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6 min · updated 2026-11-12

How to install Horizon (and the launcher)

Horizon is a separate game, not a mod loader. This is the order that works: game first, account second, launcher third, packs last.

What you need

A Windows 10/11 or Linux machine with 8 GB of RAM. The Works and Studio are happier with 16 GB, mostly because of Distant Horizons and large AE2 bases.

A Microsoft account that owns Minecraft: Java Edition. Horizon checks ownership at sign-in; the check is part of the game, not the catalog. xHorizon does not bypass it and cannot sell you a way around it.

  • Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit; or a recent glibc Linux distribution.
  • 8 GB RAM minimum, 16 GB for the heaviest packs.
  • A Microsoft account with Java Edition.

Install Horizon first

Download Horizon from playhorizon.dev and run the official installer. Let it install the game and its Rust toolchain. The first launch may take a few minutes while it prepares resources.

Open the official launcher, sign in with Microsoft, and let it finish the ownership check. If the game starts, the hard part is done.

Add the xHorizon launcher

The xHorizon launcher is a shell around the official Horizon CLI. It does not replace the game or the auth: it calls the client that is already installed. That is why it can start with a much smaller download.

Install it from the download page, open it, and let it detect the Horizon install. If detection fails, point it at the folder that contains the official launcher.

Install your first pack

Open Packs, pick Better+ for the all-rounder or Near Vanilla for the safest profile, and press Install. The launcher resolves every mod from the registry, checks the SHA-256, and creates a profile.

Native mods build once. The first build takes longer; the launcher shows the stages and any mod it had to leave out.

If something does not start

  • “CLI not found”: the official launcher is not installed or not on PATH. Reinstall it, then use the folder picker.
  • “Account does not own Java Edition”: sign in to the Microsoft account that owns the game. There is no offline workaround.
  • “Build anyway”: the pack has two pinned commits. That is expected on some packs; read the pack page.
  • A crash on launch: open Logs, copy the report, and check the last lines before the crash.

Ready to install?

The launcher handles the manifest, the hashes and the native build. Start with Better+ or Near Vanilla.

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