Fixes & Optimizations

• Profile loading no longer relies on compliance levels.
• Upgrade HeroUI to v2.8, together with Tailwind CSS v4.

Previous Alicorn versions can automatically update to this version. For fresh packages, see Actions Page.

Fixes & Optimizations

• Fixed incorrect account types defined for Microsoft accounts (causes Realms authentication to fail).
• Fixed incorrect Xbox IDs defined when launching.
• Fixed an incorrect OS version detection.

Compatibility

This version is backward-compatible with v3.x.

This release contains improvements for overall speed and reactivity and is why we post it as a standalone release.

Fixes & Optimizations

• Reduced startup time by up to 30%. (I'm looking at you fs.readFile 👀)
• Version manifests are prefetched for Fabric and Quilt, making mod loader compatibility check much faster.
• Removed unwanted drag effect on multiple elements.
• Ported ReadyBoom to reduce the time to wait when refreshing vanilla accounts.

To Upgrade

This version is backward compatible with all 3.x versions.

Welcome to the first stable release of "Blue Horizon"! We've refined things in v3.0.0-devel and has addressed some bugs, thus making Alicorn suitable for production use.

Fixes & Optimizations

• Omitted account selection in multiple pages.
• Added missing locked flag for Modrinth modpacks.
• Fixed a compatibility issue with Forge version resolution.

To Upgrade

This release is backward-compatible with all versions in v3.x.

This is the day! A small step in Alicorn but a great step to integrate further with the community! With the freshly added modpack support, you'll benefit from the performance and compact storage of Alicorn, together with all the variety playable content from Modrinth and Curseforge! Get to see the new features:

New Features

Modpacks

You can now import downloaded modpacks into Alicorn! Alicorn will create a new game and dump the contents of the pack into it, together with a specially designed installer script so that you don't miss any mods or other addons specified in the pack. We've tested Fabulously Optimized and Dying Light, which both runs flawlessly! We're also planning to add support for other modpack formats so that the gameplay integration experience can be further improved.

Import Existing Games

Have a game in other launchers and want to get them to run in Alicorn? Now possible! Just click the import button on the games view, select your profile and account, and let Alicorn to handle the rest. All of your saves, addons, configurations and other files will remain the same so that you can continue the familiar experience while utilizing all the features Alicorn provides.

Fixes & Optimizations

• Fixed a bug that freezes the login window.
• Added a panel to change account after game creation.
• Adjusted word break style for better typography.
• Refined exception handling system to show detailed tracing information.
• Throttled mirror benching.

To Upgrade

This version is backward-compatible with v3.0.0-beta and later versions.

Next step, absolutely notable change, an important approach to support open authentication methods from the community! Get to know what's new in this release:

New Features

Third Party Login

We know that there are servers utilizing third-party authentication methods for security, privacy, data controlling, etc.. We're not here to argue the morality of such approaches, as we support ALL tools from community regardless of their purpose or background. Whatever, we've implemented full support for third-party accounts and you can add them in the new game creation wizard.

Hide User Agent

We state our launcher as Alicorn/{version} whenever a trusted service asks for our identity. However, we do understand that some of our users really dislike such data collection. To honour your choices, we've added an option in the settings page so that you can configure Alicorn to send fake user agents (picked among 20 randomly selected strings defined at build time) to stop the data collection. Note that certain services set strict limits (or even refuse to provide any response) for unknown agents and there's nothing much we can do.

Fixes & Optimizations

• Modpacks no longer appear in addon search list.
• Slightly adjusted the colors of certain themes.
• Accounts will now get displayed with avatars.
• Updated addon list to show a hint for empty results.
• Fixed a bug that cause Forge installation to fail for pre-1.6 versions.

Compatibility

This version is backward-compatible with v3.0.0-beta, but not any version in v2.x. See release notes of v3.0.0-beta for migration guide.

Due to a bug with update module in v3.0.0-beta, auto update won't work for it and you'll have to manually upgrade to this version.

This is the very first release of Alicorn 3.x, as the signal of release baseline! We have almost completed the tasks needed to match our design purpose. See what's new in this version...

Breaking Changes

Addon Management

We've changed the format of an internal lockfile to make it possible to display metadata of installed addons without querying the API (for acceptable performance). This change is incompatible with existing versions:

• Previously installed addons will display as if they were not installed in the addon searching panel.
• Previously installed addons will not appear in the newly added "Installed Addons" panel.
• Re-installing these addons might result in more than one versions getting downloaded, thus breaking the game.
• This change does not affect newly created games.
• This change does not affect vanilla games or games with OptiFine as its loader (without Forge).
• Everything should work with existing games as long as you do not install new addons.

We suggest that you take one of the following approaches to upgrade. Do them before upgrading.

• Make a new game and move the files. Create a new game as usual, copy your saves to there, and install the needed addons from Alicorn.
• Clear existing addons and re-install. Delete files in the mods folder of the game directory, then re-install them from Alicorn.
• Avoid installing addons to keep using without changes. Your game will continue to work if you do not touch the refactored addon management panel.

Perform these changes after you've installed the new version of Alicorn.

New Features

Resource Packs & Shaders

We've extended addon types with resource packs and shaders, thanks to Modrinth. You can now decorate your game with your favorite look and feel right in Alicorn! Note that a resource pack must be picked manually in the game before using it (maybe we'll automate that later).

