Set up the Cave Dweller mod on Minecraft

Cave Dweller adds one horror mob and a layer of extra cave sounds. The CurseForge page describes a creature that stalks you while you explore caves, with the sounds growing more intense as it gets closer. This guide sets up Gargin's original Forge mod, which is built for Minecraft 1.19.3 only.

Checked against Cave Dweller 0.1.1 and GeckoLib 4.0.6 on Forge 1.19.3, October 2026.

What you need

• Forge on Minecraft 1.19.3. The mod file asks for Forge 44 or newer and a Minecraft version from 1.19.3 up to, but not including, 1.20. The panel picks Java 17 for you.
• GeckoLib 4.0.4 or newer. The CurseForge page lists it as the one required dependency. 4.0.6 is the newest Forge build for 1.19.3 there.
• The same jars on every player's computer. The mod file asks for Forge, GeckoLib and Minecraft on both sides.

Several other projects use the name. Better Cave Dweller and Cave Dweller Evolved are separate mods, and Cave Dweller Fabric is a Fabric port on Modrinth. None of them are covered here.

Pick a file

The CurseForge page has four files, all for Forge 1.19.3:

• CaveNoise and Cavenoise-Stalking are the standard versions. Cavenoise-Stalking is the newer, 0.1.1.
• CaveNoise-Nightmare and Cavenoise-Stalking-Nightmare are the Nightmare versions. The page says Nightmare makes the monster spawn far more often and is mainly for testing.

Keep only one in the mods folder. The two 0.1.1 files use the same mod id, cavenoise. The Mods tab installs the newest file, which is Cavenoise-Stalking-Nightmare. For the standard one, see the manual route under Common problems.

Switch the server to Forge 1.19.3

1. Open JAR Manager, under More in the left rail.
2. Set Server software to Forge and Minecraft version to 1.19.3, then press Apply change.
3. Leave Take a backup first ticked, press and hold Confirm & reinstall, and wait for the console to finish.

Your world is kept, but configuration files may be reset. Change your Minecraft version or mod loader has the detail.

Install it

1. Open the Mods tab under Content and set Search on to CurseForge, where Gargin's page is.
2. Search for Cave Dweller and press Install on the one by Gargin.
3. A window titled "Needs 1 more add-on" should name GeckoLib. Press Install all (2).
4. Go to Console, press Start, and accept the EULA prompt the first time.

To see it without waiting for a spawn, run give <player> cavenoise:cave_dweller_spawn_egg in the Console to hand a player a spawn egg. The entity id is cavenoise:cave_dweller.

Settings and removal

The project page documents no config file and no commands. To turn the mod off, open the Installed view of the Mods tab, press the trash icon on Cave Dweller, confirm, and restart. Disable keeps the jar but renames it so the server skips it.

Common problems

• The server stops at start and names geckolib. GeckoLib is missing or older than 4.0.4. Install it from the Mods tab.
• The tab says the author only allows downloads through CurseForge's own app. Download the file from the CurseForge page, delete the installed jar if there is one, and upload the new file into the mods folder with Upload files in the File Manager.
• You want the standard file, not Nightmare. Download Cavenoise-Stalking from the CurseForge page and upload it to mods the same way, after deleting the Nightmare jar.
• A player cannot join. They need Forge 1.19.3, GeckoLib and the same Cave Dweller file. See Join a modded server from your launcher.