Hover Hints
Shows small contextual hints for hidden vanilla Minecraft mechanics
- Loaders
- Fabric
- Downloads on Modrinth
- 648
- Followers on Modrinth
- 20
- versions
- 9
- Updated
- September 22, 2026Sep 22
- Published
- in 2026
At a glance
Needed in the game; optional on the server
Hover Hints is a lightweight utility mod that shows small contextual hints for hidden vanilla Minecraft mechanics.
It gives useful information exactly when you need it, while you are holding a relevant item, looking at a matching block or entity, and intentionally asking for a hint.
Hover Hints does not add new gameplay mechanics or change vanilla balance. It only reveals information that already exists in Minecraft.
How it works
By default, hints are shown while holding Left Alt.
For example, if you hold a compostable item and look at a composter, Hover Hints shows the chance that the item will raise the compost level. If you hold fuel and look at a furnace, it shows how long that fuel will burn. If you hold bone meal and look at a plant, it shows what effect bone meal can have there.
Examples
Composting
Fuel burn time
Bone meal behavior
Entity hints
Available hints
Hover Hints works fully client-side for mechanics that are already known to the client. Some hints use server-only data, such as loot tables or villager POI ownership, and require Hover Hints to be installed on the server to show accurate results.
| Hint | What it shows | Server installation required |
|---|---|---|
| Composting | Compost chance for the held item when looking at a composter | No |
| Fuel Burn Time | Burn time for the held item when looking at a furnace, smoker, or blast furnace | No |
| Grindstone XP | Estimated XP from removing enchantments with a grindstone | No |
| Bone Meal | Growth effect, chance, stage increase, spreading, or item drop behavior | No |
| Taming Chance | Taming or trust chance for tameable animals | No |
| Redstone Power | Current redstone power level of the targeted block | No |
| Silk Touch Requirement | Whether the targeted block needs Silk Touch to drop itself | No |
| Sulfur Cube | Shows growth and absorbed block effects when interacting with Sulfur Cubes | No |
| Animal Feeding | Breeding state, baby growth time, love mode timer, and breeding cooldown | Yes, for exact timers |
| Mob Loot | Possible drops from the targeted mob | Yes |
| Archaeology Loot | Possible loot from suspicious sand or suspicious gravel | Yes |
| Villager POI | Whether a villager workstation, bed, or bell is occupied | Yes |
Configuration
The config screen is available through ModMenu or the /hoverhints config command. Cloth Config is required.
FAQ
How to install Hover Hints?
Install Fabric for your Minecraft version, download Hover Hints for the same version and loader, put the file into the mods folder and launch the game with the loader profile.
Which Minecraft versions does Hover Hints support?
Hover Hints has builds for Minecraft 1.21.1, 1.21.11, 26.1.2–26.3.
Is Hover Hints needed on the server?
Needed in the game; optional on the server
Similar mods
All game mechanics mods →
Often needed together
Fabric API↓ 283M