Neat Mod Guide: Name Tags, Background Padding, GUI-Free Rendering, and F3 Debug Options

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Neat is a Minecraft utility mod that draws extra information about entities directly on your screen, and this guide covers its name tag behavior, background padding, rendering without the GUI, and F3 debug overlay settings. All of these are handled through the mod's interface and hotkeys rather than through crafting, so you configure them once and then rely on them while playing.

Name Tag Render Behavior

Name Tag Render Behavior controls how entity name tags are drawn by the mod. If you want name tags to appear only in situations where they are actually useful, this is the setting to adjust. The related option max distance without line of sight sets how far away an entity can be before the mod stops showing its name tag when you do not have direct line of sight to it. In practice, this means entities you can see clearly are handled normally, while entities hidden behind terrain or other blocks are only labeled if they are within the distance you allow. Lower values keep your screen cleaner and reduce clutter from entities you cannot actually see; higher values let you keep track of entities through obstacles at longer ranges.

Background Padding

Background Padding adjusts the space around the background drawn behind the mod's on-screen text and bars. Increasing the padding gives the text more breathing room inside its background, while decreasing it makes the background tighter around the content. This is purely a readability and appearance setting: if labels feel cramped or the background feels too large relative to the text, adjust the padding until it looks right.

Rendering Without the GUI

render without gui makes the mod render its information even when the GUI is hidden. Normally, hiding the GUI removes on-screen overlays, but with this option enabled the mod's rendering continues regardless. This is useful when you want a clean view of the game while still seeing the mod's information, such as during recording or when you simply prefer a minimal interface. Toggle the option on when you want the mod's display to persist with the GUI hidden, and off when you want it to disappear along with the rest of the interface.

Health Bar Options

Several settings shape what the mod's health bars show:

Toggle Health Bars turns the health bar display on or off entirely.
Show HP Percentage adds a percentage readout alongside the health bar.
show entity full health and showFullHealth control whether entities at full health are shown at all. If you only care about entities that have taken damage, turn these off so full-health entities are skipped.
only health bar for target restricts the health bar to the entity you are currently targeting, which keeps the display focused.
Display on Players controls whether health bars appear for players.
Color Health Bar by Type colors the health bar according to the entity type, making different kinds of entities easier to tell apart at a glance.

F3 Debug Overlay

show debug with f3 controls whether the mod's debug information is displayed together with the F3 debug overlay. When enabled, the mod's debug output appears alongside the vanilla debug screen; when disabled, it stays hidden even while the F3 overlay is open. Use this when you want the mod's diagnostic information available during troubleshooting or when inspecting entity data, and turn it off when you want the F3 screen to show only its usual contents.

Working With Hotkeys

Most of these features can be toggled while playing. For any action that has a dedicated hotkey, use the corresponding hotkey and set it in the controls menu if you want to change it. Actions without a stated default key should be assigned there before you rely on them in-game. Once your hotkeys are set, you can switch health bars, GUI-free rendering, and debug display on or off without opening any menu, which makes it easy to adapt the display to what you are doing at any moment.