Getting a group into modded Minecraft has two halves, and most guides only cover the first one.

The first half is everyone running identical mods - because one missing mod or one mismatched version and nobody connects. The second half is the world itself, which no modpack export includes. This guide covers both, per launcher.

What a Modpack Export Actually Contains

Before the steps, the thing worth understanding: a modpack export is usually a list, not a bundle.

Mods pulled from CurseForge or Modrinth get referenced by project and version rather than packed into the file. Your own changes - configs, keybinds, resource packs, scripts - get bundled in as “overrides”. This is why a 400-mod pack can export to a file a few megabytes in size, and why the first launch on your friend’s machine needs an internet connection while it fetches everything.

It also means the export is exactly the mods and settings, and nothing else. Not your base, not your world, not your character.

How to Share a CurseForge Modpack

  1. In the CurseForge app, go to Minecraft -> My Modpacks.
  2. Click the … (three dots) next to the modpack’s Play button.
  3. Choose Export Profile and confirm which files to include.
  4. Send the resulting .zip to your friends.
  5. They use Create Custom Profile -> Import and point it at the .zip.

The instance itself lives at C:\Users\<YourUsername>\curseforge\minecraft\Instances\<ModpackName>\, which is also where you will find the saves folder when you come to share the world.

How to Share a Modrinth Modpack

Modrinth uses its own format, .mrpack, which the Modrinth App and Prism Launcher both understand.

  1. In the Modrinth App, open the instance and export it as a .mrpack.
  2. Send the file.
  3. Your friends open it with the Modrinth App, or import it into Prism Launcher.

Because .mrpack is an open format rather than a launcher-specific one, it is the most portable option if your group is not all using the same launcher.

How to Share a Prism Launcher Modpack

Prism exports to both formats, which makes it the useful middle ground:

  1. Right-click the instance in your instance list.
  2. Choose Export Instance.
  3. Pick the Modrinth (.mrpack) or CurseForge (.zip) format, depending on what your friends use.
  4. Review the file list - Prism shows you what will be bundled as overrides - and export.

Prism instances live at %APPDATA%\PrismLauncher\instances\<InstanceName>\.minecraft\, note the leading dot on .minecraft.

How to Share tModLoader Mods

Terraria’s modding scene works differently - there is no export-a-file step, but there is an equivalent.

Mods live in Documents\My Games\Terraria\tModLoader\Mods on Windows, a separate folder from vanilla Terraria. Rather than copying that folder around, use tModLoader’s own Mod Packs feature in the mod menu: it saves your currently enabled mod list as a named pack, so everyone can enable the same set and let the in-game mod browser download them.

Worlds and characters sit in the neighbouring Worlds and Players folders, again separate from vanilla.

The Half That Exports Do Not Cover

Every method above gets your group onto identical mods. None of them share the world.

Worlds live in the instance’s own saves folder:

CurseForge:  C:\Users\<You>\curseforge\minecraft\Instances\<Pack>\saves\<World>\
Prism:       %APPDATA%\PrismLauncher\instances\<Instance>\.minecraft\saves\<World>\

Which puts you back in the familiar spot: the world exists on one person’s machine, and the group plays when that person is around. Groups usually solve it by zipping the world folder into Discord after a session, which works right up until two people host from copies made at different times and an evening’s building quietly vanishes.

A dedicated server solves it properly - the world lives somewhere neutral and always-on - at the cost of a monthly bill and keeping server-side mods in step with everyone’s client.

Keeping the World in Sync Too

SaveSync handles the second half: it keeps the world folder synchronized across every PC in the group, so whoever is free tonight opens the current world and hosts. Everyone runs the mods locally through their own launcher, exactly as the modpack export set them up.

  1. Share the modpack using the steps above, so everyone is on identical mods.
  2. Install SaveSync on every PC that might host.
  3. Create a sync group and invite your friends via Steam.
  4. Point SaveSync at the world, and it syncs after each session.
  5. Anyone hosts next, opening the current world to LAN for the rest.

One Pack, One World, Any Host

Modpack exports solved mod parity years ago. The world save is the part still being emailed around, and it is the part that decides whether your group plays tonight.

Launcher-specific walkthroughs: CurseForge, Prism Launcher, Modrinth App, FTB App and tModLoader. If your host is the bottleneck, see taking turns hosting a Minecraft world.