SacredCows is a configurable Minecraft Fabric mod that adds a humorous twist to cow interactions. It punishes players for harming cows with customizable consequences and keeps detailed statistics of cow-related offenses.
- Configurable Punishment: Choose between instant death, damage, or lightning-only effects
- Custom Death Messages: Fully customizable humorous death messages with player placeholders
- Lightning Effects: Dramatic visual lightning strikes (cosmetic only - won't harm cows)
- Scoreboard Tracking: Comprehensive tracking of cow assaults and kills
- Projectile Protection: Prevents cow damage from arrows, snowballs, and other player projectiles
- Permission System: Bypass protection for server operators
- Admin Commands: Reload configuration and view player statistics
- Comprehensive Logging: Debug mode for troubleshooting
- Error Handling: Robust error handling with informative logging
- Multiple Punishment Types: Death, damage amounts, or visual effects only
- Configurable Messages: Edit all death messages to match your server's style
- Scoreboard Control: Enable/disable tracking components independently
- Flexible Settings: Toggle lightning effects, debug mode, and more
- Ensure you have a Fabric Minecraft server (version 1.21.7) set up with Fabric API installed.
- Download the latest
sacredcows-2.0.1.jarfrom the releases section. - Place the JAR file in your server's
modsfolder. - Restart your server.
- Edit
config/sacredcows.propertiesto customize settings (optional). - Use
/sacredcows reloadto apply configuration changes without restarting.
To build the mod from source:
- Ensure you have Java 21 and Gradle installed.
- Clone this repository.
- Run
./gradlew clean buildin the project root directory. - The compiled JAR will be in the
build/libsfolder.
The mod works automatically once installed. Players will be punished for harming cows according to your configuration settings, and their offenses will be tracked on the scoreboard.
- Players who hit cows (directly or with projectiles) are instantly killed
- Lightning effect appears at punishment location (cosmetic only)
- Custom death messages are broadcast
- Statistics are tracked on server scoreboard
| Command | Description | Permission |
|---|---|---|
/sacredcows |
Show mod info and help | Server operator |
/sacredcows reload |
Reload configuration file | Server operator |
/sacredcows stats <player> |
View player's cow-related statistics | Server operator |
Since Fabric doesn't have a built-in permission system, SacredCows uses operator status:
| Permission | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Server Operator | Bypass cow protection and access admin commands | Manual OP assignment |
The mod creates a config/sacredcows.properties file with the following options:
# Enable/disable the mod functionality
settings.enabled=true
# Enable debug logging
settings.debug=false
# Punishment type: DEATH, DAMAGE, LIGHTNING_ONLY
settings.punishment-type=DEATH
# Amount of damage to deal if punishment-type is DAMAGE
settings.damage-amount=10.0
# Enable lightning effect when punishing
settings.lightning-effect=true
# Enable custom death messages
settings.custom-death-messages=true# Enable scoreboard tracking
scoreboard.enabled=true
# Track cow assaults (damage events)
scoreboard.track-assaults=true
# Track cow kills (death events)
scoreboard.track-kills=true
# Objective and display names
scoreboard.assault-objective=cowAssaults
scoreboard.kill-objective=cowKills
scoreboard.assault-display=Cow Assaults
scoreboard.kill-display=Cow Kills# Custom death messages (use %player% as placeholder)
death-messages.0=%player% was moo-rdered for their bovine crimes
death-messages.1=%player% faced divine bovine retribution
death-messages.2=The cows fought back, and %player% lost
death-messages.3=%player% learned the hard way not to mess with cows
death-messages.4=A mysterious force struck down %player% for harming a cow# Permission strings (used with operator status)
permissions.bypass-permission=sacredcows.bypass
permissions.admin-permission=sacredcows.admin- Minecraft Version: 1.21.7
- Server Software: Fabric Server with Fabric API
- Java Version: 21 or higher
- Bypass Control: Added
settings.allow-bypassconfig option to disable admin bypass permissions - Permission Flexibility: Admins can now be subject to cow protection regardless of OP status
- Testing Enhancement: Easier testing without needing to deop administrators
- Complete Fabric Migration: Converted from Bukkit plugin to Fabric mod
- Event System Rewrite: Replaced Mixins with Fabric's event API for better stability
- Enhanced Projectile Detection: Now protects cows from arrows and other player projectiles
- Cosmetic Lightning: Lightning effects no longer harm cows (good praxis!)
- Properties Configuration: Switched from YAML to Java Properties format
- License Change: Released into public domain (CC0-1.0)
- Command Updates: Changed from
/cowmurderto/sacredcows
- Version 1.2.0: Minecraft 1.21.7 support with Paper API migration
- Version 1.1.0: Complete rewrite with configuration system and enhanced features
- Version 1.0.3: Updated for Minecraft 1.21.1 compatibility
SacredCows uses Fabric's event system for reliable cow protection:
ServerLivingEntityEvents.ALLOW_DAMAGEfor preventing cow damageServerLivingEntityEvents.AFTER_DEATHfor tracking kills and custom death messages- Proper projectile source detection for comprehensive protection
- Scoreboard integration using Minecraft's native scoreboard system
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
This project is in the public domain under CC0-1.0.
For support, please open an issue on the GitHub repository.
Use this mod at your own risk. The author is not responsible for any damage to your server, player frustration, or the inevitable cow uprising that may result from their newfound invincibility. Cows, on the other hand, may send thank-you notes.