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How to Fix “Cannot find Minecraft 1.20” in OptiFine

Are you getting a “Cannot find Minecraft 1.20” error when you’re downloading OptiFine?

Here’s the second error message, “You must download and start Minecraft 1.20 once in the official launcher”.

OptiFine is a powerful mod for Minecraft that provides various enhancements and optimizations to improve gameplay.

It has features like FPS boost, reduces lag spikes, and creates smoother gameplay.

OptiFine also supports HD textures, shaders, dynamic lights, and variable render distance.

It allows for configurable smooth lighting, and performance optimization options like VSync and Advanced OpenGL.

OptiFine 1.20 fixed the debug screen with a custom font and GUI items with shaders.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to fix “Cannot find Minecraft 1.20” and “You must download and start Minecraft 1.20” in OptiFine.

How to Fix “Cannot find Minecraft 1.20” in OptiFine

To fix “Cannot find Minecraft 1.20” in OptiFine, you need to update and launch Minecraft 1.20 once.

After you’ve launched Minecraft 1.20 once, run the Optifine Executable Jar File, and select “Install” to install OptiFine.

Here’s how to fix “Cannot find Minecraft 1.20” in OptiFine:

  1. Open the Minecraft Launcher, select the latest release (1.20) to update it, and select “Play”.
  2. After you’ve updated Minecraft to 1.20 and launched it once, go to https://optifine.net/downloads, and download OptiFine.
  3. Minecraft 1.20 > Preview versions > Download > Skip the ad > Download.
  4. Run the “.jar” file and select “Install” to install Optifine.
  5. Launch Minecraft and click on the version dropdown box.
  6. Select “OptiFine” and select “Play” to play Minecraft!

TDLR: If you get an error message (cannot find Minecraft 1.20), while downloading OptiFine, make sure to update and launch the 1.20 version of Minecraft first before downloading it.

Tip #2: If you can’t find “OptiFine” in the Minecraft Launcher, select the “Installations” tab, and select “Play” next to “OptiFine”.

Further reading

How to Download OptiFine 1.20 in Minecraft

How to Fix “Failed to connect to the server” in Minecraft

How to Fix Game Already Running in Minecraft

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Lim How Wei

Lim How Wei is the founder of followchain.org, with 8+ years of experience in Social Media Marketing and 4+ years of experience as an active investor in stocks and cryptocurrencies. He has researched, tested, and written thousands of articles ranging from social media platforms to messaging apps.

Lim has been quoted and referenced by major publications and media companies like WikiHow, Fast Company, HuffPost, Vice, New York Post, The Conversation, and many others. One of his articles about the gig economy was quoted by Joe Rogan who hosts The Joe Rogan Experience (arguably the most popular podcast in the world), in the This Past Weekend podcast by Theo Von.

In his free time, Lim plays multiple games like Genshin Impact, League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Hearthstone, RuneScape, and many others. He creates guides, walkthroughs, solutions, and more on games that he plays to help other players with their progression.