Should one report the problems with the automatic installation for mods or add them directly as a pull request to cf-exclude-include.json?

[JanisPlayer]

I have a question about the AUTO_CURSEFORGE function for mods. So, I understood one thing, automatic installation saves absolutely no time for modpacks where client and server mods are different. Apparently, you can use CF_EXCLUDE_MODS and CF_FORCE_INCLUDE_MODS to adjust mods that don't belong and mods that do belong.

However, there is also the cf-exclude-include.json. Should one create this file only for oneself, or should mods be added with a pull request? Engineer's Life 2 is one such mod that cost me a lot of time for this reason.

Anyway, I don't want to manually search for and exclude every mod from the list by Project ID. For this, I needed a file sync program to compare the differences in the mod folder. Anyway, I didn't feel like wasting more than 2 hours with a bunch of crashes, and then I found the old approach. Yes, this method works significantly faster and better; the server was immediately up.

So, since I don't want to consider the time completely wasted, I'm sharing my information for the modpack. Maybe it helps someone to create a CF_EXCLUDE_INCLUDE_FILE so that this mod also runs.

For those who want to get Docker running, I recommend the following Docker Compose:

version: "3.8"

services:
  mc:
    image: itzg/minecraft-server:java8-multiarch
    environment:
      EULA: "TRUE"
      TYPE: "CURSEFORGE"
      VERSION: "1.16.5"
      CF_API_KEY: '<$$You$$API$$Key$$ or  ${CF_API_KEY}>'
      CF_PAGE_URL: "https://www.curseforge.com/minecraft/modpacks/engineers-life-2/files/4984975"
      CF_SERVER_MOD: "Serverpack.zip"
      CF_EXCLUDE_MODS: "297038, 325020, 270441, 287443"
      MAX_MEMORY: "4G"
      OPS: "<your_name>"
    ports:
      - "25565:25565"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/data
    stdin_open: true
    tty: true
    restart: unless-stopped

Simply download EL2-Serverpack-1.18a and move it to the data directory, naming it Serverpack.zip.

Here is the promised information for the modpack:

List of all missing mods:

BetterDefaultBiomes-1.16.4+-Alpha 2.6.1.jar (Cannot be loaded..)
betterendforge-1.16.5-1.6.3.jar (Cannot be loaded.)
Controlling-7.0.0.29.jar
CTM-MC1.16.1-1.1.2.6.jar
JustEnoughResources-1.16.5-0.12.1.128.jar
modernfix-forge-5.11.0+mc1.16.5.jar
moreoverlays-1.18.19-mc1.16.5.jar
MouseTweaks-2.14-mc1.16.2.jar
namepain-1.5.0 forge-1.16.x.jar
nerb-1.16.5-0.3.1-FORGE.jar (Cannot be loaded.)
starlight-1.2.jar (Cannot be loaded.)
Tips-1.16.5-4.0.18.jar
WailaHarvestability-mc1.16.x-forge-1.1.15.jar

Mods that could not be downloaded are listed in MODS_NEED_DOWNLOAD.txt:

Mod	Version Name	Filename	Download page
BetterEnd (Forge)	betterendforge-1.16.5-1.6.3	betterendforge-1.16.5-1.6.3.jar	Download
BetterDefaultBiomes	BetterDefaultBiomes-1.16.4+-Alpha 2.6.1	BetterDefaultBiomes-1.16.4+-Alpha 2.6.1.jar	Download
Starlight x Create	Starlight x Create - v1.2	starlight-1.2.jar	Download
Not Enough Recipe Bo...	nerb-1.16.5-0.3.1-FORGE	nerb-1.16.5-0.3.1-FORGE.jar	Download

List of all mods that should not be in the server pack:

betteranimalmodels-1.16.5-5.6.0-forge.jar (Crash)
BetterF3-1.1.3-forge-1.16.5.jar
BH-Menu-1.16.5-1.3.jar
CraftPresence-Forge-1.16.5-Release-1.8.9.jar (Crash)
drippyloadingscreen_forge_1.5.1_MC_1.16.2-1.16.5.jar
Durability101-forge-1.16-0.0.4.jar (Crash)
ezzoom-1.16.4-1.1.1.jar
fancymenu_2.3.7_MC_1.16.2-1.16.5.jar
ItemPhysicLite_v1.4.8_mc1.16.5.jar (Crash)
konkrete_forge_1.3.3_MC_1.16.2-1.16.5.jar
lootbeams-1.16.5-release-july1722.jar
modernfix-forge-5.11.1+mc1.16.5.jar (This mod is fine, it's just a different version.)
nopotionshift_1.16.4-1.6.1.jar
sodium-forge-2.9.10+rev.ea6353c.jar
textrue_embeddium_options-0.1.2+mc1.16.5.jar

[itzg]

Thank you so much for sharing your research. Having done this several times now I can definitely appreciate how much tedious effort and time it takes to identify and test the exclusions.

To answer your question, most of the time I wouldn't expect people to submit PRs to add global exclusions -- just get your server up and move on; however, it is much appreciated and helps the community when contributed back to the list: https://github.com/itzg/docker-minecraft-server/blob/master/files/cf-exclude-include.json

Please direct some of your frustration at the mod authors. They are the ones that didn't properly write the code to skip server side registration. In the documentation I provide information that you can provide to those authors to educate them.

[JanisPlayer]

Okay, thanks for the response. Many mods labeled as "only client" in their descriptions seem to lack the code preventing them from loading on the server. I am not intended for server use.

I just checked if it's possible to determine whether a mod is for the client or server using the Curseforge API. Unfortunately, the result is negative. The only potentially useful information is the categories and descriptions.

There is an isServerPack field, but strangely, there is no corresponding value for whether it is an "only client" mod. The only viable option seems to be retrieving the description via the API and searching for the string "only client."

So, I wanted to ask how you usually filter "only client" mods. I haven't found the code for that. While this feature is great, as mods are more up-to-date than in the server pack file, the challenge lies in developers putting the information in the description rather than the code.

Additionally, some modpacks require special treatment, as a mod intended for the server might actually be a client mod. Sometimes, mods in server packs are included in their skip list, which has confused me.

For these reasons, I prefer the other option. During my search, I also found your documentation website, which I should have checked earlier. It's more detailed than the GitHub readme. While browsing the repository, I came across some Docker Compose files with configurations for modpacks.

[itzg]

There is an isServerPack field, but strangely, there is no corresponding value for whether it is an "only client" mod. The only viable option seems to be retrieving the description via the API and searching for the string "only client."

So, I wanted to ask how you usually filter "only client" mods. I haven't found the code for that. While this feature is great, as mods are more up-to-date than in the server pack file, the challenge lies in developers putting the information in the description rather than the code.

Oh, it gets "better". There is indeed the gameVersions field of the CurseForge File schema which should contain the value "server" if it is a server-allowed mod. If it contains "client", then it's a client-only mod. Sometimes it contains neither in which case the code has to assume it is for either. Here's the code that processes that field. But guess what? Even when being published the mod authors are not correctly setting the field. They had two opportunities to get it right 😒

Thanks mentioning the README content. It is hidden behind a collapsed element, but I need to finally delete it off to avoid confusion from search engines.