SkyFactory Modpack: The Iconic Series, SkyFactory 5 & How to Install

The concept: from tree to factory

The whole series runs on the same loop: a tree, one block of dirt, the void. Wood becomes tools, leaves drop saplings, and each tier turns your island a little more into a factory — resource generation, power, machines, mass storage, up to endgame content like Draconic Evolution. SkyFactory cemented the idea that scarcity is the best gameplay engine: when nothing exists, producing each thing becomes a puzzle.

SkyFactory 4 evolved the formula with Sky Orchards: instead of the random sieving of classic skyblocks, you grow resource trees — iron trees, copper trees, redstone trees — and choose what you produce. SkyFactory 5 changes systems again: resources flow through colours, dyes harvested from dripstone, creeper explosions or mob loot, which act as a universal raw material.

SkyFactory 4: still the reference

Seven years after release, SkyFactory 4 remains the most played and most recommended installment in the series. A useful correction: it runs on Minecraft 1.12.2 — not 1.14 as is sometimes claimed — and its last release, 4.2.4, dates from December 2021. The pack is finished, stable and thoroughly polished: that is an asset, not a flaw, and servers run it without surprises.

Its two signatures: prestige, an optional system that locks mods and items behind a point-based progression that carries over between worlds — ideal for replaying the pack under constraints — and more than 30 world types to choose from, from classic skyblock to full variants with their own recipes and advancements. Add the staged advancements and the in-house humour, and you have modded skyblock’s quintessential family pack.

SkyFactory 5: the sequel exists, with its gambles

Yes, SkyFactory 5 is out: released on December 31, 2024, on Forge for Minecraft 1.20.1, with 293 mods and already close to 1.5 million downloads. The pack bets on a colour-based resource system — harvesting dyes to craft almost everything — and on gateways, combat portals that unlock on-demand mob spawning, with a trophy for each completion. Create, Mystical Agriculture, RFTools and Draconic Evolution cover the industrial and endgame side.

Worth knowing before you choose: the latest update (5.0.8) dates from March 2025 and development has been quiet since. The pack is playable and complete, but less polished than SkyFactory 4 — the community remains split between the originality of the colour system and the proven Sky Orchards formula.

How to install SkyFactory, step by step

Where to download SkyFactory has long been a source of confusion: FTB left CurseForge in 2021 for its own launcher, the FTB App, before part of its catalogue returned to CurseForge in 2024. The SkyFactory packs, developed by Darkosto’s team and merely published under the FTB banner, stayed downloadable on CurseForge the whole time — the simplest route in 2026, with the FTB App as a valid alternative.

1. 1

   Install the CurseForge app

   Download the CurseForge app from curseforge.com and link it to your Minecraft Java installation.

2. 2

   Search for the right installment

   Search for SkyFactory 4 (listed as FTB Presents SkyFactory 4, 13.8M downloads) or SkyFactory 5, depending on your pick. Check that the author is Darkosto.

3. 3

   Install the pack

   Click Install: the app fetches Forge and the full mod list automatically. SkyFactory 4 is lightweight, so the download is quick.

4. 4

   Allocate RAM

   Allocate 4 GB for SkyFactory 4, 6 GB for SkyFactory 5, in the profile settings. There is no point going higher.

5. 5

   Pick your world type and play

   On SkyFactory 4’s first launch, choose your world type (Sky Islands for the classic experience) and decide whether to enable prestige. Then open the advancements tab: it is what guides progression.

Recommended setup

SkyFactory 4 is one of the most technically accessible packs around: 1.12.2 with 200 mods runs on modest machines, 4 GB of allocated RAM is enough, and the absence of terrain generation lightens the load further. SkyFactory 5, on 1.20.1, asks for one notch more: 6 GB allocated and a decent CPU, especially once Create factories sprawl.

In both cases, keep render distance low (8 chunks is plenty above the void) and beware of giant mob farms: they, not the machines, are what tanks performance on older game versions.

Playing SkyFactory in multiplayer

SkyFactory is a community-server classic: each team grows its island, advancements are shared, and the race to the first reactor or first automated farm drives the early map. SkyFactory 4 ages remarkably well in multiplayer — a stable pack, cheap to host, with a gentle on-ramp for newcomers. Check before joining: the prestige mode (on or off — it changes the whole progression), the island policy and the age of the map.

The modded skyblock server ranking lists active SkyFactory servers alongside the other packs of the genre; player votes flag the communities that are genuinely alive.