BetterF3 | Customizable Debug HUD for Minecraft

If you live in the debug screen, checking coordinates, chunk data, and FPS every few minutes, the vanilla F3 readout starts to feel like a wall of plain text. BetterF3 rebuilds that HUD into color-coded modules you can move, trim, and tune until it shows exactly what you care about. Press F3 and you get organized, readable info instead of noise. Around 36 million downloads later, it has become one of the standard client-side picks, and it is still actively maintained.

Modules That Turn F3 Into a Readable Screen

Every line of debug info lives inside a module, and modules are what make BetterF3 flexible. Out of the box you get modules for coordinates, FPS, chunk updates, entities, graphics info, your in-game location, help shortcuts, and system details about the game itself. Each module can sit in the left or right column, and you can add empty spacer modules to create breathing room between blocks of text. If a whole block of info never matters to you, disable that module entirely. If only one line annoys you, turn off individual lines instead of scrapping everything. The mod was originally created by cominixo, and TreyRuffy maintains the multi-loader version today.

Colors, Text Shadows, and Animation Settings

Readability is where BetterF3 really earns its install. You can change the color of every module independently, set a single background color behind all the lines, and add a shadow to the rendered text so it stays legible over bright terrain or busy scenes. The shadow is on by default. Open and close animations are in the settings too, with configurable speeds, so the HUD can ease in and out instead of snapping on screen. All of this runs through an in-game editor you open with F3 + M, as long as Cloth Config is present (the install steps below cover exactly when you need it). The project is also translated into multiple languages, with the community maintaining those translations through Crowdin.

Client-Side Only, Which Is Good News for Multiplayer

BetterF3 is a client-side mod. Nothing gets installed on a server, so you can drop it into your own game and keep using it on multiplayer servers without asking anyone for permission. Since it only redraws the debug screen, it does not touch world behavior, entity logic, or server communication. It also pairs naturally with other on-screen info mods. If you enjoy controlling exactly what your HUD shows and when, our post on Auto HUD covers a mod that dynamically hides interface elements when you don't need them, a nice complement to BetterF3's always-on-demand debug view.

How to Install BetterF3

1. Set up a mod loader first. BetterF3 ships for Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, and Quilt, so use whichever one your existing setup already runs.
2. Download BetterF3 from the official project page and drop the jar file into your mods folder. That is the entire install, nothing else is required.
3. On Fabric, Cloth Config comes bundled with the mod, so the in-game editor works out of the box. ModMenu is optional and only adds a convenient entry point to the options screen.
4. On Forge, grab Cloth Config API as well, since the F3 + M editor depends on it. You can also skip the menu entirely and edit config/betterf3.toml by hand.
5. Start the game, press F3 for the new debug screen, and press F3 + M to open the editor.

One caution if you also run OptiFine. A crash when pressing F3 has been reported with certain older OptiFine and Forge pairings, so test that combination in a fresh profile before you rely on it.

BetterF3 FAQ

Is BetterF3 client-side only or do servers need it too?

Client-side only. Nothing gets installed on a server, and the mod keeps working on multiplayer servers because it only changes what your own client draws.

How do I configure BetterF3?

Press F3 + M in game to open the editor, which Cloth Config powers (the install steps above explain when you need to add it). From there you can recolor modules, move them between the left and right columns, add or delete modules and spacers, hide single lines or whole modules, toggle the text shadow, and set animation speeds.

Does BetterF3 work with other mods?

For the most part, yes. It replaces the debug HUD rather than altering game systems, so it sits alongside most client mods without conflict. The one documented exception involves certain older graphics-mod combinations that crash when F3 opens, so give any heavy stack a test run in a separate profile first.

Is BetterF3 still maintained?

Yes, it is actively maintained, with the latest update released in October 2026. Development builds are also published through GitHub Actions if you want the newest changes before a stable release.

Once BetterF3 is in, round out your setup with Simple HUD Enhanced, which reworks the survival HUD with the same customizable spirit, and TipTapShow if you want keystrokes on screen. If you have never installed a mod before, our guide to installing Minecraft mods and Fabric loader setup walk you through every step from Java to the mods folder.