From the Ground Up
Minecraft Java mod. Downloads from the MC Java Mods app on Android.
⬇ Download on CurseForge
Short description
From the Ground Up adds research into Minecraft. All vanilla items are tied to a technology and you can only craft those items when you have successfully researched that technology. You do this by experimenting with items until you get the desired result. The research is in the form of puzzles, inspired by the research in Thaumcraft. The mod also includes a nifty research book to see what you've learned and to look at what you can research next. The GUI of this book is greatly inspired by the Achievement GUI.
Thanks to Thaumatarge for the artwork and extra ideas!
If you found any bugs or problems, please report them in the GitHub repository. Experimental versions can be found here.
You're able to add custom technologies yourself! More info can be found in the Github Wiki.
FTGU is free to use in any modpack if you link to this page in some way
Recipes and info
Recipes:
Parchment:
Idea Table:
Research Table:
Research Book:
Magnifying Glass:
More in-depth look at the blocks and items:
Parchment
Parchment is used in crafting recipes and researching. There are three types of parchment:
- Blank parchment, which is only used in crafting recipes
- Idea parchment, which is used in researching
- Research parchment, which is the final product of researching
When you right-click research parchment, you research the technology and it changes back to a blank parchment.
Idea Table
The Idea Table is the first table used in researching. The Idea Table requires one feather and some parchment to function. You can insert up to three items and if you made the correct combination, you get an Idea Parchment.
Research Table
The Research Table is the last table needed to research technologies. It requires a feather and an Idea Parchment to run. The Research Table supports multiple types of puzzles: the match puzzle and the connecting puzzle.
In the match puzzle, you need to insert the correct items to finalise your research. The Research Table does help you with the items. It gives you vague hints in the slots that need to be filled with a specific item. Sometimes multiple items are valid for a given slot.
In the connecting puzzle, you see an item to the left and an item to the right. You need to connect them with 3 items in between. Items connect if one item is used to make the other.
Research Book
When you open your Research Book, which you get when you join a new world, you see all the technologies which you have researched and which you are able to research. When you click on a technology that you have researched in this book, it shows you a list of items and blocks which the technology allows you to craft. When hovering over the icon of one of these items, you can see the recipe(s) of that item.
Magnifying Glass
The magnifying glass allows you to scan blocks. If you successfully do so, a hint in a match puzzle will become clearer. You do need to place the magnifying glass in the Research Table.
- Edition: Minecraft Java
- File type: .jar
- 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 CurseForge — 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 ftgu-1.12.2-b1.3.12.jar — drop this file into the mods folder
- Download size: 296 KB
- Download link checked 13 Oct 2026 — working
These come from our own check of the pack file, not from the source page.