Shaders without the setup

Getting shaders working usually means installing Fabric, Sodium, Iris and a shader pack, then matching versions. The Nova launcher does all of that for you.

How it works

Iris and Sodium are installed and kept up to date by the launcher, in versions that work together.
Turn on the Shaders module and pick a quality level: Low, Medium, High or Ultra. Low is tuned for laptops and Macs.
You can still add any shader pack you like — drop a .zip into the launcher and choose it in Video Settings.

Sky and fog

The Custom Sky module tints the sky and adds ground fog that settles in valleys and around the terrain, plus floating particles and fireflies at night. It works with and without shaders.

Performance

Shaders are the heaviest thing you can turn on in Minecraft. On integrated graphics start with Low. The fog itself is cheap — it was reworked to cost about a third less on the GPU in October 2026.

Questions

Which shader loader does Nova use?

Iris, together with Sodium. The launcher installs matching versions automatically.

Do shaders work on Mac?

Yes, on Apple Silicon Macs. The Low preset is the default there.

Can I use my own shader pack?

Yes. Add the .zip in the launcher and select it in Video Settings → Shader Packs.

Try it

Download the launcher for Windows or macOS, sign in with your Microsoft account and press Play. A starter set of modules is free to use.

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