Xol documentation¶

Xol is a desktop launcher and a cosmetic HUD client for Minecraft: Java Edition 1.8.9 and 1.7.10. The launcher installs the game from Mojang's servers, signs you in through Microsoft in your own browser, and keeps each setup in its own folder. The client draws a heads-up display you arrange yourself. It changes nothing about how the game plays.

Get started Troubleshooting

Current status¶

Xol is in closed development. These pages describe the software as it is today, including what has not been tested yet.

Availability Builds are invite-only. There is no public download. To ask for a tester slot, write to contact@xol.dev and name your operating system.
Installers Windows x64, macOS Apple Silicon and macOS Intel. The builds are not signed with an Apple Developer ID or a Windows code-signing certificate, so macOS shows its Gatekeeper prompt once and Windows shows SmartScreen. See Install on macOS and Install on Windows. There is no Linux build.
Microsoft sign-in Implemented, and waiting for Mojang to approve Xol's application ID. Until that happens sign-in stops at the last step with a message that the application ID is not approved, and the game cannot be started from the launcher. See Sign-in and accounts.
Testing so far Install, launch and joining a server were checked on Linux x64 without a graphics card. The packaged apps were started on macOS and installed on Windows by automated build machines. Minecraft itself has not yet been run through Xol on Windows or macOS. The full picture is in Supported versions.
Versions Launcher 0.2.0 with client 0.2.0 is the published development release. Launcher 0.2.2, which adds automatic updates, is built but not published yet. See the changelog.

What Xol is¶

A launcher for old versions. Minecraft 1.8.9 and 1.7.10 need Java 8 and an old Forge. Xol downloads the exact Java runtime Mojang ships for those versions, installs Forge from a pinned installer, and checks every file against a published checksum before using it.
A HUD client. Thirteen small display modules such as an FPS counter, coordinates, keystrokes and armor durability. Every one is off by default except the FPS counter. You place them with an in-game editor.
Isolated instances. Each profile has its own worlds, settings, resource packs and mods folder. Uninstalling the launcher leaves them where they are.

What Xol is not¶

Not a cheat client. Xol does not change movement, combat, reach, hitboxes, interaction timing or packets. It shows nothing that the vanilla game hides. The rule each module is reviewed against is on Multiplayer and fair play.
Not approved by any server. Xol reports its own name to servers and keeps Forge's normal handshake, but a server may ban any modified client. Check the rules of the server you play on.
Not a copy of the game. You need your own Minecraft: Java Edition licence. Xol checks that the signed-in account owns the game before it launches anything.
Not an official Minecraft product. Xol is an independent project. It is not approved by or associated with Mojang or Microsoft.

Where to start¶

Get started ¶

Requirements, installing on macOS and Windows, the first launch, and what is downloaded from where.

The launcher ¶

Profiles, performance presets, launch options, instances, accounts and notices.

The client ¶

The in-game settings screen, the HUD editor, layouts, and a page for every module with its settings.

Modules ¶

All thirteen modules: what each shows, every setting with its range and default, and what it reads.

OptiFine ¶

Why Xol cannot bundle it, how to import the file you downloaded, and every message the check can give.

Updates ¶

How automatic updates work, what is verified before anything is installed, and why macOS asks only once.

The Microsoft sign-in flow step by step, what is stored, and every sign-in error.

Privacy and data ¶

What is sent where and when. Crash reports are off until you switch them on.

Multiplayer and fair play ¶

The client brand, what servers can see, and the review table for every module.

Troubleshooting ¶

Organised by symptom: install, launch, sign-in, updates, OptiFine, access keys.

FAQ ¶

Short answers, with links to the page that has the detail.

Reference ¶

File locations, settings files, supported versions, keyboard shortcuts, glossary, changelog and roadmap.

Contact¶

Questions and security reports go to contact@xol.dev. The product page is launcher.xol.dev; the project's home is xol.dev.