What's NeoForge?
NeoForge is a community-led fork of Forge that started in mid-2023 after a split in Forge's governance. It branched off Forge 1.20.1 and has been moving faster ever since: quicker updates to new Minecraft versions, a more open contribution process, and broader maintainer involvement.
Most of the big content mods (Create, Mekanism, Applied Energistics 2, JEI, and many more) now ship a NeoForge build alongside or instead of a Forge build. On 1.21 and newer, NeoForge is effectively the default for "Forge-style" modding.
Setting up NeoForge
Click the + in GDLauncher, pick your Minecraft version, and choose NeoForge. GDLauncher lists the available NeoForge loader versions for that MC version; the latest stable one is usually the right pick.
Give the instance a name and create it. GDLauncher downloads Minecraft, the matching Java version, and NeoForge itself in the background. No manual JAR running, no Java path configuration.
Adding mods
Open your instance and head to the Addons tab. Add Addons opens the browser across CurseForge and Modrinth combined. Filter by NeoForge, search, click Download, and dependencies get pulled in for you.
Some older Forge mods don't have a dedicated NeoForge build but still load fine because the APIs overlap. Newer mods increasingly publish NeoForge-only releases; check the mod page if you're unsure.
NeoForge vs Forge
On 1.20.1, both loaders exist and most mods support both. From 1.21 onwards, NeoForge has the momentum: faster updates, broader mod support, and the most active "tech and magic" mod scene. Forge still works and still ships, but a lot of authors only publish for NeoForge on the newer versions.
If a specific mod you want only exists on Forge, use Forge. Otherwise, on modern versions NeoForge is usually the better pick.
NeoForge vs Fabric
Different ecosystems. NeoForge is where the big content mods live (Create, AE2, Mekanism). Fabric is where the cutting-edge performance and QoL mods land first (Sodium, Lithium, Iris). Many mods exist on both, but the ecosystems still differ in flavor.
Troubleshooting
NeoForge not starting? Check you have at least 4GB of RAM allocated (more for modpacks). Try a different NeoForge build if one specific version has issues. Remove any recently added mods to isolate conflicts.
"Mod not for this loader" errors usually mean you've installed a Forge-only or Fabric mod into a NeoForge instance. Filter the Addons browser by NeoForge to avoid this.