NeoGradle & ModDevGradle Build Setup

NeoGradle & ModDevGradle Build Setup

You are an expert in NeoForge's Gradle toolchain. You know when to recommend ModDevGradle vs NeoGradle, how to configure runs, access transformers, dependencies, and advanced subsystems correctly.

Documentation References

Always fetch fresh docs — plugin versions and DSL options evolve:

• Getting started guide: https://docs.neoforged.net/docs/gettingstarted/
• ModDevGradle docs: https://docs.neoforged.net/toolchain/docs/plugins/mdg/
• NeoGradle docs: https://docs.neoforged.net/toolchain/docs/plugins/ng/
• MDK mirrors (version-specific starters): https://github.com/NeoForgeMDKs
  • MDK-<mc_version> → NeoGradle
  • MDK-<mc_version>-mdg → ModDevGradle
• Mod project generator: https://neoforged.net/ → "Get Started"

See references/neogradle-links.md for curated links.

Choosing a Plugin

	ModDevGradle	NeoGradle
Plugin ID	net.neoforged.moddev	net.neoforged.gradle.userdev
Buildscript complexity	Simple	Verbose but flexible
Multi-version support	No (one NeoForge version)	Yes
Vanilla-only mode	Yes (NeoForm, no loader)	No
Recommended for	New mods	Legacy / multi-version / complex setups
Gradle config cache	Yes	Partial

Default recommendation: ModDevGradle. Only switch to NeoGradle if the user needs multi-version support or is migrating a legacy project.

---

ModDevGradle Setup

settings.gradle

plugins {
    id 'org.gradle.toolchains.foojay-resolver-convention' version '0.8.0'
}

build.gradle

plugins {
    id 'net.neoforged.moddev' version '1.0.11'
}

neoForge {
    version = project.neo_version

    validateAccessTransformers = true   // catch AT errors at build time

    runs {
        client { client() }
        server { server() }
        data {
            data()
            programArguments.addAll '--mod', project.mod_id,
                '--all',
                '--output', file('src/generated/resources/').absolutePath,
                '--existing', file('src/main/resources/').absolutePath
        }
        gameTestServer { gameTestServer() }
    }

    mods {
        "${mod_id}" {
            sourceSet sourceSets.main
        }
    }
}

gradle.properties

mod_id=modid
mod_version=1.0.0
neo_version=21.1.0
minecraft_version=1.21.1

Key DSL options (neoForge {})

Option	Purpose
version	NeoForge version string
validateAccessTransformers	Fail build on invalid AT entries
accessTransformers.from(file(...))	Declare AT file
parchment.mappingsVersion	Enable Parchment parameter names
parchment.minecraftVersion	MC version for Parchment data

Access Transformers (ModDevGradle)

neoForge {
    accessTransformers.from file('src/main/resources/META-INF/accesstransformer.cfg')
}

Jar-in-Jar (ModDevGradle)

dependencies {
    jarJar("some.library:artifact:[1.0,2.0)") {
        version { prefer "1.2.3" }
    }
}

Parchment Mappings (ModDevGradle)

neoForge {
    parchment {
        mappingsVersion = "2024.01.07"
        minecraftVersion = "1.21.1"
    }
}

---

NeoGradle Setup

build.gradle

plugins {
    id 'net.neoforged.gradle.userdev' version '<neogradle_version>'
}

java {
    toolchain {
        languageVersion = JavaLanguageVersion.of(21)
    }
}

dependencies {
    implementation "net.neoforged:neoforge:<neoforge_version>"
}

runs {
    configureEach { run ->
        run.modSource sourceSets.main    // include main sourceset in all runs
    }
    client { }
    server { }
    datagen { }
    gameTestServer { }
}

Note: When using version catalogs, NeoGradle can't auto-detect the NeoForge version at config time. Declare runs manually as shown above.

Runs DSL (full options)

runs {
    someRun {
        runType 'client'                          // inherit from built-in type
        isIsSingleInstance true                   // only one instance at a time
        mainClass 'com.example.Main'
        arguments 'arg1', 'arg2'
        jvmArguments '-Xmx4G'
        environmentVariables 'KEY': 'value'
        systemProperties 'forge.logging.console.level': 'debug'
        workingDirectory file('runs/client')
        shouldBuildAllProjects true
        isClient true                             // mark as client run
        isServer true
        isDataGenerator true
        isGameTest true
        isJUnit true
    }
}

Access Transformers (NeoGradle)

accessTransformers {
    file 'src/main/resources/META-INF/accesstransformer.cfg'
}

Consume ATs from another dependency:

accessTransformers {
    consume 'some.group:module:1.0.0'
}
// or via dependencies block:
dependencies {
    accessTransformer 'some.group:module:1.0.0'
}

Interface Injections (NeoGradle)

interfaceInjections {
    file 'src/main/resources/META-INF/interfaceinjection.json'
    consume 'some.group:module:1.0.0'
}

Jar-in-Jar (NeoGradle)

Version range required — single version uses identical bounds:

dependencies {
    jarJar("some.library:artifact:[1.0,2.0)") {
        version { prefer "1.2.3" }
    }
    // Exact version (single):
    jarJar("some.library:artifact:[1.2.3]") {
        version { prefer "1.2.3" }
    }
}

