VeinMiner | Mine One Block, Break the Whole Vein

Every survival player knows the moment. You mine into a hillside, spot a single diamond, then spend five minutes chipping through stone to find the rest of the vein. VeinMiner deletes that busywork. Break one block and every connected block of the same type breaks with it, clearing the whole vein in one go. It has picked up roughly 81 million downloads, updates are active (latest release August 2026), and because it runs server side, even players on unmodded clients get the full effect.

Mine One Block, Break the Whole Vein

Vein mining works the way you hope. Hit an ore with the right tool, and VeinMiner scans for connected blocks of the same type, then breaks them one after another until the vein runs dry. It comes preconfigured for ores and pickaxes, so the first diamond you crack open takes the whole seam with it.

The sneaky good part is the ore you never saw. Break one lonely coal block in a cave wall, and every hidden block behind it comes loose in the same chain. Cave exploring becomes a reveal instead of a wall-by-wall excavation.

Defaults keep things fair. A single chain stops at 100 blocks (the maxChain setting), each broken block costs durability, and vanilla tool requirements still apply. Classic trick: stock up on stone pickaxes and veinmine a tunnel, but lay a cobble path under your feet so you do not dig the floor out from under yourself.

Our One Key Miner post covers a different take on chain mining if you want options.

Runs Server Side, Works for Vanilla Clients

All the scanning and breaking happens on the server. Clients need nothing installed, so friends on unmodded games get the same vein breaking as everyone else.

Admins keep control. /veinminer toggle switches vein mining on or off server wide, and a permissionRestricted setting can reserve it for players with the veinminer.use permission. The full edition also runs as a plugin on Paper, PurPur, and Folia, and a lighter datapack edition covers vanilla servers and snapshots.

Two official addons extend the core. The hotkey addon makes vein mining trigger only while you hold a key, and it shows a mining preview of the affected blocks. The enchantment addon adds a veinmine enchantment, so only enchanted tools can chain mine. Both work across platforms and game versions.

Settings, Block Groups, and Overrides

Configuration is where VeinMiner pulls ahead. /veinminer settings exposes the knobs: a cooldown between vein mines (20 ticks by default), the delay between each automated block break, the maxChain cap, and a searchRadius for how far connected blocks get scanned (max 5). You can require sneaking, enforce correct tools, and tune durability costs. Hunger drain is off by default, but hungerPerBlock lets big veins cost food.

Block groups handle precise rules. /veinminer blocks sets blocks that any tool can trigger, while /veinminer groups builds rule sets with tool limits, like a wood group only axes can use. Tags fill groups fast, so #minecraft:logs adds every log at once. The wiki documents the full tag list, the group file default_groups.json is editable directly, and /veinminer presets sets up useful groups and settings in one command.

Overrides add a second layer. Client overrides change behavior for hotkey addon users, so you can require sneaking from everyone else while letting hotkey players skip it. Group overrides work per group, which is how you let a shovel group chew through dirt and sand without draining shovel durability.

How to Install VeinMiner

This one installs on the server. Clients can join without installing anything, though the hotkey addon is a separate client side download if you want the hold-to-mine mode and preview.

1. Download the VeinMiner build that matches your server's loader and game version. The download table on this page lists current files.
2. Install a loader if the server does not run one yet. VeinMiner ships for Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, and Quilt, and our Fabric guide and Forge guide cover the most common setups.
3. Drop the mod file into the server's mods folder, or the plugins folder on Paper-based servers, then restart.
4. Join the server and break an ore with a pickaxe. If nothing chains, run /veinminer toggle to switch the feature on.
5. Optional: add the client hotkey addon for the key trigger and mining preview, or the enchantment addon to lock vein mining behind an enchantment.

VeinMiner FAQ

Do players need to install VeinMiner on their client?

No. It runs server side, so vanilla clients get vein mining without installing a thing. The client side download is optional and only adds the hotkey trigger and block preview.

Can I control which blocks and tools can veinmine?

Yes. /veinminer blocks sets blocks that any tool can trigger, /veinminer groups builds rule sets like a logs group only axes can use, and tags such as #minecraft:logs add whole categories at once.

Does VeinMiner work on multiplayer servers?

It is built for them. Admins can toggle it server wide, gate it behind a permission, and tune cooldowns and chain limits. It runs as a plugin on Paper, PurPur, and Folia, and a datapack edition covers vanilla servers.

Is VeinMiner still updated?

Yes. Development is active, with the latest release shipping in August 2026, and the mod sits at roughly 81 million downloads.

VeinMiner is one of those changes that is hard to unlearn, and the config depth means it fits vanilla servers and heavy modpacks alike. Our guide on how to install Minecraft mods covers the setup basics, and for more mining upgrades, HRB's Drills adds a rideable drill that pairs well with fast vein clearing.