Guide API Wiki

Guide-API serves as a foundational utility for the Minecraft modding ecosystem. Its primary purpose is to allow developers to register and display custom guide books for their mods. By handling the technical complexities of GUI rendering, book registration, and content organization, it ensures that players can access comprehensive tutorials and item information directly within the game environment.

Unlike many other documentation mods that rely heavily on external JSON files, Guide-API is primarily code-driven, allowing for dynamic content that can adapt based on a mod's configuration or the player's progress. It is a lightweight solution that has been adopted by numerous high-profile mods to improve user experience and accessibility.

The mod adds a central item and a dedicated organizational tab to the game.

The Guide Book

• Item ID: guideapi:itemguidebook
• Description: This is the core item of the mod. While Guide-API provides the base item, its appearance, title, and content are defined by the mod using the API. For example, Blood Magic and Vampirism both use this item to provide their respective manuals.
• Functionality: Right-clicking with a Guide Book opens the interactive interface. The book can store thousands of pages of text, images, and recipes.

Creative Tab

Guide-API adds a custom Creative Tab specifically for guide books. Any mod that registers a book through this API will have its book automatically placed in this tab, making it easy for players to find all available documentation in one location.

The Guide-API interface is designed for ease of use and high readability. It features several key mechanical components:

• Categories: Content is grouped into high-level categories (e.g., "Basics," "Rituals," "Tools"). Each category has its own icon and title.
• Entries: Within each category, players find specific entries. An entry is a collection of pages focused on a single topic, such as a specific block or mechanic.
• Search Bar: A built-in search functionality allows players to quickly filter through entries by typing keywords, significantly reducing the time spent looking for specific information.
• Navigation Controls: The GUI includes standard forward and back buttons for page turning, as well as a "Home" button to return to the category selection screen.
• Automatic Formatting: The API automatically handles line wrapping and page breaks. This ensures that localized text (translations) fits perfectly within the book's margins without manual adjustment by the developer.

Guide-API supports a variety of page types to convey information effectively. These pages can display static text, dynamic recipes, or even 3D models.

Recipe Examples

The mod includes a configuration file located at config/guideapi.cfg. This file allows players and modpack creators to adjust the behavior of the API.

• Enable Logging: Toggles whether the mod should output debug information to the console. Useful for troubleshooting book registration issues.
• Perform Update Check: When enabled, the mod will check for newer versions of the API on startup.
• Custom Book Spawning: Some implementations allow the configuration to determine if players receive a guide book automatically upon their first spawn in a new world.

As a library mod, Guide-API does not add mobs, biomes, or structures of its own. Instead, it is the engine that powers the documentation for other mods. Notable mods that utilize Guide-API for their in-game manuals include:

• Blood Magic: Uses the API for the "Sanguine Scientiem."
• Vampirism: Provides a comprehensive guide for becoming a vampire or hunter.
• Sanguimancy: An expansion for Blood Magic that adds its own documentation entries.
• Overlord: Documentation for managing skeleton armies.
• Crossroads: Technical documentation for its complex machinery and alchemy systems.

When reporting issues with Guide-API, users should provide the following information to ensure a swift resolution:

• Minecraft version

• Guide-API version

• Versions of any mods potentially related to the issue

• Relevant screenshots of the GUI or error

• For crashes: Steps to reproduce and the latest Forge log or crash log.

Distributor rights are automatically granted to any user who wishes to include Guide-API in their modpack, provided the intent is non-malicious and non-commercial. The mod is licensed under the MIT license (in newer builds) or MMPLv2 (in legacy builds), allowing for broad compatibility and redistribution within the community.