Minecraft Java on Android: 3 Open-Source Launchers Compared (2026)

Minecraft on Google Play is Bedrock Edition. The PC version, Java Edition, is the one with the huge mod scene (Forge, Fabric, modpacks, shaders), and Mojang has never released it for phones. These launchers fill the gap. They run a mobile port of Java on your phone and start the real Java Edition game on it.

All three are open source and come from the same family tree. PojavLauncher did the original work, Amethyst continues it, and the other two build their own launchers on that engine.

Quick picks

• Older or 32-bit phone: Amethyst.
• You want NeoForge, Quilt or modpack management built in: Fold Craft Launcher.
• You prefer a modern Material You–style app: Zalith Launcher 2.

Nothing stops you from installing more than one. Each keeps its own game files.

At a glance

The last four rows come from the APKs we checked. The others come from each project’s README, documentation and app.

¹ All three include ByteHook, an open-source hooking library from ByteDance. The Exodus signature for ByteDance’s Pangle ad SDK also matches it, but it isn’t ad or tracking code. How we handle this.

What all three need

• A Microsoft account that owns Minecraft: Java Edition. The launchers download the game from Mojang’s servers; none of them include it.
• Storage beyond the app itself. Every game version, Java runtime and mod is downloaded separately.
• A capable phone. Java Edition was made for PCs. We haven’t tested performance, and it varies with the phone, the renderer and the mods.

Amethyst: the widest device support

Amethyst is the direct continuation of PojavLauncher. It runs almost every Minecraft version, from the earliest builds to current snapshots, and supports Forge and Fabric, with NeoForge, Quilt and OptiFine profiles in the app. Its build covers the most CPU types of the three and has the lowest Android minimum, so it is the one to try on an older phone.

Zalith Launcher 2: a new interface

Zalith Launcher 2 keeps PojavLauncher’s launch engine and rebuilds everything around it in Jetpack Compose and Material Design 3. It is not version 2 of the older ZalithLauncher: it is a separate project with its own package name. Its developers also warn about an unofficial website that uses the Zalith name.

Fold Craft Launcher: the most mod loaders

Fold Craft Launcher (FCL) brings the version and mod management of HMCL, a popular PC launcher, to Android on top of the Amethyst engine. It lists the most mod loaders and bundled Java versions, adds shader support with some renderers, and can import control layouts made in Zalith Launcher 2. Its universal build is the largest download of the three. The project also publishes smaller builds for each CPU type on GitHub.