Surveyor's Compass
by L0TCH4
Surveyor's Compass is a Fabric adventure mod that adds a compass able to point toward nearby generated structures chosen by the player.
What it does
A Surveyor's Compass is crafted from a regular compass surrounded by eight cobblestone. The player sets its target by placing a key item in the center slot of the crafting grid, and the needle then turns toward the nearest matching structure. Structures it can track include villages, shipwrecks, nether fortresses, bastions, remnants and strongholds, depending on the key item used.
Right-clicking the compass opens a configuration screen where the key item can be swapped at any time. Once a key item is placed in the center slot, a short click confirms it and the compass starts searching for the closest matching structure near the player. The chosen target is remembered after the screen is closed and after logging out and back in, so the compass does not need to be set again. The compass also stacks, and the mod requires Fabric API on Fabric. It runs on the client and the server, and the code is released under the MIT License, but the mod is not open source.
The mod is published for Fabric only, with a single version, 1.21.1. The latest file is 1.0.0, released on 2026-07-15, which was also the first publication date.
Key features
Structure-finding needle
The needle points toward the nearest structure that matches the configured key item, updating as the player moves.
Key item configuration
A key item placed in the center slot of the compass selects which kind of structure it tracks, and swapping the item changes the target.
Configuration screen
Right-clicking opens a settings screen where the tracked structure is shown and changed without crafting a new compass.
Persistent target
The configured key item is kept after the screen is closed and after relogging, so the compass keeps its target between sessions.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
How it compares
Tripp's Simple Compass is a Fabric client-side only mod with open source MIT License code, published for 1.21.1 – 1.21.4, so it needs no installation on the server. Dead Reckoning is a Fabric client and server mod under the MIT License, open source, with files for 1.20.1 – 1.21.1, which overlaps this mod's 1.21.1 range. Surveyor's Compass differs from both in that it locates generated structures through a key item, not a heading or coordinate display.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surveyor's Compass | Fabric | 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-07-15 |
| Tripp's Simple Compass | Fabric | 1.21.1 – 1.21.4 | Client-side only | 2025-03-15 |
| Dead Reckoning | Fabric | 1.20.1 – 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2026-01-10 |
Questions
Does Surveyor's Compass require Fabric API?
Does the server need Surveyor's Compass installed?
Which structures can the compass track?
In the catalog
Surveyor's Compass is one of 19,031 Adventure mods on ModsFinder, and one of 10,052 Adventure mods for Fabric. 32,366 mods support Minecraft 1.21.1.
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What the author says
Ever wished your compass could point to something other than spawn? Surveyor's Compass adds a special compass that can be configured to point toward nearby structures. The compass remembers its configured key item even after closing the GUI or relogging, and can be reconfigured at any time by swapping the item in its…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/surveyors-compass
- Owner
- L0TCH4
- Published
- 2026-07-15
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-07-15
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15