open-hands-lib
Open Hands Lib is a library for Minecraft. Each hand has its own hit cooldown, and the damage and tool are passed through the hand that your mod chooses…
⬇ Download on ModrinthOpen Hands Lib
Per-hand melee cooldowns and mining for NeoForge content mods.
If you are not a mod developer, this is a dependency mod.
Install it only when another mod listsopen_hands_libas a required dependency. On its own it does not add items, blocks, or gameplay.
What is Open Hands Lib?
A NeoForge library that splits attack and mining logic across main hand and off hand. Each hand gets its own cooldown timer; your content mod decides when the system is active and which hand to use.
The library owns timers, mixins, and state. Your mod registers enable conditions and handles events — the library does not pick duelist logic for you.
Features
Combat (when enabled for a player)
- Independent cooldown per hand
- Attacks only land at full charge — partial swings are rejected on purpose
- Hand selection via
ResolveAttackHandEvent(alternation, best weapon, etc.) - Damage, enchantments, and weapon effects use the resolved hand
- Optional rules to attack with the main hand while the off hand is using an item
Combat activates when any registered condition is true (OR).
Mining (when enabled)
- Tool, harvest check, speed, and durability follow the resolved hand
- Hand selection via
ResolveMiningHandEvent - Per-block session cache until mining stops
Mining activates when any registered condition is true (OR).
Requirements
| Minecraft | 1.21.1 |
| Java | 21+ |
| Mod ID | open_hands_lib |
| Version | 0.1.1 |
| Author | Thow New Error |
| NeoForge | 21.1.219+ · Kotlin for Forge 5.9.0+ |
| Fabric | Loader 0.16.14+ · Fabric API · Fabric Language Kotlin |
Installation
- Install NeoForge
- Install Kotlin for Forge
- Install Open Hands Lib and the content mod that depends on it
Do not rename the mod or swap the jar for an unofficial build in public modpacks.
For mod developers
Register when your gameplay should turn on, then listen for hand events:
OpenHandsLib.registerEnableCondition(
ResourceLocation.fromNamespaceAndPath("your_mod", "dual_wield"),
) { player -> /* your check */ true }
NeoForge.EVENT_BUS.register(object {
@SubscribeEvent
fun onResolveAttackHand(event: ResolveAttackHandEvent) {
event.hand = InteractionHand.MAIN_HAND
}
@SubscribeEvent
fun onAttackHandCompleted(event: AttackHandCompletedEvent) {
// alternation, etc.
}
})
Mining: registerMiningEnableCondition + ResolveMiningHandEvent.
Public API
mod.openhandslib.api.OpenHandsLib— entry pointResolveAttackHandEvent,AttackHandCompletedEvent,OpenHandsCombatStateClearEventResolveMiningHandEvent
- Edition: Minecraft Java
- File type: .jar
- Minecraft version listed: 1.21.1
- How to install: Install the matching mod loader (Forge, Fabric or NeoForge) for your Minecraft version. → Download the .jar. → Put it in the .minecraft/mods folder and launch that loader profile.
- Where to get it: Opens on Modrinth — not every file is mirrored on our own servers.
Install steps are the general flow for this file type — How to install Minecraft Java mods & modpacks walks through it step by step.
- Ships as open_hands_lib-neoforge-1.21.1-0.1.1.jar — drop this file into the mods folder
- Download size: 111 KB
- Download link checked 21 Aug 2026 — working
These come from our own check of the pack file, not from the source page.