What Horizon is

In one minute

• A new game program, not a mod. Horizon is written from scratch in Rust. It reads the same worlds, plays by the same rules and generates the same terrain as the Java game.
• Checked against vanilla. 281 automated tests ("harnesses") feed the same inputs to Horizon and to the real game, then compare the results. Today every subsystem matches in every harness that compares it. That is 100% of what the harnesses compare, which is not proof that nothing else differs. The status table lists what is covered.
• Light and fast. It starts quickly, uses little memory and draws efficiently. See Performance for what is measured and what is not.
• A few things vanilla doesn't have. Its own menus (vanilla's are one setting away), graphics presets, distant terrain, controller support, optional extras such as zoom and a minimap, and a server you can run without Java.

What Horizon is not

• Not Minecraft itself. Horizon contains no Minecraft code, assets or data, and it never downloads them. You need your own legally obtained copy of Minecraft: Java Edition 26.3. Horizon builds its game files from that copy, on your computer.
• Not a place where Java mods run. Forge, NeoForge, Fabric and Quilt mod jars do not work in Horizon, and neither do Mixins. Horizon has its own mod system, and the launcher can port some Java mods' content. See Mods and data packs and Modpacks.
• Not for other versions. Horizon plays Java Edition 26.3. Worlds from older versions (1.8 to 26.2) are upgraded the way vanilla upgrades them.
• Not an official Minecraft product. It is not approved by or associated with Mojang or Microsoft.
• Not able to sign in to a Microsoft account yet. Until it can, Horizon cannot join servers that check accounts. See Multiplayer.

Supported systems

• Linux, x86-64. A graphics card with Vulkan drivers. Builds are made on Ubuntu 22.04, so use a distribution at least that recent.
• macOS, Apple Silicon. Any M1 or newer, on macOS 11 or later.
• Windows, x64. Vulkan or DirectX 12. Horizon picks DirectX 12 by itself when Vulkan does not work.

There is no build for Intel Macs, 32-bit systems, or ARM Linux and Windows. The server can be built from source on other systems.

Where to go next

• Playing: install and first launch, settings worth knowing, multiplayer and what to do when something breaks.
• Hosting: host a server, from the launcher or the command line.
• Going further: modpacks, mods and data packs and performance.
• Helping out: contribute and the FAQ.