors.
Phase-based light
Light levels between full and new moon follow the normal night brightness, rather than a fixed value.
Manual phase setting
The moon phase can be set by the player, so a chosen phase can be kept instead of the cycle.
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Survival servers
Server owners can make full moons a safer window for travel and mining on the surface.
Hard night challenges
A world can rely on new moons for dark, dangerous nights while keeping regular nights unchanged.
Who it’s for: Server owners and survival players who want the moon phase to affect night-time light and mob spawning on the surface.
How it compares
Moon Info Updated is a client-side only Fabric mod under the MIT License and is open source, with files for 1.21.1, so it displays moon information without changing spawns. Lux Lunae is also client-side only and available for Fabric 1.21.1, but its license is MIT License and it is not open source. SleepTimer is client-side only under CC0 1.0 Universal and not open source, supporting Fabric 1.20.1 – 1.21.11.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surface Light | Fabric | 1.21.11 | Server-side only | 2026-07-31 |
| Moon Info Updated | Fabric | 1.21.1 | Client-side only | 2025-06-06 |
| Lux Lunae | Fabric | 1.21.1 | Client-side only | 2026-07-17 |
| SleepTimer | Fabric | 1.20.1 – 1.21.11 | Client-side only | 2026-01-02 |
Questions
Does Surface Light need to be installed on the client?
Which dependencies does Surface Light need?
Which game versions does Surface Light support?
In the catalog
Surface Light is one of 29,952 Game mechanics mods on ModsFinder, and one of 19,630 Game mechanics mods for Fabric. 19,862 mods support Minecraft 1.21.11.
Similar mods
What the author says
Surface Light changes how bright the night is, based on the moon phase. A full moon lights the surface. A new moon leaves it dark. This also decides where mobs spawn at night.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/surface-light
- Owner
- miout.13
- Published
- 2026-07-28
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-07-31
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15