Is DonutLauncher free?
Yes. There is no paid tier, no premium version, no account to create and no advertising.
Do I need to own Minecraft?
Yes. DonutLauncher runs the copy of Minecraft: Java Edition that your Microsoft account owns. It cannot run Bedrock Edition, and it cannot give you the game.
Does it work offline?
Mostly. An already-installed version launches without a connection, and everything local — instances, mods, the scanner, the crash analyser — works normally. Signing in, downloading versions, refreshing a profile and the assistant all need a connection, and the launcher dims those controls and says why rather than failing when you press them.
Is it a cheat client?
No. It is a launcher: it installs versions, manages instances and starts the game. It contains nothing that changes gameplay, and the opposite in fact — it refuses to run cheat clients, and quarantines them when it finds one.
Will I get banned for using it?
Anti-cheat systems act on what the game does, and the launcher only starts the game. That said, the mods you add are yours: the launcher blocks the cheat clients it recognises, but it cannot promise that every mod from every source is allowed on every server. Check the rules of the server you play on.
Does it work on macOS or Linux?
Windows is the supported platform today. The launcher is built on Electron and a Linux build exists in the build pipeline, but it is not what the release is tested on, and the installer offered on this site is for Windows.
Where do my worlds go?
Inside the instance they belong to: %APPDATA%\DonutLauncher\instances\<id>\minecraft\saves. The instance's Manage panel opens that folder for you.
Can I use my own Java?
Yes — Settings → Java, turn off automatic detection, and point it at a java.exe. The launcher checks that the file is a working runtime before accepting it.
Why are two mods not in my mod list?
Donut Brand and Donut Toaster ship with the launcher and are installed into every Fabric instance before launch. They are the launcher's own watermark, so they are not listed and cannot be switched off from the Mods page. There is an environment-variable safety switch for the case where a game update breaks one of them.
Does the launcher upload my jar files?
No. The scanner reads them on your machine. An assistant overview is written from the findings the local analysis produced — the file itself is never sent, and the report says which strings were included.
Can I turn the telemetry off?
Yes: Settings → Privacy, one switch, and off means nothing is queued at all. Privacy and data lists every payload in full.
How do I uninstall it?
Uninstall it like any Windows application. That removes the program. Your settings, instances and worlds stay in %APPDATA%\DonutLauncher so a reinstall keeps working; delete that folder too and every trace is gone.
How do I get a build early?
Settings → Developer → Allow pre-release updates. Pre-releases are exactly that: expect breakage, and expect to report it.
Something is broken and this page did not help.
Ask the assistant in the corner — it knows the launcher and can read which page you are on. For anything it cannot answer, the community Discord is the place, and Troubleshooting explains how to write a report somebody can act on.