Friend Highlighter
Losing track of your friends during a mining trip is one of the most frustrating things in Minecraft. One wrong turn in a cave system and suddenly you are alone, surrounded by darkness and the distant sound of mobs. Friend Highlighter solves this problem by letting you see exactly where your friends, pets, and even your lost items are at all times, even through solid blocks.
This client-side Fabric mod works similarly to the glowing potion effect but gives you complete control over what gets highlighted and when. Whether you are playing on a co-op server with permission or just want to find your dog in your single-player world, this mod has you covered.
What Friend Highlighter Does
At its core, Friend Highlighter is an entity locator. It highlights any entity you choose through walls, making them visible regardless of what blocks stand between you. This includes players, animals, monsters, items, projectiles, item frames, and basically anything else that exists in the game world.
The mod duplicates how the glowing effect works but adds precise customization. You decide which entities get highlighted, what color they appear in, and whether they show an outline or just their nametag through blocks. You can even highlight invisible mobs if you enable that option in the settings.
Practical Use Cases
- Keep track of friends during mining expeditions so nobody gets left behind
- Monitor your dog or cat to ensure they never wander into danger
- Check mob farm rates without physically entering the farm
- Find the source of zombie sounds coming from inside your walls
- Locate dropped items after dying, including specific tools and weapons
- Mark chests and furnaces underground using item frames as bookmarks
- Spot endermen easily in warped forests when farming ender pearls
Supported Versions and Installation
Friend Highlighter is available for Fabric on Minecraft 1.19.2, 1.19.4, 1.20.x, and 1.21. The mod is entirely client-side, meaning you do not need to install anything on the server to use it. It works on any server you join, though you should always check server rules before using highlighting features.
If you want to download Friend Highlighter, you will need Fabric Loader installed first. The installation process is straightforward: download the mod file matching your Minecraft version, place it in your mods folder, and launch the game with Fabric selected. For those who prefer a streamlined approach, the foxygame.net launcher offers one-click installation of Friend Highlighter alongside a curated catalog of other useful add-ons, handling version compatibility automatically so you can focus on playing rather than troubleshooting.
How to Install Friend Highlighter
Before installing, ensure you have Fabric Loader and Fabric API set up for your Minecraft version. Once ready, follow these steps:
- Download the Friend Highlighter jar file compatible with your game version
- Navigate to your Minecraft mods folder (usually found in .minecraft/mods)
- Place the downloaded file into the mods folder
- Launch Minecraft using the Fabric profile
- Verify the mod loaded by checking the mod list in-game
For the GUI interface, you will also want Mod Menu and Cloth Config installed. These optional dependencies let you manage your friends list and settings through a visual window instead of chat commands.
Using the Friends List
The Friends List is the heart of this mod. It contains all the entity names you want to highlight, and this list stays completely private on your client. Nobody else can see who you have added or what colors you have assigned.
Chat Commands
Every command starts with /fh. To add an entity, use /fh add [name] with optional color, only_players, and outline_friend arguments. The mod suggests nearby mobs and online players as you type, making it easy to add the right target. If a name contains spaces, wrap it in quotation marks like /fh add "Henry the Dog".
Other useful commands include /fh list for viewing and managing your list, /fh remove to delete entries, /fh clear to wipe everything, and /fh toggle to turn highlighting on or off. The /fh settings command lets you adjust general mod configuration, and pressing H enables or disables the highlighter during gameplay.
Important Considerations
This mod highlights entities through blocks, which most servers consider cheating. While Friend Highlighter was designed for legitimate co-op play and single-player convenience, using it to gain unfair advantages violates many server rules. Always get permission before using highlighting features on multiplayer servers.
Additionally, if you have Entity Culling installed, you will need to disable it for this mod to function properly. Entity Culling prevents mobs from rendering when not visible, which conflicts with the through-block highlighting that makes Friend Highlighter useful.
Final Thoughts
Friend Highlighter fills a specific niche that vanilla Minecraft leaves empty. The glowing effect is limited and uncontrollable, but this mod puts you in charge of exactly what you see and how you see it. From keeping your dog safe to finding lost gear after an unfortunate creeper encounter, the practical applications are nearly endless. Just remember to use it responsibly and respect the rules of any server you play on.