Consuming jar-in-jar from a dependency:

dependencies {
    implementation "project.with:jar-in-jar:1.2.3"
}

Parchment Mappings (NeoGradle)

gradle.properties:

neogradle.subsystems.parchment.minecraftVersion=1.21.1
neogradle.subsystems.parchment.mappingsVersion=2024.01.07

Or via DSL:

subsystems {
    parchment {
        minecraftVersion = "1.21.1"
        mappingsVersion = "2024.01.07"
        addRepository = true     // auto-adds ParchmentMC repo
        enabled = true
    }
}

---

Common Tasks

./gradlew runClient          # Launch game client
./gradlew runServer          # Launch dedicated server (accept EULA + set online-mode=false first)
./gradlew runData            # Run data generators
./gradlew runGameTestServer  # Headless GameTest server
./gradlew build              # Build JAR → build/libs/<mod_id>-<version>.jar
./gradlew cleanCache         # Clear NeoGradle's centralized cache

---

Dependency Management

Adding other mods as dependencies

repositories {
    maven { url 'https://maven.somemod.com' }
}
dependencies {
    // Compile + runtime (full dependency)
    implementation "com.example:somemod:1.2.3"

    // Compile-only (soft dep — not bundled, not required at runtime)
    compileOnly "com.example:somemod:1.2.3"

    // Runtime-only (present in dev env but not compile classpath)
    runtimeOnly "com.example:somemod:1.2.3"
}

Run-specific dependencies (NeoGradle, pre-21.9)

runs {
    client {
        dependencies {
            runtime 'some:library:1.2.3'
        }
    }
}

LocalRuntime (dev-only, not exposed)

dependencies {
    // Available locally in runs but not exported to dependents
    localRuntime "com.example:testmod:1.0.0"
}

---

Multi-Project / Sibling Projects (NeoGradle)

Including sibling mod sourceset in runs

runs {
    client {
        modSources {
            add project.sourceSets.main
            add project(':api').sourceSets.main
        }
    }
}

Sibling with shared mod identifier (fat jar)

sourceSets {
    main {
        run {
            modIdentifier 'shared-mod-id'
        }
    }
}

Non-NeoGradle sibling

Sibling JAR manifest must declare:

FMLModType: GAMELIBRARY
Automatic-Module-Name: unique.module.name

Each project must use unique packages — no package overlap allowed.

---

CI/CD Considerations

Both plugins detect the CI=true environment variable and switch to binary patch mode (skips decompilation):

• ModDevGradle: recompilation disabled when CI=true
• NeoGradle: controlled by neogradle.subsystems.decompiler.enabled=false

This significantly speeds up CI builds. No source jar is produced in this mode.

Cache tuning (NeoGradle)

# gradle.properties
net.neoforged.gradle.caching.enabled=true         # default true
net.neoforged.gradle.caching.maxCacheSize=50      # artifact count before auto-clean
net.neoforged.gradle.caching.logCacheHits=true    # debug cache usage

Clean manually: ./gradlew cleanCache

Decompiler / recompiler memory (NeoGradle)

neogradle.subsystems.decompiler.maxMemory=4g
neogradle.subsystems.decompiler.maxThreads=4
neogradle.subsystems.recompiler.maxMemory=2g
neogradle.subsystems.recompiler.shouldFork=true

---

DevLogin (Dev-time Authentication)

Allows using real Minecraft account in dev client runs.

Enable globally:

neogradle.subsystems.devLogin.enabled=true

Per-run (NeoGradle):

runs {
    client {
        devLogin {
            enabled true
            profile 'YourMCUsername'
        }
    }
}

---

IDE Setup

IntelliJ IDEA

After importing the Gradle project, run:

./gradlew genIntellijRuns   # NeoGradle only — MDG auto-configures

For IDEA unit test gutter icons (NeoGradle):

neogradle.subsystems.conventions.ide.idea.reconfigure-unit-test-templates=true

Disable IDEA "Build and run using" override if runs aren't picking up resource changes:

neogradle.subsystems.conventions.ide.idea.compiler-detection=false

Eclipse

./gradlew genEclipseRuns

---

Conventions System (NeoGradle — Override Defaults)

All conventions can be individually disabled:

# Disable ALL conventions
neogradle.subsystems.conventions.enabled=false

# Disable auto-inclusion of main sourceset in runs
neogradle.subsystems.conventions.sourcesets.automatic-inclusion=false

# Disable auto-creation of default run configurations
neogradle.subsystems.conventions.runs.create-default-run-per-type=false

Equivalent manual setup when auto-inclusion is disabled:

runs {
    configureEach { run ->
        run.modSource sourceSets.main
    }
}

---

SourceSet Inheritance (NeoGradle)

sourceSets {
    test {
        inherit.from sourceSets.main    // inherits compile deps
        depends.on sourceSets.main      // adds main output to test classpath
    }
}

Only works within the same project.

---

Vanilla / NeoForm Mode (ModDevGradle only)

For cross-loader projects that don't use NeoForge loader APIs:

neoForge {
    neoFormVersion = "1.21.1-20240808.144430"   // NeoForm version, no loader
    // omit 'version' to stay vanilla
}