Polaris - A performance-focused Minecraft launcher

01 · Performance

Tuned before the first frame.

Most launchers ask how much RAM you have. Polaris also asks what your GPU is, how many threads you have, and which Java you actually installed. Then it writes a plan you can read, edit, and undo.

Tier 01

Low

8 GB · integrated or older GPU

3 GB heap

Render 6–14 chunks
Frame pacing first
All three profiles

Tier 02

Mid

16 GB · mainstream discrete GPU

4 GB heap

Render 8–16 chunks
The everyday default
Balanced by default

Tier 03

High

24 GB · RTX 30 / RX 6000

6 GB heap

Render 10–18 chunks
Headroom for modpacks
Strings deduplicated

Tier 04

Enthusiast

32 GB+ · RTX 40/50 · RX 7000+

8 GB heap

Render 12–20 chunks
All profiles maxed
Aikar, low-latency or ZGC

Interactive tuning plan

Pick a machine. Pick a play style.

perf-plan high · balanced

Heap6 GB

FPS cap144

GraphicsFancy

ParticlesDecreased

Render distance

14

Simulation distance

8

Balanced

The everyday plan

Useful draw distance, a 144 frame cap, and shadows kept for depth perception. The plan that fits most machines.

Every plan writes a timestamped options.txt backup before it changes a key. The game must be closed.

The render, simulation, graphics, particle, shadow, and FPS values are exactly what Polaris writes for the selected tier and profile. Heap assumes the typical RAM shown for that tier; the launcher sizes it from your actual system RAM. Frame rate still depends on your world, shaders, drivers, and what else is running — this page does not invent benchmark numbers.

02 · The stack

One launcher. The whole stack.

Install the game, curate the mods, tune the flags, and start the server from the same place. Polaris is opinionated where defaults are bad and transparent everywhere else.

Hardware scan, not guesswork

One local GPU query, thread count, system RAM, and the Java runtimes it can find. Polaris classifies the machine, sizes the heap, and keeps every decision visible.

Verified installs

Tracked jars are pinned by version and sha1. One batch hash request tells Polaris what drifted before it touches anything.

Packs that know your GPU

Client and server targets, plus hardware gates. A mod that needs NVIDIA is skipped with a reason instead of quietly breaking the pack.

A server is another instance

Create a Fabric server with its own port, mods, EULA gate, and console. Stop it gracefully by writing to stdin; the log streams into the same window.

JVM, not guesswork

Aikar G1, low-latency G1, or Generational ZGC. The generational flag only appears on Java 21–22, where it is actually accepted.

Local-first progress

Shards, owned cosmetics, and wallpapers live in your local settings. No checkout, no real-money purchases, and no analytics SDKs. Microsoft sign-in stays on your machine.

Polaris Discover page showing Minecraft mod search results and project cards.

Modrinth · live

Discovery

Search once. Install exactly once.

Browse Modrinth without opening ten browser tabs. Polaris resolves the exact game version and loader, pulls dependencies, and keeps the gallery, changelog, and every compatible release one click away.

Search, sort, and category filters with real project pages and Markdown descriptions.
Version picker down to the exact game version and loader, with dependency resolution before the first byte.
Curated client stacks for performance, QoL, HUD, and visuals — plus a dedicated server stack.
One-click .mrpack installs with overrides, optional files, and a persisted pack reference.
Update checks in a single batch hash lookup, with pinned versions and a local index.

Mods and modpacks are Fabric-only by design. Unsupported packs are rejected, not half-installed.

Local server · 1.21.10

Servers

Your world. Your machine.

A dedicated server is just another instance in the sidebar. Same cards, same mods, same console. No separate launcher, no remote panel you did not ask for.

Server-targeted packs, so client-only mods never end up in the server folder.
Explicit EULA gate, custom port, and a graceful stop written to stdin instead of killing the process.
Live logs with a jump-to-end toggle, ready for the first “Done” line.
Server-aware Home and tuning views: no render-distance advice on a headless box.

Servers run locally for now. There is no remote panel or multi-user management.

03 · Cosmetics

A little orbit for your profile.

Earn shards by playing. Spend them on badges and capes that sit next to your name in the launcher. No checkout, no loot boxes, no expiry.

900starter shards

+40per tracked hour

12items at launch

Where it works: badges and capes appear on your profile, the account switcher, and the Home hero inside Polaris. Other players seeing them in-game needs a companion relay — that is roadmap, not a shipping claim.

Shards are local, non-transferable, and have no monetary value. There is no checkout or real-money purchase in this build.

Preview only · 780

Aurora Crown

Legendary Badge

1,400

Supernova

Legendary Cape

1,600

Frostline

Rare Badge

500

Night Grid

Rare Cape

600

Nova

Epic Badge

850

Void Eye

Epic Badge

900

01

Start with 900.

Free shards land in your local profile on first run.

02

Play to earn.

Forty shards per tracked hour. No daily chores, no streaks.

03

Equip and go.

One badge, one cape. The choice saves with your settings.

04 · Appearance

The launcher should look like yours.

Four animated wallpapers, six accent colors, and a direct link for your own loop. Tune the dim and blur until the text stays readable — then let it pause while Minecraft is running.

