7 Days to Mine is a Forge mod for Minecraft that drops you into a post-apocalyptic zombie world. Based on 7 Days to Die by The Fun Pimps, it rewrites your survival loop: scavenge the ruins of a collapsed civilization, fix up old vehicles, and fortify a base before nightfall brings the horde. If you want a Minecraft zombie apocalypse mod with real stakes, this is one of the most complete packages you'll find.

What Is 7 Days to Mine?

7 Days to Mine is a large zombie apocalypse mod built for Minecraft (Java Edition, Forge). Rather than sprinkling in a few extra monsters, it layers on a full survival experience: thirst and infection mechanics, abandoned cities full of loot, custom world types, and a nightly horde threat that rewards anyone who builds smart defenses. It was created by Nuparu00 and is released under the MIT license.

What You Can Do in 7 Days to Mine

A typical run breaks down into a few core survival activities.

Explore the Undead Wasteland

The overworld is blanketed in ruins and abandoned cities. You scavenge these dead zones for supplies, food, and working technology while the infected roam between the buildings.

Craft Weapons to Defend Yourself

Stockpiled gear only gets you so far. The mod adds craftable weapons and tools so you can fight back, and built-in JEI support helps you learn the recipes fast.

Scavenge to Survive

Thirst and infection are always ticking. Searching cars, buildings, and containers for clean water, medicine, and parts becomes a daily routine, not an optional side task.

Survive the Horde

Every few nights the horde comes for your base. Base building isn't decoration here: reinforced walls, traps, and a defensible layout are what keep you alive when the swarm arrives. You can even set up in-game CCTV cameras to watch your perimeter.

Compatibility and Known Issues

7 Days to Mine ships custom main menu, sky, cloud, and player renderers, plus GLSL shaders. These can clash with other mods that override the same systems. If you hit rendering conflicts, turn those features off in the config file at .minecraft/config/sevendaystomine.cfg.

A few specifics worth checking before you build a pack:

World types: structure generation is broadly compatible, but the intended experience uses the "Default (7D2M)" world type (SEVENDAYS in server.properties) or the harder "Wasteland (7D2M)" type (WASTELAND). The vanilla world type was renamed "Default (Vanilla)", and using it spawns vanilla villages, which aren't designed for this mod.
Server hybrids: Bukkit-Forge hybrids like Magma and CatServer can corrupt player data with this mod. Run a clean Forge server instead. If you have no choice, run /hydrate and /cure on respawn to repair player data.
Shaders: shaders work roughly half the time. If yours breaks, set customSky to false in the config file.
Replay Mod: incompatible with Replay Mod's first-person gun rendering.
Performance: world generation is heavy. Pre-generate your world to avoid lag spikes while exploring.

How to Install 7 Days to Mine

7 Days to Mine is a Forge mod, so install Minecraft Forge first. Our general how to install Minecraft mods guide walks through the full process step by step. Once Forge is set, drop the mod jar into your mods folder and pick the "Default (7D2M)" world type when you create a new world.

FAQ

Is 7 Days to Mine available for Fabric? No, it's a Forge mod. If you play Fabric, look at Fabric-compatible zombie mods, or run a separate Forge install just for this one.

Do I need 7 Days to Die to play it? No. The mod is inspired by 7 Days to Die, but it's a standalone Minecraft mod. You only need Minecraft and Forge.

Why does it lag when I explore? The custom world generation is performance-intensive. Pre-generate your world and turn off the mod's custom renderers and shaders in the config if you're on a weaker machine.

Can I add it to an existing modpack? Usually yes, but watch for renderer and shader conflicts with other mods and avoid Bukkit-Forge hybrid servers. Test it before committing it to a large pack.

More undead survival mods to try: Rotten Creatures, Enderman Overhaul, and Mobs of Mythology.