Minecraft Launcher Licenses and Platform Support on mc-launcher.tayou.org

mc-launcher.tayou.org compares 14 Minecraft Java Edition launchers and, for each one, lists a license, supported platforms, look-and-feel options, implementation languages, and core toolkits. The license column is where you check open-source status: entries range from GPLv3 and LGPL-2.1 to MS-PL, AGPL3, "source available," and proprietary. The platforms column tells you whether a launcher runs on Linux, Windows, or MacOS, and in a few cases Android or iOS. Use these two columns together — a permissively licensed launcher is only useful to you if it runs on your operating system.

What the license column actually tells you

The site lists licenses per launcher rather than grouping them by type, so read each row individually. Based on the comparison table, the entries fall into these groups:

Two distinctions matter when you read this column. First, "source available" is not the same as an open-source license: QWERTZ Launcher's code can be viewed, but the site does not label it with an OSI-style license the way it does for the GPL entries. Second, the GDLauncher rows are split into "Carbon" and "Legacy," and both carry the same GPLv3-or-newer label — the difference between them shows up in the language and toolkit columns, not the license.

If open-source status is a hard requirement for you, the GPL, LGPL, MS-PL, and AGPL rows are the ones to shortlist. If you only care that a launcher works, the license column is informational and the platforms column becomes the deciding factor.

Checking platform support before you commit

The platforms column is the practical filter. Every launcher in the table lists Linux, Windows, and MacOS except where noted, and the exceptions are worth knowing:

• PoJavLauncher is the only entry listing Android and iOS instead of desktop operating systems.
• QWERTZ Launcher lists Windows and Linux but not MacOS.
• Technic Launcher lists Windows, Linux, and MacOS.
• Vanilla Launcher (old) lists Windows and MacOS but not Linux, while the current Vanilla Launcher lists all three.

So if you are on Linux and want the official launcher, the table points you to the current Vanilla Launcher rather than the old one. If you are on MacOS and were considering QWERTZ Launcher, the table says it is not an option there.

The site's own explanation adds a caveat you should carry into any decision: the list is maintained mostly by one person plus random contributions, and the data "will inevitably get outdated over time." Treat the license and platform entries as a starting point to verify against each launcher's own project page, especially for fast-moving projects.

How look-and-feel, language, and toolkit columns add context

These columns are secondary but help you interpret the license and platform data.

Look & Feel describes how customizable the interface is. Most launchers are marked "Custom," with several noting "(configurable)." MultiMC and Prism Launcher are marked "System (configurable)" and "System (mostly)" respectively, and Vanilla Launcher is "Minecraft Official." This column does not affect licensing or platform support, but it tells you whether a launcher's UI can be reshaped to your preferences.

Languages lists the implementation stack, and it is the clearest signal of how a launcher is built:

• Java-based: ATLauncher, MultiMC, Technic Launcher, Vanilla Launcher, Vanilla Launcher (old)
• Web-tech stacks (HTML, JS, CSS, often with Rust or Java): CurseForge App, FTB App, GDLauncher Carbon, GDLauncher (Legacy), Modrinth App, QWERTZ Launcher
• C++: Prism Launcher
• Java and C: PoJavLauncher

Core Toolkits and Libraries goes one level deeper — Swing for ATLauncher, React and Next.js for CurseForge App, and so on. For most users this is background information; it matters mainly if you want to contribute to a project or judge how actively its stack is maintained.

A practical way to use the table

1. Filter by platform first. Find the rows that list your operating system. This immediately removes launchers that cannot run for you.
2. Then check the license. If you need open-source code, keep only the GPL, LGPL, MS-PL, and AGPL rows. If you need to avoid proprietary software, drop CurseForge App and both Vanilla Launcher entries.
3. Use look-and-feel and language columns to break ties. Among launchers that pass steps 1 and 2, pick based on whether you want a configurable UI and whether the implementation stack matters to you.
4. Verify before installing. Because the site warns its data can go stale, confirm the license and platform list on the launcher's own repository or download page.

The site also includes a theme selector (tayou, light, dark, and many named themes such as nord, dracula, and synthwave) and a filter for launchers, but these are display options for the comparison page itself, not properties of the launchers being compared.