Basalt Launcher vs Onyx Launcher

Basalt Launcher is a free, open-source Minecraft launcher written in Rust for Linux, Windows, and macOS. It keeps saves, mods, resource packs, shaders, settings, and launch options separate for each instance. Users can install and switch among Fabric, Quilt, NeoForge, and Forge, browse Modrinth and CurseForge with compatibility filtering, dependency resolution, changelogs, and update checks, and create an instance from a Modrinth modpack. Multiple Microsoft accounts are supported with device-code sign-in and silent token refresh. Skin and cape tools allow importing, previewing, saving, and applying cosmetics. Basalt can locate compatible Java runtimes and set global or per-instance overrides. Downloads and installs can be monitored, cancelled, or recovered after interruption. Separate launcher and game logs, adjustable log levels, and launch-argument previews aid diagnosis. Installers are provided for the three desktop systems, though testing coverage varies by platform during beta. Basalt is not an official Mojang or Microsoft product.

Onyx Launcher is a free, open-source desktop Minecraft launcher for Windows and Linux. It manages separate instances, imports modpacks and supports Fabric, NeoForge, Forge, Quilt and Vanilla. A built-in Modrinth catalog lets users browse, install and update mods and modpacks, while automatic updates and Java runtime management are included. Onyx can detect, download and isolate Eclipse Temurin Java 8, 17 or 21 as needed. Diagnostic features measure in-game FPS, average frame times and stutters, analyze logs, track memory and garbage-collection pauses, and use Crash Bisect to look for conflicting mods through controlled launches. World Guard creates safety snapshots before risky operations and supports rollbacks. Ghost Mode unloads the launcher window, WebContents and GPU processes from memory when Minecraft starts. Microsoft sign-in uses OAuth Device Flow, and offline mode with custom skins is available. Windows builds are currently unsigned; published SHA-256 checksums can be checked. The MIT-licensed project says it is independent of Microsoft, Mojang Studios and Modrinth.