Minecraft: Here’s Why Your Shaders Aren’t Showing up (& How To Fix It)

It is said that you can never go back once you go shaders. You get used to the beautiful changes to graphics that shaders offer, and then they stop working, and you go back to the original Minecraft graphics, but worse, the one where Netherrack looks like pixelated hell and The Nether doesn’t look all that pretty. In some instances, probably, you never had shaders, to begin with, even though you did everything to do this. Why is that why aren’t your shaders showing up in Minecraft?

OptiFine is a shader with a really simple setup

OptiFine, in a sense, is a shader of its own kind, but it does more than that. It helps Minecraft run smoothly and better and gives you full support for other shaders you might want to install and use. As I said, it’s a shader pack of its own, and it’s very obvious to see the graphics changes when you have or don’t have it.

OptiFine is an entirely safe mod, and it’s best to download it from the official OptiFine website. You’ll want to download the version corresponding to your current Minecraft version. Still, before I start, you have to be aware that downloading OptiFine won’t do you any good when it comes to making your shaders appear if you’re using any version equal to or below 1.15.

Now onto how you can download OptiFine. Download the installer pack and go to the place where you downloaded it. Right-click on the installer and choose to open it with the Java TM Platform SE Binary. A pop-up will appear, showing you where the mod will be installed. It will be in the .minecraft folder, so make sure you already have Minecraft downloaded.

Follow the directions and install it; go into your Minecraft Launcher, and on the upper left side, click on the Installations tab. Search for OptiFine and click play. If that doesn’t work, go into the New Installations folder and give it a name, then search for the version of OptiFine you downloaded and click Create. Then, launch Minecraft, load your world, go into Video Settings, and check if the Shaders, Details, and Animations icons are popping up in the Video Settings. If they are, the installation was successful.

How do you get shaders to appear in Minecraft?

Now onto the shaders themselves. Once you’ve downloaded and installed OptiFine, you can download the shader pack you want. Before I tell you how to make them appear, it’s important to mention that if the shader pack file you downloaded is a .zip file, you’ll need to extract it first; if not, you don’t need to. To make shaders appear in Minecraft, follow these steps:

1. Download the shader you have your eyes on and install it if need be.
2. Then, transfer the file to your shaderpacks folder in .minecraft. To access this folder, type in %appdata% in your search bar, and you’ll be able to see it.
3. If you’re having trouble locating the shaderpacks folder or don’t think that it even exists, go into Minecraft and under Video Settings, click on Shaders and then Shaders Folder.
4. This folder is where you should place the file (remember to extract if it is a .zip file but only if the shader download instructions say so)
5. Minecraft will then reload and you’ll have your shader appear in the game.

How to create a shader folder in Minecraft?

To create a shader folder in Minecraft, you need to install OptiFine, and the file should then be there if you’re not sure where this file is in general. It’s located in the %appdata% folder, a folder in Windows that’s usually hidden, so you’ll have to search for it manually. If the shader pack folder doesn’t appear in the .minecraft folder, likely, that you didn’t install and turn on OptiFine correctly.

After you make sure you have and the folder still doesn’t show up, you can create your own. The folder should be named shaderpacks, so go into the .minecraft folder and right-click somewhere beside all the other files, then select new and choose a folder. Then you’ll be prompted to name the folder, and that should be it.

How to install shaders in Minecraft the correct way?

The best way to install shaders in Minecraft is always to follow the instructions set by the shader provider. Take, for example, a widely known BSL shader I use myself. You can download it from a website like CurseForge, and in the shader’s description, you’ll see the installation instructions.

This shader says that you should first download OptiFine or Iris, then proceed to download the shader and move the file into the shaderpacks folder. Then, launch Minecraft, go into Video Settings, and open Shaders. Choose the BSL shaders option, and Minecraft will reload and give you the graphics of that set shader pack.

Often with shaders, the above instructions are all you need to do to install shaders the correct way. If some exceptions apply, they’ll likely be noted by the shader provider, but that’s highly unlikely.

Best shaders for Minecraft Java

Many shaders share similar features, so the one you choose entirely depends on you. I suggest trying out a few different ones, going into create mode, checking out the water, dusk, sunrise, The Nether, and The End to decide whether or not you have any problems with the shader, and then leaving the one you like the most.

1. BSL Shaders

BSL shaders provide smooth lighting and warm and welcoming visuals. It’s not hard on your PC; even a budget can pull this shader off. A personal problem with the shader is that when you enter The Nether, the light that the lava emits is overpowering and makes it hard to see anything else. Try it out for yourself to see if you like it or not.

2. Seus PTGI

Realistic clouds, sky, and water to die for define the Seus PTGI shader. I’ve been considering downloading it simply because the water looks like you’re on an exotic island and won’t confuse you when you’re in it. It goes harder on your PC, but there are versions like the legacy and renewed version that even a budget PC can run smoothly.

3. Continuum Shaders

If you own a beast for a computer, Continuum Shaders are the way to go. They deliver photorealistic graphics worthy of taking screenshots of. It has realistic lighting effects, fantastic color gradients, natural-looking clouds and sky, and shadows that adjust with the sun. Continuum Shader are also working on ultra-realistic shader packs, so if you ever wondered how a villager would look in real life, you can count on Continuum shaders to show you.

Can you get free shaders on Minecraft Bedrock Edition?

Whether or not you can get shader packs for Minecraft Bedrock Edition depends on which device you’re playing on. For free shaders like on Minecraft Java, the only devices you can get them on are mobile phones (specifically Android phones), whereas shaders for consoles like PS4 will have to be bought as texture packs. One such texture pack is the TrueRealism HD, which costs 990 mine coins in the marketplace.

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