Ultimate Custom Gear
Add custom gear to Minecraft without writing a line of Java
UltimateCustomGear is a data-driven NeoForge mod for Minecraft 1.21.1. Drop a JSON file into a folder, restart, and your item exists — registered, textured, craftable, and visible in JEI. It is built for server owners and modpack creators who need custom content but do not want to maintain a mod for it.
What you can make
- Armor sets with per-piece stats, worn effects, and full-set bonuses
- Weapons — swords, bows, crossbows, shields
- Tools — pickaxes, axes, shovels, hoes, with harvest tiers and area-tilling
- Food with nutrition, eating speed, and on-eat effects
- Blocks, including directional and gravity-affected ones, with per-face textures
- Fluids with custom color, spread, and contact effects
What makes it different
Damage resistances. Armor can reduce damage by damage type, by attacker, or by both combined — fire-proof armor, dragon-slayer armor, armor that only works against undead mobs. Resolved by specificity, so a rule about skeleton arrows beats the general arrow rule.
Mob drops. Any item can drop from any mob, with configurable chance, count, entity filters, and Looting behavior. Enough to build a server economy out of JSON alone.
3D armor models. With GeckoLib installed, armor renders as a full Blockbench model with optional animations instead of flat layers. Without GeckoLib it falls back to 2D — the mod still runs.
Real recipes. Every vanilla recipe type, defined in JSON and injected as server data, so JEI shows them like any other recipe. Ingredients accept tags, so #minecraft:planks means any plank from any mod. Recipes from other mods can be passed through untouched, guarded so they vanish cleanly when that mod is absent.
Tags in both directions. Your content can join existing tags so other mods' recipes accept it, and you can add other mods' content to tags you care about.
Content packs. Ship everything as a single .zip your players drop into a folder. One file, nothing to extract, nothing to install wrong.
Multiplayer verification. The server checks at login that clients have matching content, so nobody plays with a tooltip that disagrees with the damage they actually deal. Enforcement is configurable — kick, warn, or ignore.
Live reload. /customgear reload updates names, effects, recipes, drops, and resistances without restarting. Balance your economy while players are online.
A complete item, start to finish
{
"id": "magic_apple",
"type": "food",
"names": { "en_us": "Magic Apple" },
"nutrition": 4,
"saturation": 1.2,
"always_edible": true,
"mob_drops": {
"entities": ["#minecraft:undead"],
"chance": 0.15,
"min": 1,
"max": 2
},
"on_eat_effects": [
{ "effect": "minecraft:regeneration", "amplifier": 1, "duration": 10 },
{ "effect": "minecraft:absorption", "amplifier": 0, "duration": 120 }
],
"texture": {
"mode": "reference",
"refs": { "item": "minecraft:item/golden_apple" }
},
"recipe": {
"type": "shaped",
"pattern": ["GGG", "GAG", "GGG"],
"key": { "G": "minecraft:gold_block", "A": "minecraft:apple" }
}
}
That is the whole file. Undead mobs now have a 15% chance to drop it, it is craftable, and JEI knows about it.
Documentation
Full documentation — every field, every type, worked examples, and a migration guide for breaking changes — is in the wiki (linked in the sidebar).
Start with Getting Started if you have never written a content JSON, or jump to the Field Reference if you know what you are looking for.
Compatibility
- Minecraft 1.21.1 · NeoForge 21.1.x
- JEI — optional, recommended. Recipes show up fully
- GeckoLib — optional, only needed for 3D armor models
- Works with content from any installed mod: reference their models, use their items as ingredients, add their content to your tags
- Modded enchantments apply to enchantable custom items automatically
Server and clients need the same mod version and matching content files.
License
MIT.
