❄️ Glacier

Hey there! I'm Snowden, and this is Glacier. I built this because I wanted a lightweight, fast, and easy-to-understand way to manage Minecraft mods without the bloat and heft of traditional launchers.

🛠️ Tech Stack

I wanted this to be fast. My original concept of this program in pure Java wasn't going to cut it, so I used a mix of backend power and frontend flexibility:

✨ Features

• ARM64 Native: One of the few mod tools built specifically to run natively on ARM64 Windows devices (like the Surface & Surface Pro which I developed this on).
• Conflict Detection: Instantly see if you've accidentally mixed Fabric and NeoForge mods.
• Lightning Fast: The Go backend scans JAR files in milliseconds.
• Portable: No installer needed. Just one small .exe and you're good to go!

💡 The Origin Story

The idea for Glacier sparked last year, when my girlfriend and I were making modpacks together. We would occasionally get a little ahead of ourselves, and after installing quite a few mods, there would be some incompatibility error that would take too long to understand and fix. I wanted to build a "bridge" that could scan a folder and tell you exactly what was wrong before you even hit 'Play'.

Originally, I called it CompatBridge, but as the UI got cleaner and cooler, Glacier just felt right.

🧠 What I Learned

Building this was a massive learning curve. I had to figure out:

• How to embed frontend assets directly into a Go binary.
• How to handle cross-platform builds for ARM64 vs x64.
• The importance of a clean UI-user experience matters as much as the code.

🗺️ Planned Features

• Automatic Dependency Checking: Finding the missing API jars for you.
• Modrinth Integration: Exploring ways to browse/download mods directly while respecting fellow creators' rights.
• Theme Support: Letting other users select their own theme.

🚀 How to Download

1. Head over to the Releases tab on the right.
2. Download Glacier.exe.
3. Open it, select your desired Minecraft mods folder, and let it do the work!

🛠️ Local Development

If you want to modify the code or run it from source:

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/BySnowden/Glacier.git
cd Glacier

2. Start Dev Mode

Wails has a built-in hot-reload system. This command will launch the app and automatically update whenever you save changes to your Go or Svelte files:

wails dev

3. Build for Production

Create the final optimized .exe in build/bin/:

wails build

🛡️ Transparency & Security

As an independent developer, I don't have a $400/year "Publisher Certificate" to sign my apps. Because of this, Windows SmartScreen will likely show a warning when you first run Glacier.

Is it safe? Absolutely. Glacier is fully open-source under the GPLv3 license. This means:

• Every single line of code is available right here for you to audit.
• There are no hidden backdoors or telemetry; the app only interacts with your Minecraft folder.
• You can even build the executable yourself from the source if you want to be 100% sure of what you're running.

To bypass the warning: Click "More Info" -> "Run Anyway".

❤️ Support

If Glacier helped you save time or fix a crash, consider supporting the project! Support me on Ko-fi

Licensed under GPLv3.