How to find Alex's Caves biomes

The six Alex's Caves biomes are rare on purpose, roughly as uncommon as mushroom fields in the vanilla game. The mod gives you a trail to follow, and it starts in a small room underground.

1. Find an underground cabin

Underground cabins are small structures that generate below the surface in most Overworld biomes. They are the intended starting point. Inside you should find a Spelunkery Table and a barrel holding cave tablets, and sometimes a copy of the Cave Compendium, the mod's in-game guide book.

Cabins are easiest to spot while exploring natural caves and ravines, so bring torches and a way back to the surface. A cabin's barrel usually holds several tablets for a single biome.

2. Understand cave tablets

Each cave tablet belongs to one of the mod's biomes, but which one is hidden until the tablet is researched. Tablets are not only found in cabins. According to the community wiki, vanilla structures can also hold them:

Loot chances vary and can change between versions, so treat this as a list of places worth checking rather than a guarantee.

3. Research tablets into codices

Use the Spelunkery Table to research a tablet. A successful result is a Cave Codex for that biome. Using a codex in your main hand unlocks chapters of that biome's entry in the Cave Compendium, in order: general information, resources, inhabitants and utilities. Once all four chapters are unlocked, extra codices are still useful, because of the next step.

4. Craft a cave biome map

Combine one Cave Codex with eight paper to craft a Cave Biome Map for that codex's biome. The map starts blank. Hold it and use it, and it begins scanning a radius of about 10,000 blocks for the target biome. That search can take a few minutes.

If the biome isn't found, the map stays blank, a chat message tells you the attempt failed, and you can try again from somewhere far away. Cave maps can be displayed in item frames, but they can't be zoomed out, copied or edited in a cartography table.

5. Make the journey

Expect a long trip, often several thousand blocks. Bring food, spare tools, a bed and plenty of torches. Each biome has its own hazards, so read the Compendium chapters you've unlocked before you dig down. Our guide to all six biomes gives a quick overview of what to pack for each.

If you're stuck

• No cabins anywhere: explore wider cave systems, or start a fresh world created after the mod was installed. Structures only generate in new chunks.
• The map keeps failing: travel a long way before trying again. The biomes are rare by design.
• Something else is wrong: see the troubleshooting guide.