minecraft-versioning.md

Versioning Scheme for My Minecraft Mods

This document describes the versioning strategy I use for my Minecraft mods, based on Forge and NeoForge.

General Version Format

Each release is tagged as:

<MC_VERSION>-<MOD_VERSION>
Example: 1.21.3-4.2.0.7

• MC_VERSION: The Minecraft version.
• MOD_VERSION: A four-part number: Major.Minor.Feature.Patch.

Filename structure:

<modname>-<loader>-<MC_VERSION>-<MOD_VERSION>.jar
Example: bucketlib-fabric-1.21.3-4.2.0.7.jar

Versioning Rules

• Major (first number):

  • Increased for Minecraft major/minor updates (e.g., 1→2 or 21→22).
  • Complete mod rewrites
  • Resets Minor, Feature, and Patch to 0.

• Minor (second number):

  • Increased for Minecraft patch updates (e.g., 1.21.3→1.21.4) or Loader changes.
  • Breaking changes or large mod changes.
  • Resets Feature and Patch to 0.

• Feature (third number):

  • Increased for added, removed, or reworked features without breaking changes.
  • Resets Patch to 0.

• Patch (fourth number):

  • Increased for bugfixes or small improvements.

Reset Policy

Whenever a higher version part increases, all lower parts are reset to 0.

Example transitions:

• Bugfix → 1.21.3-4.2.0.8
• New feature → 1.21.3-4.2.1.0
• Minecraft patch update → 1.21.4-4.3.0.0
• Minecraft minor update → 1.22-5.0.0.0

Special Versions

Pre-releases:

• -alphaX: Early development.
• -betaX: Feature-complete, unstable.
• -rcX: Release candidate.

Example: 1.21.3-4.2.0.7-beta1

Supported Loaders

Each release builds for multiple loaders (Fabric, Forge, NeoForge).
The loader is listed in the filename, not in the Git tag.

Examples:

• bucketlib-fabric-1.21.3-4.2.0.7.jar
• bucketlib-forge-1.21.3-4.2.0.7.jar
• bucketlib-neoforge-1.21.3-4.2.0.7.jar

Supported Versions List

For currently supported Minecraft versions, see:
➡️ Supported Versions

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This versioning system ensures clarity, compatibility, and easy automation across releases.