Vital Edge
by anoopk
Vital Edge draws a subtle four-edge color gradient around the screen that reflects the durability of the armor a player is wearing, with no HUD text needed.
What it does
The gradient sits along the screen edges and changes color as equipped armor loses durability, so a player can judge armor condition from the periphery of the view. Partial armor is calculated only from the slots that hold pieces, and the overlay can be turned off entirely. Taking damage triggers a heartbeat-style pulse on the edges, and a light hue shift follows the current biome. The brightness of the edges also responds to height, growing brighter above Y=0 and darker below it.
Client-side only, so the server and other players do not need the mod. Installation requires Fabric API, and Mod Menu is optional for opening the settings screen. Files are published for Minecraft 1.21.1 with Fabric Loader 0.16.0, and the code is open source under the MIT License. Settings persist across sessions.
Key features
Armor durability gradient
The four screen edges take on a color that reflects the aggregate durability of equipped armor.
Damage pulse
Taking damage sends a heartbeat-like pulse through the screen edges.
Biome hue shift
The ambient edge color shifts subtly depending on the biome the player stands in.
Height-based brightness
Edge brightness rises above Y=0 and falls below it, so depth changes the look of the overlay.
Gallery
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
Optional 1
Use cases
Checking armor at a glance
A player can watch the screen edges during combat or exploration instead of opening the inventory to read durability numbers.
Quiet HUD
Players who dislike text overlays can keep the interface clean, since the gradient needs no HUD text.
Who it’s for: Players who want armor condition shown as ambient color rather than text, and who run the client on Fabric for Minecraft 1.21.1.
How it compares
Overlay HUD Mod is also client-side only and open source, under the CC0 1.0 Universal license, covering 1.21.1 – 26.2 on Fabric. Custom Item Durability Bar (CIDB) is client-side only on Fabric for 1.21 – 1.21.10 under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 license, and it is not open source. ColoredArmorHUD is client-side only on Fabric and NeoForge for 1.20.1 – 26.2 under the MIT License, and it is not open source.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vital Edge | Fabric | 1.21.1 | Client-side only | 2026-04-30 |
| Overlay HUD Mod | Fabric | 1.21.1 – 26.2 | Client-side only | 2026-08-01 |
| Custom Item Durability Bar (CIDB) | Fabric | 1.21 – 1.21.10 | Client-side only | 2026-01-04 |
| ColoredArmorHUD | Fabric and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 26.2 | Client-side only | 2026-07-17 |
Questions
Does Vital Edge need Fabric API?
Does the server need Vital Edge?
Can the overlay be turned off?
Is Mod Menu needed?
In the catalog
Vital Edge is one of 12,078 Decoration mods on ModsFinder, and one of 6,982 Decoration mods for Fabric. 32,366 mods support Minecraft 1.21.1.
Similar mods
What the author says
Vital Edge renders a subtle 4-edge screen gradient that reflects your armor's durability — no HUD text, no icons, no new items. Just ambient color at the edges of your screen. v1.1 will extend compatibility to Minecraft 1.21.1–1.21.11 with no new features.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/vital-edge
- Owner
- anoopk
- Published
- 2026-04-30
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-04-30
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15