Animated by default
Aurora, Nebula, Starfield, and Night Grid. Pure CSS; no video files to install.
Your own media
Paste a direct HTTPS GIF, WebP, PNG, MP4, or WebM link. Nothing is uploaded.
Readable, not loud
Dim, blur, and accent presets keep contrast in the foreground.
Kind to slow machines
Animation pauses during a launch and follows your system reduce-motion setting.

Ready to launch

Aurora · animated

Good evening, Nova.

Survival Server · 6 mods · 1.21.10

Play Manage

Aurora Dim 24% Blur 8px Motion on

Live CSS preview. The real launcher persists every control and pauses the wallpaper while the game is running.

In-game interface

05 · In-game

Small knobs. Real comfort.

GUI scale, FOV, brightness, chat opacity and scale, screen effects, and the attack indicator are the settings you actually feel. Tune them in one panel instead of rebuilding the muscle memory every world.

GUI scaleAuto FOV70° Brightness50% Chat opacity100% Chat scale100% Screen effects100% Attack indicatorCrosshair

Writes only whitelisted vanilla keys to options.txt — with a timestamped backup first. Close the game before applying.

No UI mods are injected, and animated in-game wallpapers are not faked. That would need a client mod; Polaris stays vanilla-compatible.

06 · Screenshots

A look around.

Actual windows, actual data, no staged mockups. Click any shot to open it larger.

07 · Install & build

Take it for a spin.

Polaris 0.4.5 ships as a per-user Windows installer built from this source. Linux builders can produce an AppImage from the same checkout.

Offline accounts work out of the box.
Core logic is covered by unit tests.
No ad tracking, local Microsoft sign-in, GPL-3.0-only.

Download Windows installer

Unsigned NSIS installer · about 78 MB · SHA-256 generated when packaged

Download Polaris-Setup.exe, then run it to install. The NSIS installer is per-user, so there is no administrator prompt; remove it from Apps & features. SmartScreen may warn because the build is unsigned. Linux builders: run npm run dist:linux on Linux or WSL2.

build · polaris

# install once
> npm install
# NSIS on Windows; AppImage on Linux or WSL2
> npm run dist
# explicit targets: npm run dist:win / npm run dist:linux

Windows10/11 x64 · per-user NSIS installer · unsigned

LinuxAppImage from source · Linux or WSL2 · experimental

LicenseGPL-3.0-only · open source

08 · FAQ

The honest answers.

What Polaris does, what it deliberately does not do, and which parts are still roadmap. If a feature needs a server or a mod, the page says so.

Install it or build it

Is Polaris a hacked client?

No. Polaris does not inject modules into Minecraft, alter network packets, or ship combat automation. It manages instances, downloads files, writes vanilla options, and launches Fabric when you ask it to. The performance work is standard mods and JVM tuning.

Which versions and loaders are supported?

Vanilla launching works across the versions Polaris installs. Mods, curated packs, and .mrpack imports are Fabric-only. Quilt, Forge, and NeoForge packs are rejected rather than half-installed. Fabric must support the selected Minecraft version before a fabric instance can be created.

Does it phone home?

Polaris does not use analytics or advertising SDKs. It contacts Mojang, Fabric, Modrinth and GitHub for version data, files and updates. Our small Cloudflare API handles update metadata, friend codes and optional presence. Presence shares your UUID, name and current server with other Polaris users, is off by default, and can be disabled at any time. Details are in the privacy policy.

How do shards work?

You start with 900 shards and earn 40 for every tracked hour of playtime. The balance, owned items, and equipped badge and cape are stored in your local settings. There is no checkout and no way to buy shards in this build.

Will other players see my badge or cape in-game?

Polaris user badges ([P]) appear in-game for players running the bundled PolarisConfig mod. Custom cape rendering for other players still needs a companion relay; that part is roadmap, not a shipping claim. Cosmetics remain visible next to your account inside Polaris.

Can Polaris host a server?

Yes, as a local dedicated-server instance. It handles the EULA gate, port, server mods, console, and a graceful stop. It is not a remote panel: there is no multi-user management, scheduled restart, or public hosting service built in.

Does Microsoft sign-in work?

The flow is implemented, but it needs your own Azure public-client ID. Without one, use an offline account. Polaris never ships or borrows someone else's OAuth client, and unapproved apps can receive a 403 from Minecraft Services.

How do I install the Windows build?

Download Polaris-Setup.exe from this page and run it. The NSIS installer is per-user and lets you choose a folder, so it does not need administrator rights. If SmartScreen warns because the build is unsigned, verify the SHA-256 shown on this page, then choose More info and Run anyway. Uninstall it from Settings → Apps.

Why is the build unsigned?

The Windows installer and portable build are produced locally and are not code-signed, so SmartScreen may warn. The SHA-256 is published in downloads/latest.json; verify the file with Get-FileHash .\Polaris-Setup.exe -Algorithm SHA256 before running it. Sign with a certificate you control before distributing it more widely.

Is there a macOS or Linux build?

Windows 10/11 is the primary target. Linux packaging is available from source: npm run dist:linux on Linux or WSL2 produces an AppImage, and CI is configured to build it on Ubuntu. Java and GPU discovery now have Linux paths, but Linux runtime support is still experimental. macOS is not tested. Server instances are managed from the same app.