Curseforge Integration

Maybe the best phrase to sum up Curseforge is "slow and steady". Indeed, it owns variety of resources, yet it has troubled us quite a long time before we've finally made it available in Alicorn. I could post out several papers for all of the technical details, but let's forget that and focus on the new results appeared when searching the mods! However, due to the fact that Modrinth really overperforms Curseforge in terms of download speed, flexibility and dependency management, I'd highly recommend that you migrate to Modrinth for the best experience. Note that due to the rules that Curseforge introduced for "make money from your mods", certain mods will not appear in the search result. We're being neutal on this, yet we currently have no affordable way (in terms of performance) to workaround this fact.

Fixes & Optimizations

• Refactored layout of the game detail panel.
• Fixed multiple bugs related to mod resolution.
• Optimized mirror benchmarking process when starting up.
• Fixed inconsistent aspect ratio of game icons.
• Package published to JSR.
• Added explicit support for mirrored version manifests of NeoForged, Forge and OptiFine.
• Removed Alicorn APIs as it's no longer needed.

To Upgrade

This version contains breaking change and cannot be upgraded automatically from 2.x. Please first address the breaking changes mentioned above, then re-install Alicorn. Your user data will be kept regardless of the way of installing.

The Binaries

Please refer to the actions page for the new binaries.

Absolutely a large step forward with our new mod management system! For the first time in the last one year, we're beating the former Alicorn in terms of features! Get to see the details now:

Notable Changes

Hello Modrinth

Mods are the heart of Minecraft, pushing it to be the most popular video game, while maintaining its vitality over the past 16 years. We've integrated certain features of Modrinth, the "go to" platform for Minecraft mods, into Alicorn. We've put on so much effort on managing dependencies of mods and it has finally paid off! Yes, you no longer have to search for mods on the platform or getting puzzled by all the loaders, versions... whatever. Just create a new game, head to the details page, search your favorite mods and get it with just a single click! In the future we'll also integrate more platforms, so stay connected for the news!

Game Creation Wizard

Getting tired of filling forms? Just want to start a new adventure without tackling with all the details? We've made game creation even easier with just version picking and loader selection. All other properties are set to default values, which is optimal for Alicorn. You can start with your game in no time and toggle necessary settings later as needed.

Fixes & Optimizations

• Addressed a race condition when authenticating vanilla accounts.
• Removed ALX integration and replaced VENV management with simpler approach.
• Added a button to reveal logs in the monitor view.
• Included UA for regular network requests.
• Added a new theme Alicorn Software.
• Adjusted UI layout of certain views.
• Refactored state management using Redux.
• Updated macOS ARM64 JRT resolution.

To Upgrade

This release is backward-compatible with v2.0.0-beta and later versions.

Gallery

When we're increasing the minor version number, it means that we've added enough new features and it's time to announce them! Dive into the latest release and see what's new:

Notable Changes

The Two Lost Loaders

We've added support for automating the installation of Liteloader and Rift, each being a great challenge. Dead links pointing to ads, deleted repository, modified libraries no one knows how they work... Well, may the past be past, since Alicorn is designed for overcoming such obstacles. Although the two loaders are unlikely to be used widely nowadays, anytime you're getting bored by the wardens, phantoms or other stuffs, you can always count on Alicorn to bring back games at the old days for you, and they will just work.

OptiFine (Tricked)

What can we say? OptiFine has been an issue since Alicorn 1.x when it's first scheduled to get added. The plan was once cancelled but now picked up and solved. Reason for this is simple: no REST API, no open repository, no source code. We have no idea how OptiFine and its installer work, how to know versions available for the given game, and how to download the installer. In the end we have to get back to the dark days: crawl the HTML pages. It's naive, unreliable and inefficient, but it's the only way without relying on third-party APIs.

ALX Extension

We've brought an optional wrapper when launching the game. The wrapper, named ALX, launches your game and provides additional features (e.g. realtime JVM memory stats) which is simply impossible to be done inside an Electron application. In the future, ALX will be used to grab crash reports, detect game windows and more. Although ALX starts a WebSocket server together with your game (sounds like a Trojan), but all the thing it really does is to communicate with Alicorn. If that's not enough to convince you, go and inspect the source at https://github.com/skjsjhb/alx.

Fixes & Optimizations

• Game version can be auto-completed in game creator.
• Reinforce virtual container mounting detection via ALX.
• Certain icons have been altered.
• Native libraries are now grouped by the game version (was profile ID).
• Fix game crashes cased by missing environment variables on GNU/Linux systems.
• Logs are forwarded in asynchronous (overlapped) mode on Windows.

To Upgrade

This release is backward-compatible with all versions since v2.0.0-beta. Let auto update do the trick, or get the binary builds at the action page.

Notable Changes

• It's now possible to cancel the installation process.
• Add an entry in game details panel to recreate game.
• Games can now be pinned to show on the top.
• A new theme Hoshi (whose colors look similar to shadcn/ui) has been made available.
• Include ModLoader for Forge to run in versions prior to 1.2.5. (ModLoaderMP is not included yet, but it's on our plan.)
• Change icons for certain profile types.

Fixes & Optimizations

• Files are getting correctly revealed in virtual containers.
• Version manifests are now prefetched for NeoForged and Forge.
• Virtual containers are now recovered if hasn't been unmounted the last time Alicorn was closed.
• Unused accounts and their partition files are removed when closing.
• Optimize Forge client merging.