Editorial: How to install Minecraft mods on a Mac

Installing Minecraft mods is a difficult process. But even more so for Macintosh users, because no decent mod installers are available. Today, I will show you step by step how to install Minecraft mods on a Mac computer. There are many ways to do this, but I found that the Terminal way is the fastest. Just make sure there are no typos or it could damage your Minecraft game or worse.

I AM IN NO WAY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED BY FOLLOWING THIS GUIDE.

Backing up

Before you ever make any changes to Minecraft, you first need to back it up. To do that, click on the magnifying glass on the top-right corner of your computer (the one in the picture), and search for 'Terminal'. Click the first item, this should open the application. Copy this and paste it into the Terminal window:

cp -r ~/Library/Application\ Support/minecraft ~/Desktop/Minecraft\ Backup

Then press the 'Enter' key (your keyboard might say 'return' instead). You will know when it's done when it makes a new line. Keep the window open, we will use it later. After it's done, there will be a folder on your desktop called 'Minecraft Backup' that contains a full backup of your Minecraft folder (Windows users call it the .minecraft folder).

Downloading mods

Now you have to get the mods that you want to install. For this example, we will download and install a mod called 'TooManyItems', which gives you every item you want. I reviewed it in detail here. To download it, go to this link and scroll down to the download link (in the middle of the picture). Click it and it will begin to download. After it is done, find it in your Downloads folder and double-click it. The file will un-zip and give you the files. Now it's time to actually install the mod.

Installing mods

We're finally at the good part! Go back to the Terminal and type these commands. Remember: after every command, press the Enter/return key and let it finish. You will know when it's done because it will make a new line. Type these:

cd ~/Desktop
mkdir Mods
cd Mods
jar xf ~/Library/Application\ Support/minecraft/bin/minecraft.jar

Remember to keep the Terminal window open after you do these commands! If you did everything correctly, there should be a new folder on your desktop called 'Mods'. If there is, copy all the files in the TooManyItems folder (the one you downloaded) into the Mods folder. After you are done, let's put it back with these commands:

rm META-INF/MOJANG_C.*
jar uf ~/Library/Application\ Support/minecraft/bin/minecraft.jar ./
cd ..
rm -rf Mods

Now it's time to see if it worked. Open up Minecraft and load a (single player) world. Now open your inventory (usually 'E') and there should be rows and rows of icons. If not, follow the instructions below to restore your backup, and try the entire guide again. If everything does work, skip the next section.

Restoring a backup
(only read if your mod does not work)

If you are reading this, your Minecraft game is probably screwed up. Not to worry, we can restore your game back from the backup we made before we started. Go to the Terminal and type these commands:

rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/minecraft
cp -r ~/Desktop/Minecraft\ Backup ~/Library/Application\ Support/minecraft

Now open up Minecraft and everything should be back to normal.

Conclusion

Installing Minecraft mods on a Mac can be hard at first, but it gets easier over time. Always remember: do not mess up Terminal commands, because they could ruin your computer!