# How to install Minecraft shaders

How to install shaders in Minecraft Java Edition with Iris and Sodium or OptiFine, where the shaderpacks folder is, and how to make shaders run smoothly.

Updated 2026-11-11, 5 minute read. HTML version: https://craftrank.org/guides/how-to-install-minecraft-shaders

Shaders need a mod that can load them: **Iris** (with Sodium) or **OptiFine**. Install one of them, put the shader's `.zip` file in the `shaderpacks` folder and pick it under Options → Video Settings → Shader Packs. Shaders work on Java Edition only.

## Option 1: Iris and Sodium (recommended)

Iris runs almost every shader pack and, together with Sodium, usually gives more FPS than OptiFine.

1. Download the Iris installer from irisshaders.dev and run it. It installs Iris and Sodium for your version. Prefer to do it yourself? Install Fabric, then put the Iris and Sodium `.jar` files in the mods folder.
2. Start Minecraft with the Iris (or Fabric) profile.

Using Prism Launcher or the Modrinth App? Search for Iris in the instance's mods and click Install.

## Option 2: OptiFine

1. Download OptiFine for your Minecraft version from optifine.net.
2. Open the file and click Install. It adds an OptiFine profile to the official launcher.
3. Start the game with that profile.

OptiFine doesn't work together with Fabric mods like Sodium. If you use other mods, pick Iris.

## Add the shader pack

1. Download a [shader pack](https://craftrank.org/resources/shaders). It is a `.zip` file: don't unzip it.
2. In Minecraft, open **Options → Video Settings → Shader Packs** and click **Open Shader Pack Folder**.
3. Drop the `.zip` in that folder, go back, pick the shader in the list and click Done.

The folder is `.minecraft/shaderpacks`, next to the mods folder.

## Make shaders run smoothly

- Most packs have **profiles** (low, medium, high). Start low and go up while the game stays smooth.
- Lower the render distance to 8 to 12 chunks. It costs the most with shaders.
- Shadow quality and volumetric clouds are the heaviest settings; turn those down first.
- On a laptop, make sure Minecraft runs on the dedicated graphics card, not the built-in one.

## Shaders on servers

Shaders only change how the game looks on your screen, so you can use them on any server. Nobody else sees them, and servers can't block them.

Want another look too? See [how to install resource packs](https://craftrank.org/guides/how-to-install-minecraft-resource-packs).