When Sodium Extra misbehaves, the cause is usually simple: a version mismatch, a missing dependency or a duplicate file. Work through these checks in order before reinstalling everything.
Read the log first
Minecraft writes what happened to logs/latest.log, and a hard crash also creates a file in crash-reports. Open the newest one and search for "sodium". Loader errors are often written in plain language, such as a mod requiring a different version of another mod.
Crash on startup
Mismatched versions
The most common cause. Confirm that Sodium and Sodium Extra both list your exact Minecraft version, and that the Sodium Extra release supports your Sodium version. The version guide shows how to read build names.
Missing dependency
If the log says a required mod is missing, install it. On Fabric, this is often Fabric API; the release page lists what each build needs.
Wrong loader
A NeoForge jar will not load on Fabric, and vice versa. Check that every jar was downloaded for the loader you are running.
Duplicates
Two copies of Sodium or Sodium Extra cause conflicts. Sort the mods folder by name and remove older copies.
Crash when opening Video Settings
This usually means something that hooks into the options screen does not match your Sodium version. Typical suspects are Sodium Extra itself, an alternative options menu like Reese's Sodium Options, or another Sodium addon. Remove the addons, then add them back one at a time until the crash returns. See Sodium Extra vs Reese's Sodium Options for how those two relate.
Options do not appear
- Make sure you placed the compiled
.jar, not a source-code zip. - Check that the file is in the
modsfolder of the profile or instance you are launching. - Confirm the loader actually started; vanilla Minecraft ignores the mods folder.
Resetting the config
A broken or outdated config file can cause odd behaviour after an update. Close the game, find Sodium Extra's options file in the config folder, move it somewhere safe and launch again. The mod creates a fresh file with default values.
Asking for help
If none of this works, report it through the project's issue tracker. Include your Minecraft, loader, Sodium and Sodium Extra versions, the full list of mods and the complete log or crash report. Screenshots of a crash screen are much harder to diagnose than the text file.