[Updated] Minecraft: Java Edition crashing or throwing 'Exit code -1' when using or opening Forge, but there's a potential fix

Here’s the crux of the article in video form:

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on March 30, 2022) follows:

Minecraft is a popular open-world sandbox game where you have to explore, survive and build.

The Minecraft building system is full of possibilities, being one of the key aspects of the success of the game. The Internet is full of massive building projects of all kinds, from buildings to entire worlds.

On PC, Minecraft is available in two versions: standard (or ‘Bedrock’) and Java Edition. Minecraft Java Edition is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

You can expand the possibilities of Minecraft: Java Edition through Forge, which is a server that improves the compatibility of the game with mods.

That said, many Minecraft: Java Edition players are facing a crashing issue where they receive an ‘Exit code -1’ error message when using Forge mods (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).

According to multiple reports, the use of Forge mods is causing a crashing issue, an ‘Exit code -1’ message or a ‘Java Runtime Configuration may be invalid’ error message for many Minecraft: Java Edition players.

Hello, I am trying to play 1.18.2 modded but when I try and launch the game with any mods aside from those that are installed and launched with forge it will crash with an exit code 1 and says the Java Runtime Configuration may be invalid. I have re-installed Minecraft, Java and even downgraded the forge version but nothing works.
Source

In some cases, the same ‘Exit code -1’ or ‘Java Runtime Configuration may be invalid’ message may appear to players who don’t have any Forge mod installed on Minecraft: Java Edition (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).

Exit code: 1

Every time I try to launch Minecraft I get a screen that says Invalid java runtime configuration” “exit code 1” I don’t have mods or forge downloaded it’s just straight vanilla. I did download Minecraft before i downloaded java if that matters at all. I also get a screen that says “java exception occurred” any help would be appreciated
Source

Also, some players suggest that all versions of the game (from 1.7.10 to 1.18.2) could be affected.

The issue could be related to the version for which the mod you install was developed. To avoid problems, you should install mods only on the version of the game for which they were developed.

General info: Always prepare for errors when your mods aren’t for THE EXACT version you play. For example, 1.18.1 mods might not work for 1.18.2 and vice versa.
Source

The Java version on your PC could also cause issues. It seems that you should only install the latest versions of Java for Minecraft versions higher than 1.16. For Minecraft versions before v1.16, you will need to use Java 8.

This might be the cause:

Latest Java = 17 -> for MC 1.16+

For older MC versions use Java 8
Source

There is no official acknowledgment of the issue from the developers yet. We will update this story if there is any change in the situation in the future.

12:38 pm (IST): Many players are again reporting the issue where they are getting ‘Exit code -1’ error message. Unfortunately, Mojang support hasn’t yet acknowledged this issue.

11:24 am (IST): A new update is now available for Minecraft players. So, if you are still having this issue then you can download it and see if the error gets fixed.

04:52 pm (IST): According to Mojang’s official bug tracker, the crashing issue with the game has now been resolved.

04:28 pm (IST): Players who have been affected by ‘Exit code -1’ issue are now approaching Minecraft Community Support on Discord to get it fixed.

04:34 pm (IST): A Redditor has suggested a workaround to fix this issue which involves reinstalling the game with all of its contents.

Thanks for the advice guys- I finally uninstalled and reinstalled Minecraft with all of It’s contents (was trying to avoid that). The reinstall worked. (Source)

01:18 pm (IST): A player has confirmed that the crashing issue that happens when using Forge mods persists even in the most recent 1.19 update.

04:09 pm (IST): Here’s a possible explanation and a workaround for the crashing issue on Minecraft: Java Edition.

06:18 pm (IST): A Redditor has suggested that opening the game in Administrator mode resolved the issue. This solution worked for the gamer around 3 months ago, but it’s still worth trying and might do the trick for you as well.

12:23 pm (IST): There is another potential workaround for those players who are facing the issue:

All I did was set the java executable to C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-17.0.3.1\bin\javaw.exe
Thanks for the support!
Source

05:29 pm (IST): In case you’re facing the ‘Exit code -1’ issue with Minecraft while using OptiFine, then this might be the reason why:

Did you actually extract OptiFine instead of just copying it somewhere? Because the file name would suggest you didn’t. So… start the installer using Java and instead of installing it you’d extract it. Then copy the mod to the right location. (Source)

A user responded with this information to another individual’s complaint about getting the error code. Following the suggestion, the user did confirm that it indeed was the problem and the issue was resolved.

Thank you, that was the problem. (Source)

05:58 pm (IST): A redditor suggested that players on Chromebooks running Linux can try updating drivers and allocating 4GB RAM in order to resolve the crashing issue.

04:45 pm (IST): One of the affected players has suggested that gamers can try some alternative launchers such as PolyMC or GDLauncher to fix the exit code issue.

02:20 pm (IST): A gamer suggested that updating Windows to the latest version might help you resolve the Exit code glitch.

01:57 pm (IST): A Redditor has suggested a workaround that might help those affected to resolve this issue.

Workaround: if you’re going to use 1.8.9 use lunar, feather, or badlion client (Source)

05:36 pm (IST): A Redditor has suggested that players should try other builds from here or another version of the modpack.

02:20 pm (IST): Minecraft has released a new update with v1.19.10. Players can install it and see if it fixes the ‘Exit code -1’ issue.

10:34 am (IST): If players are getting ‘Exit code-1’ error when running Magnesium mod, then they can try disabling it and regenerating the world again to fix it.

You mentioned you have magnesium which is just a fork of sodium. Magnesium references sodium’s code in its fork which is why it mentions sodium in the crash report. Disable that and try again. (Source)

11:52 am (IST): While gamers were reporting that they are getting ‘Exit code -1’ error when using Forge mods, a Redditor now claims that this issue is also affecting players with no mods at all.

06:36 pm (IST): Below is a video guide suggesting some troubleshooting steps that might help you fix this issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzBOZ7ySsRg

05:22 pm (IST): Minecraft has released a new RC update with version 1.19.1. However, the changelog does not mention any fix for the ‘Exit code -1’ error.

06:08 pm (IST): One of the affected players has pointed out that CraftTweaker could be causing the game to crash and throw ‘Exit Code 1’ error. Hence, if you have this mod, then you should try disabling it.

06:36 pm (IST): Some players have again taken to Reddit (1, 2, 3) to report that they are getting ‘exit code -1’. However, the support hasn’t yet acknowledged these reports.

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