
Gamepad Hotbar
A mod for Minecraft which makes the HUD hotbar more gamepad friendly by rearranging the slots and adding new control binds.
Screenshots





About this Mod
Gamepad Hotbar
Supports NeoForge and Fabric.
Gamepad Hotbar is a client mod for Minecraft which makes the HUD hotbar more gamepad friendly by rearranging the slots and adding new control binds.
The first 8 slots of the hotbar are split into four pairs and placed into adjacent quadrants on one side of the screen. The 9th and off-hand slots are placed into their own pair on the other side of the screen. They're arranged to resemble the directional-pad and face buttons of a standard game controller.
In each of the in-game menu screens, this mod adds distinct icons to each of the inventory hotbar slots to make it clear where each gamepad hotbar slot corresponds.
Control binds 🎮
Five new control binds have been added for making hotbar slot selection more accessible on gamepads:
Cycle Hotbar Left→ cycles through the item pair in the left quadrantCycle Hotbar Up→ cycles through the item pair in the up quadrantCycle Hotbar Right→ cycles through the item pair in the right quadrantCycle Hotbar Down→ cycles through the item pair in the down quadrantCycle Weapon Slot→ selects the 9th hotbar slot (a.k.a. "weapon slot")
By default, these control binds are unmapped. The ideal way to assign them is to have the cycle hotbar quadrants correspond to directions on your controller's d-pad and map the weapon button to something different, such as a face button or shoulder button. Alternatively, hotbar quadrants could be mapped to the four face buttons, and the weapon slot to a d-pad button.
Configurable ⚙️
A mod configuration screen is included where users can adjust the position of the hotbar on their display. Multiple options are available to suit a variety of user tastes. This also serves to account for mods that alter the positions of other HUD elements.
Available Versions
How to Install Gamepad Hotbar on Your Server
Order Server
Order a Minecraft Java server with at least 3 GB RAM (4 GB recommended).
Set fabric Loader
In the panel under "Egg", select the fabric loader and matching Minecraft version (1.21.11).
Install Mod
Open the mod browser in the dashboard and search for "Gamepad Hotbar". Click "Install" – done! Alternatively, upload the .jar via SFTP to the /mods folder.
Compatibility
Mod Loaders
Minecraft Versions
1.21.11, 1.21.1
Server-side
✗ UnsupportedRecommended RAM
4 GB(min. 3 GB)Frequently Asked Questions
Gamepad Hotbar server crashes on startup – what to do?
Most common cause: wrong fabric version or insufficient RAM. Check the server log (latest.log) for "OutOfMemoryError" or "Mixin" errors. With Mado Hosting: ensure at least 3 GB RAM is allocated and the loader matches the mod version (1.21.11). You can switch loaders with one click in the panel.
Is Gamepad Hotbar compatible with fabric and neoforge?
Gamepad Hotbar officially supports fabric, neoforge for Minecraft 1.21.11, 1.21.1. The Mado dashboard automatically detects incompatible loader combinations.
Server lagging with Gamepad Hotbar – how to optimize performance?
Recommended RAM: 4 GB (per 8 players). Use /spark profiler to check if Gamepad Hotbar consumes the most tick time. Common fixes: reduce server view-distance to 8-10, install "performant" or "starlight" as supplementary mods on Forge. With Mado Hosting, your server runs on NVMe SSDs with dedicated CPU cores for minimal latency.
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Rent Modded Server
Install Gamepad Hotbar with just one click on your server.