bettervein: The Ultimate Chain Mining and Farming Add-On
Mining in Minecraft has always been a test of patience. You swing your pickaxe, break a block, and then hunt down every scattered ore vein by hand. Farming is no different: tilling and planting a large field can eat an entire afternoon. The bettervein add-on exists to fix exactly that. It is a powerful vein-mining and farming mod that turns tedious grinding into a single satisfying action.
What Does bettervein Do?
At its core, bettervein lets you break one block and chain-mine every ore of the same type in the surrounding area, even the scattered ones that normally force you to zigzag across a cave. The same philosophy applies above ground. Fell an entire tree with one swing, mass-till farmland in a single right-click, and mass-plant seeds or saplings across a whole field. All drops gather neatly at your feet, so you never leave resources behind.
Core Features at a Glance
- Chain Mining: Break one block and chain-break all same-type blocks in the area, with a default radius of 8 that even catches scattered ores.
- One-Swing Tree Felling: Break a log and the whole tree falls, while neighboring trees stay untouched.
- Mass Tilling: Hold the hotkey and right-click with a hoe to till a (2R+1) squared farmland area at once.
- Mass Planting: Hold the hotkey and right-click with seeds or saplings to plant an entire area instantly.
- Drop Gathering: Every chain-mined drop flies straight to your feet.
- Live Preview: While holding the key, a white outline and block count show exactly what will break.
- Full Configuration: Radius, max blocks, modes, and more are all adjustable.
Supported Versions and Loaders
bettervein for Minecraft supports both major mod loaders, so you are not locked into one ecosystem. The Forge build targets Minecraft 1.20.1 with Forge 47.x, while the Fabric build supports Minecraft 26.2 with Fabric API 0.156 or newer, Cloth Config 26.2.155 or newer, and Fabric Loader 0.19.3 or newer. Note that the Fabric version requires Cloth Config installed from the same game version to run correctly.
If you would rather skip the manual setup, the foxygame.net launcher handles the heavy lifting: it offers a curated add-on catalog where bettervein can be installed in one click, complete with automatic version matching and updates so your mod list never falls out of sync.
How to Install bettervein
Getting started is straightforward, whether you play on a singleplayer world or a server. Here is how to install the add-on step by step.
Forge Installation
- Install the correct Forge version for Minecraft 1.20.1.
- Place the bettervein jar file into your mods folder.
- Launch the game and confirm the mod loads on the title screen.
Fabric Installation
- Install Fabric Loader 0.19.3 or newer for Minecraft 26.2.
- Add Fabric API and Cloth Config to your mods folder.
- Drop the bettervein jar file in alongside them and launch the game.
Once loaded, you can tweak everything through the configuration file, located at config/bettervein-common.toml for Forge or config/bettervein.json for Fabric, which is editable in-game through Cloth Config and Mod Menu.
How to Use bettervein
The default hotkey is the grave or tilde key, found left of the 1 key and below ESC, and it can be rebound in the Controls menu. Hold the hotkey and left-click to chain-mine or fell a tree. Hold it and right-click with a hoe to mass-till, or with seeds and saplings to mass-plant. Aiming at a block while holding the key shows a preview of the chain range before anything breaks.
Six Mining Modes
Version 1.2.0 introduced six distinct mining modes to match different digging needs. Shapeless mode chains by block type with no fixed shape. Small Tunnel digs a 1-block-wide corridor in your facing direction, while Large Tunnel carves a 3x3 cross-section. Small Square removes a single-layer 3x3 plane perpendicular to your line of sight. Mining Tunnel digs a stair-step downward, and Escape Tunnel does the same upward.
Switch modes with Shift plus the scroll wheel, the M key, or the dropdown in the configuration screen. The active mode appears briefly in the top-left HUD, and your selection is saved automatically and synced when entering a world or server. If the scroll-wheel cycling bothers you, version 1.2.1 lets you disable it through the config file or with the command /bettervein shiftcycle on, off, or toggle.
Configuration and Gameplay Notes
Key options include veinMining.areaMode for area chaining, areaRadius with a range of 1 to 32, maxBlocks capped at 64 by default, treeMode for log-only felling, gatherDrops, and requireKey to restrict chaining to when the hotkey is held. Farming options cover massTill.radius, massPlant.radius, and massPlant.maxBlocks.
Drops, experience, Fortune, and Silk Touch all follow vanilla logic. Chain-mining consumes one durability per block, and your tool automatically stops before breaking. Bedrock, barriers, and unbreakable blocks are always skipped. Because all logic runs server-side, the mod is anti-cheat safe and works on both singleplayer and multiplayer servers.
Final Thoughts
If you are tired of chasing ore veins through winding caves or planting crops one seed at a time, bettervein for Minecraft delivers a massive quality-of-life upgrade. With flexible mining modes, configurable radii, and seamless farming tools, it fits nearly any playstyle. Download bettervein, follow the installation steps for your loader, and turn hours of grinding into seconds of satisfying chain reactions.