Using X-Ray with Sodium and Iris
The short answer: the Minecraft X-Ray resource pack works with Sodium, Iris, Lithium, Phosphor, and every other Fabric performance mod, with zero configuration. Here is the full install order and the one edge case with shader packs that is worth knowing about.
TL;DR
Why they do not conflict
Sodium rewrites how Minecraft draws blocks. It replaces the vanilla chunk renderer with a faster one that batches draw calls and uses modern OpenGL features. It does not care which texture a block has. It just draws whatever texture the resource pack system hands it.
Iris is a shader-pack loader built on top of Sodium. It runs shader programs (vertex and fragment shaders) during rendering, which lets shader packs change lighting, shadows, fog, and sky. Shaders run against the pixels being drawn — by which point the texture swap has already happened.
The X-Ray resource pack only changes the PNGs Minecraft uses for block textures. The transparent PNGs get drawn by Sodium like any other texture, and shaders run on whatever pixels Sodium produced. All three layers agree on what should appear on screen.
Install steps (full setup, start to finish)
1. Install Fabric Loader for your Minecraft version
Download the Fabric Installer from the official Fabric website. Run it, pick your Minecraft version, and click Install. This adds a "fabric-loader-x.x.x-..." profile to your Minecraft Launcher.
2. Install Fabric API
Download Fabric API (the .jar) from the official Fabric website. Drop it into your
.minecraft/modsfolder. This dependency is required by Sodium and most other Fabric mods.3. Install Sodium
Download the matching Sodium .jar (version must match your Minecraft version) and drop it into
.minecraft/mods. Launch Minecraft once with the Fabric profile to confirm Sodium loads.4. (Optional) Install Iris if you want shaders
Iris is a separate .jar. Drop it into
.minecraft/modsalongside Sodium. It is fully compatible with Sodium and replaces OptiFine's shader loader.5. Install the X-Ray resource pack
Grab the pack matching your Minecraft version from the Java download page (do not unzip). Drop the .zip into
.minecraft/resourcepacks.6. Activate the pack in-game
Launch Minecraft. Go to Options → Resource Packs. Move the Minecraft X-Ray pack from Available to Selected. If you have another texture pack already loaded, put X-Ray aboveit in the list so X-Ray's transparent textures take priority.
Shader packs: what works, what to skip
Most shader packs respect block transparency and work fine alongside X-Ray. A few with aggressive volumetric fog or custom chunk rendering can dim underground caves to the point that ores are hard to spot. Known-good picks:
- BSL Shaders — plays nicely with X-Ray. Ores remain clearly visible.
- Complementary (Reimagined or Unbound) — works well, balanced lighting underground.
- Sildur's Vibrant — flagship light shader. No issues.
Avoid shader packs that advertise "realistic cave darkness" or dynamic shadow occlusion if you plan to mine underground — they fight the whole point of the resource pack.
Performance notes
Running Sodium + X-Ray is cheaper than running vanilla Minecraft alone. Sodium's chunk renderer batches draw calls; transparent blocks actually help because they let Sodium skip opaque-face culling for those blocks. On an integrated-GPU laptop you should see a 2-3x FPS improvement over vanilla, even with the pack active.
Adding Iris + a shader pack on top re-introduces rendering cost. Expect roughly half the FPS you had with just Sodium. If your FPS drops below playable, lower the render distance to 12 chunks and disable volumetric fog in the shader settings.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to disable Sodium or Iris to use the X-Ray resource pack?
No. The X-Ray pack is a texture-only resource pack. It swaps block textures for transparent PNGs and does not use any shader or rendering feature that Sodium or Iris would conflict with. Keep both running.
Will Iris shaders hide the ores I am trying to see?
Most shaders respect block transparency. A few shader packs with aggressive fog or custom sky rendering can make underground caves look dimmer, but ores themselves stay visible. If a shader genuinely hides ores, switch to a lighter shader like BSL or Complementary — both render transparent blocks as expected.
What is the install order? Do I add the pack before or after Sodium?
Order does not matter. Sodium and Iris load as mods via Fabric; the X-Ray pack loads as a resource pack from Options → Resource Packs. They operate at different layers and cannot conflict.
Does the X-Ray pack hurt FPS when using Sodium?
Sodium actually benefits from the pack. Transparent block textures skip the usual rendering path for opaque surfaces, so Sodium has less geometry to draw. Expect FPS to hold steady or improve slightly versus vanilla textures.
Can I use the X-Ray pack with Distant Horizons?
Yes. Distant Horizons renders LODs beyond your regular render distance but does not replace nearby chunk rendering. Your X-Ray pack works as normal on nearby chunks. Distant chunks outside your render distance will not show ores because Distant Horizons only renders block colors, not block types.