Getting started

From download to your first world with Breeze, in about the time it takes Minecraft to download.

Before you start

You do not need to install Java, Fabric or the Breeze mod yourself. The launcher does all three.

1. Install the launcher

Download the file for your system from the download page and install it:

Those warnings appear because the installers are not yet signed with a paid code-signing certificate (why that is safe). You can check that the file you downloaded is the published one with its SHA-256 checksum.

2. Sign in with Microsoft

Open Breeze Client. The first screen asks you to sign in. Choose Sign in with Microsoft: a Microsoft sign-in window opens on Microsoft's own page, login.live.com. Sign in there with the account that owns Minecraft and approve the request.

Breeze never sees your Microsoft password. Microsoft gives the launcher a sign-in token, which it keeps on your computer and uses to start Minecraft and to sign you in to Breeze's own services, such as the store and your cosmetics. If the sign-in fails, the message tells you which step went wrong; see sign-in problems.

3. Pick a Minecraft version

On the Play page, choose the Minecraft version you want. Breeze supports every Java Edition release from 1.17 to 26.3; see Supported versions. Each version gets its own folder, so you can keep several versions with different mods side by side.

If you are not sure which to pick, choose the version your favourite server or modpack uses. The newest releases are fine for singleplayer.

4. Press Play

The first time you play a version, the launcher prepares it. You will see the steps in the launcher as it works through them:

  1. Java. The Java runtime that version needs (Java 16, 17, 21 or 25) is downloaded from Mojang, unless it is already there. You see "Installing Java 21…" or similar.
  2. Minecraft. The game itself, its libraries and its assets are downloaded from Mojang.
  3. Fabric. The newest stable Fabric Loader and the matching Fabric API are installed ("Installing Fabric API…").
  4. Breeze. The Breeze mod built for that exact version is downloaded from the Breeze servers.
  5. MCEF, on 1.20.1 to 1.20.4, 1.20.6 and 1.21 to 1.21.4 ("Installing MCEF (Breeze menu browser)…"). On 1.21.5 and newer the browser for the web menu comes inside the Breeze mod, so there is nothing extra to install. Either way, the first time the game starts the browser downloads its Chromium files, over 100 MB, so the first start of a web-menu version takes longer.

Then Minecraft starts. Later launches reuse everything and only download what has changed, so they are much quicker.

If a step fails, the launcher shows the reason in place of the progress text, and the Console page has the full log. The launch problems section lists the messages you might see.

Minecraft opens on Breeze's title menu. Start or join a world as usual. To open the Breeze menu at any time, press Right Shift.

In the menu, switch modules on and off, open a module to change its settings, and use Edit HUD layout to place HUD elements where you want them. A good first try: switch on FPS and Keystrokes, then move them in the HUD editor. More about the menu and modules.

Some modules come with a key already: C zooms, V toggles sprint and G toggles Fullbright. You can change any key in Minecraft's Options, Controls, Key Binds, under Breeze.

Where your files are

Breeze keeps everything in a folder called .breezeclient in your home folder:

SystemFolder
Windows%USERPROFILE%\.breezeclient
macOS~/.breezeclient
Linux~/.breezeclient

Inside it, instances has one folder per Minecraft version. Each version folder holds:

FolderWhat is in it
modsFabric mods for this version, including any you add yourself
configMod settings, including Breeze's own (breeze.json, breeze_hud.json)
savesYour singleplayer worlds
resourcepacks, shaderpacksResource packs and shader packs
screenshotsScreenshots taken in game
logsGame logs; latest.log is the most recent session

Breeze does not touch the official launcher's .minecraft folder. It only reads from it if you choose to import from it.

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