Citadel (1.14.4 → 1.20.1) – A Lightweight Library That Just Works

When I first bumped into Citadel, it wasn’t because I went looking for it. Like most players, I discovered it the hard way: trying to launch Alex’s Mobs or Ice and Fire, only to have my game crash. A quick search later, I realized the missing piece was Citadel. I dropped it into my mods folder, restarted, and suddenly everything worked.

And that’s exactly what makes Citadel so good. It doesn’t ask for attention, it doesn’t come with complicated config files or flashy menus. You install it once, and then it silently keeps your mod ecosystem alive.

My Experience Using Citadel

I’ve been using Citadel across several modpacks now, and honestly, I’m impressed. If you don’t have high demands for fancy configuration or endless customization, it’s more than enough. It’s lightweight, fast, and doesn’t clutter your game. In fact, I often forget it’s there which is exactly the point.

There are no extra GUI settings to tweak, no walls of options to scroll through. If you’ve ever dealt with heavy libraries like GeckoLib, you’ll appreciate how Citadel just “works” out of the box.

On both client and server, I never noticed extra lag or overhead. The footprint is so small that performance impact is basically nonexistent. The only time Citadel calls attention to itself is when you forget to install it and suddenly half your mods refuse to run.

Strengths of Citadel

• Lightweight & efficient – installs in seconds, barely noticeable in performance.
• Reliable dependency – powers mods like Alex’s Mobs and Ice and Fire.
• Minimalist design – no unnecessary bloat, no endless config menus.
• Modern replacement for LLibrary – finally something stable for Minecraft 1.14.4+ to 1.20.1.

Weaknesses of Citadel

• Invisible to players – there’s nothing to “see” or interact with, which makes it hard to appreciate.
• Single point of failure – if Citadel breaks, every mod that relies on it breaks too.
• Limited scope – not as feature-rich as GeckoLib or Architectury; it focuses on entities and animation support only.
• Sparse documentation – most of what you learn about Citadel comes from mod pages that depend on it, not from Citadel itself.

How Citadel Compares to Other Libraries?

• LLibrary (Legacy): Once the standard, now outdated and buggy. Citadel exists to replace it, and it does so brilliantly lighter, more stable, and compatible with modern versions.
• GeckoLib: Much more ambitious, offering a full animation suite with keyframes, easing, and particle/sound events. GeckoLib is powerful, but heavy. Citadel is simpler, faster, and easier to manage.
• Architectury API: A cross-loader giant. Architectury supports items, networking, events, and more across Forge and Fabric. It’s broader in scope, but Citadel’s specialty in entity handling makes it the leaner choice for creature-focused mods.

If Architectury is a multi-tool and GeckoLib is a full animation studio, Citadel is the reliable screwdriver that just gets the job done.

Citadel is not a mod you install for fun. It doesn’t add mobs, blocks, or gameplay. What it does is far less glamorous but arguably more important: it keeps your creature mods running smoothly.

From my experience, it’s the kind of mod you never think about and that’s its greatest strength. No bloated configs, no performance hit, no drama. Just stability.

If you’re playing Alex’s Mobs, Ice and Fire, or any mod that demands Citadel, do yourself a favor: install it right away. If you don’t, you’ll quickly realize how many mods refuse to work without it.

“I’ve used Citadel, and I’m actually impressed especially if you don’t need anything fancier.”