How to Add Mods to a Luanti (Minetest) Server and Enable Them

To add a mod to a Luanti server, download it from ContentDB, upload the extracted mod folder into the server's mods folder, then open your world's world.mt and add a line load_mod_<modname> = true for it and for every mod it depends on. Restart the server. Players do not install anything: the client downloads the mod's textures, sounds and models when it connects.

Luanti was called Minetest until October 2024, and most file names still say minetest, so instructions for either name apply.

Mods, modpacks and games

Three kinds of content live on ContentDB:

• Mods add features to a game: protection, machines, new blocks, chat tools.
• Modpacks are a folder of several mods shipped together, with a modpack.conf file at the top.
• Games are complete packages the world runs on, such as Minetest Game or VoxeLibre. A game goes in games, not mods.

Check the mod's page for which games it supports. A mod written for Minetest Game often depends on its items and will not load on VoxeLibre, and the reverse.

Step 1: Download and extract

On the mod's ContentDB page, click Download to get a zip. Extract it. You want the folder that directly contains init.lua and mod.conf. If the zip gives you areas-master/areas/init.lua, the folder you upload is the inner areas.

The folder name should match the mod's technical name, the name = line in mod.conf. A folder called areas-master for a mod named areas is a classic cause of "mod not found" problems. Rename it.

Step 2: Upload to the mods folder

Mods can live in two places:

The shared mods folder is the normal choice. worldmods is handy for a mod you never want to forget to enable, but it is easy to lose track of what is in there.

Step 3: Enable it in world.mt

Each world has a world.mt file in its folder (worlds/<worldname>/world.mt). Stop the server and open it. You will see something like:

gameid = minetest
backend = sqlite3
player_backend = sqlite3
auth_backend = sqlite3
creative_mode = false
enable_damage = true

Add one line per mod:

load_mod_areas = true
load_mod_unified_inventory = true
load_mod_mesecons = true

The part after load_mod_ is the mod's technical name, exactly. For a modpack, enable each mod inside it by its own name; the pack name itself is not a mod.

Start the server. When it loads, the log lists the mods it loaded, and /mods in game chat prints them too.

Step 4: Handle dependencies

Open the mod's mod.conf. A typical one looks like this:

name = example_machines
depends = default, basic_materials
optional_depends = mesecons, digilines

• Everything in depends must be present and enabled, or the mod refuses to load and the server stops with an error about unsatisfied dependencies.
• optional_depends add features when present but are not required.
• Names like default usually come from the game itself, so on Minetest Game they are already there.

ContentDB lists dependencies on each mod's page and links them, so collect them all before you upload. Large mods like Technic pull in several others.

Mods that need extra permissions

Some mods want access the default security sandbox does not allow, for example a chat bridge that talks to an outside service over HTTP, or a mod that needs Lua's full insecure environment. They say so on their page and fail with a security error until you allow them in minetest.conf:

secure.http_mods = mymod_bridge
secure.trusted_mods = some_trusted_mod

Only list mods you trust. secure.trusted_mods gives a mod full access to the server machine.

Good mods for a first server

For a Minecraft style experience the mods mostly come inside the game: VoxeLibre and Mineclonia ship with their own large set, and Minetest Game mods do not fit them.

When a mod will not load

Read the end of the log first. Usually the server says exactly which mod failed and why. The common causes:

1. Folder name does not match the mod name. Rename the folder to the name in mod.conf.
2. Uploaded one folder too high or too low. mods/areas/areas/init.lua will not work, mods/areas/init.lua will.
3. Missing dependency. Install and enable the mod named in the error.
4. Wrong game. The mod expects items from a game you are not running.
5. Lua error at runtime. The log shows a file and line number. Check the mod's issue tracker or try an older release.
6. Two mods with the same name. One copy in mods, another in worldmods. Remove one.

Add mods one or two at a time on an existing world. If something breaks, you know which change did it. Back up the world first: some mods add blocks to the map, and removing those mods later leaves unknown blocks behind.

Doing it on a hosted server

On a GamezServers Luanti server, the shared mods folder is .minetest/mods and your world is under .minetest/worlds/, both open in the file manager or over SFTP. Edit world.mt, press restart in the control panel and watch the live console for load errors. One click backups before adding a big mod pack make experiments safe. The game itself is a panel setting, with community download fetching it from ContentDB, as described in how to host a Luanti server. To give players the right rights after the mods are in, see Luanti privileges and admin commands.

FAQ

Why does my Luanti mod not load even though it is in the mods folder?

It is not enabled for the world. Add load_mod_<modname> = true to the world's world.mt and restart, and check the folder name matches the mod name.

Do players need to download mods to join a Luanti server?

No. The client gets the mod's media from the server when connecting. Players never install server mods themselves.

Where is world.mt?

In the world's folder, worlds/<worldname>/world.mt, inside the Luanti user folder.

Can I use Minetest Game mods with VoxeLibre?

Usually not. Many mods depend on items from Minetest Game. Check the supported games on the mod's ContentDB page.