Agora Minecraft Launcher
This is not a warehouse. This is a boutique.
Agora is a decentralized, ad-free, open-source Minecraft launcher and discovery platform. Agora uses community-curated manifests compiled into a signed catalog to provide a community managed, curated list of mods from any source.
If you aren't a contributor or developer, I recommend visiting Agora's website, https://agoramc.com/.
AI disclaimer
I have a degree in game development and computer science. Using my experience, I worked with AI heavily to build Agora, nonetheless, everything has been reviewed, designed, and ideated by me.
Platforms and Signing
Windows is tested and signed, I don't have macOS or Linux right now so they are not officially tested, releases are provided for your convenience but are not guaranteed to be functional.
Download and documentation
Agora also includes a searchable Help & Guide tied to the current desktop interface. The website also publishes the same guides as well as other useful documentation.
First run
- Download a packaged release for your operating system.
- Complete onboarding and review the optional service choices.
- Synchronize the signed catalog.
- Let Agora discover or provision a compatible Java runtime.
- Create a small disposable instance or import a supported pack.
- Review health findings before launching.
- Back up valuable worlds separately before major changes.
Agora supports two launch modes. Direct launch runs Minecraft inside Agora and gives you integrated process status and console output; it requires a Microsoft account connected in Agora. Delegated launch leaves Microsoft/Xbox authentication and JVM startup to the official Minecraft Launcher. Delegated is the global default so that Agora never requires a sign-in, not because it is the intended way to use Agora. Instances stored with Auto follow the global mode; the current desktop UI does not expose a per-instance override selector.
Key capabilities
- Curated and optional Modrinth discovery with instance-aware compatibility labels.
- Dependency-aware install plans with one review before files change.
- Loader compatibility evidence, recommended signed versions, compatible alternatives, and manual candidates when a capability cannot be verified.
- Health checks, Crash Doctor with guided mod bisect, snapshots, Last Known Good recovery, loadouts, and lockfiles.
- Imports from supported packs and launcher profiles, plus
.mrpack and Agora pack export.
- Surgical pack updates that keep the mods you added and ask before overwriting a file you edited.
- Minecraft version migration that reports which mods have a build for the target before moving anything.
- Controller support: pick up a gamepad and the whole app resizes for couch distance and becomes navigable with the stick, with an offer to add Controlify so the game accepts the pad too.
- A standalone CLI that AI assistant apps can drive directly (
agora skill prints the guide they follow), plus authenticated local MCP for AI apps that cannot run commands.
Safety and recovery boundaries
- Automatic pre-launch recovery protects mod and configuration state but intentionally excludes
saves/.
- Full manual and transactional snapshots use a broader tracked scope that includes
saves/.
- Last Known Good promotes the exact pre-launch snapshot only after a successful session of at least 60 seconds.
- Loadouts remember enabled state; lockfiles describe reproducible artifacts.
- None of these should be the only backup for an irreplaceable world.
Agora makes no automated analytics calls. Functional features can still contact their documented services. The individual Privacy endpoint switches are enforced by the backend, and Lockdown Mode is enforced there too: it is checked inside the shared HTTP request path rather than by each feature separately, so turning it on blocks Agora's network requests without you having to disable endpoints one at a time.
Project principles
- low cost no-server, highly scalable footprint - GitHub, GitHub Release Assets, and static hosting carry the public distribution load.
- No forced sign-in - Agora works without a Microsoft account, so delegated launch is the default. Direct launch is an equally supported mode, not a fallback.
- Curated, not warehoused - boutique quality and community review take priority over inventory size.
- Decentralized governance - votes and reviews remain inspectable GitHub interactions.
- Modrinth independence - primary curated artifacts use pinned sources; Modrinth is optional.
Contributor quick start
Build and test the Rust workspace components:
cargo fmt --all -- --check
cargo test -p agora-core --lib
cargo test -p agora-cli
Compile an unsigned local catalog before the static website build:
cd compiler
python -m venv .venv
# .venv\Scripts\activate on Windows; source .venv/bin/activate on macOS/Linux
pip install -r requirements.txt
python compile.py --skip-sign --no-governance-write --governance-mode off --out ../registry.db
python ../scripts/verify_db.py ../registry.db
Build the desktop and website frontends from the repository root:
cd desktop
npm install
npm run build
cd ../web
npm install
NEXT_PUBLIC_GITHUB_REPOSITORY=agora-mc/Agora-Mod-Manager npm run build
See docs/DEVELOPMENT.md for prerequisites, environment boundaries, disposable profiles, and the full validation matrix.
Maintainer references
Detailed compiler configuration, release mechanics, governance incident recovery, and agent-tool configuration live in those reference documents rather than this player-facing overview.
License and community
Agora workspace packages declare GPL-3.0-only.
Join the project Discord for community support. Contributions and reviews follow the project Code of Engagement: keep discussion technical, focused, respectful, and relevant to the asset or change under review.
If you're feeling generous, you can donate at https://github.com/sponsors/jarjarpfeil. If Agora has made modding easier or more enjoyable for you, please consider sponsoring its development. Your donation keeps Agora improving and helps fund awesome new projects for the community. Every contribution means a lot — thank you!
