Always render entity nametags toggle

common/src/main/java/io/github/axolotlclient/DolphinClientConfigCommon.java

@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ public boolean showButton() {
 	// options
 
 	public final BooleanOption showOwnNametag = new BooleanOption("showOwnNametag", false);
+	public final BooleanOption alwaysRenderNametags = new BooleanOption("alwaysRenderNametags", false);
 	public final BooleanOption useShadows = new BooleanOption("useShadows", false);
 	public final BooleanOption nametagBackground = new BooleanOption("nametagBackground", true);
 
@@ -127,6 +128,7 @@ public DolphinClientConfigCommon() {
 		rendering.add(nametagOptions);
 
 		nametagOptions.add(showOwnNametag);
+		nametagOptions.add(alwaysRenderNametags);
 		nametagOptions.add(useShadows);
 		nametagOptions.add(nametagBackground);
 

common/src/main/java/io/github/axolotlclient/util/NametagRendering.java

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright © 2026 DSNS <dominic@seung.dev>
+ *
+ * This file is part of DolphinClient.
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
+ * Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301, USA.
+ *
+ * For more information, see the LICENSE file.
+ */
+
+package io.github.axolotlclient.util;
+
+/**
+ * Helpers for nametag rendering options.
+ */
+public final class NametagRendering {
+	private NametagRendering() {
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Vanilla only draws custom-name nametags when {@code entity} is the
+	 * crosshair target. When {@code alwaysRender} is true, substitute the
+	 * entity itself so that comparison succeeds without looking at it.
+	 */
+	public static <T> T lookTarget(T crosshairTarget, T entity, boolean alwaysRender) {
+		return alwaysRender ? entity : crosshairTarget;
+	}
+}

common/src/main/resources/assets/dolphinclient/lang/en_us.json

@@ -65,6 +65,8 @@
 	"allocated": "Allocated",
 	"alwaysCrit": "Always Show",
 	"alwaysCrit.tooltip": "Whether to always emit these particles when hitting.",
+	"alwaysRenderNametags": "Always Render Name Tags",
+	"alwaysRenderNametags.tooltip": "Renders entity name tags even when you aren't looking at them.",
 	"alwaysShowHeadLayer": "Always Show Hat Layer",
 	"anchorpoint": "Anchor Point",
 	"applyBlend": "Apply Blending",

common/src/test/java/io/github/axolotlclient/util/NametagRenderingTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright © 2026 DSNS <dominic@seung.dev>
+ *
+ * This file is part of DolphinClient.
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
+ * Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301, USA.
+ *
+ * For more information, see the LICENSE file.
+ */
+
+package io.github.axolotlclient.util;
+
+import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNotNull;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertSame;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
+
+class NametagRenderingTest {
+
+	private static final Object PLAYER = new Object();
+	private static final Object MOB = new Object();
+
+	@Test
+	void usesCrosshairTargetWhenDisabled() {
+		assertSame(PLAYER, NametagRendering.lookTarget(PLAYER, MOB, false));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void treatsEntityAsLookedAtWhenEnabled() {
+		assertSame(MOB, NametagRendering.lookTarget(PLAYER, MOB, true));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void keepsMatchWhenAlreadyLookingAtEntity() {
+		assertSame(MOB, NametagRendering.lookTarget(MOB, MOB, false));
+		assertSame(MOB, NametagRendering.lookTarget(MOB, MOB, true));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void langDefinesAlwaysRenderNametagsOption() throws Exception {
+		try (InputStream in = NametagRendering.class.getResourceAsStream("/assets/dolphinclient/lang/en_us.json")) {
+			assertNotNull(in, "en_us.json should be on the classpath");
+			String json = new String(in.readAllBytes(), StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+			assertTrue(json.contains("\"alwaysRenderNametags\": \"Always Render Name Tags\""));
+			assertTrue(json.contains("\"alwaysRenderNametags.tooltip\""));
+			assertTrue(json.contains("looking"));
+		}
+	}
+}

versions/1.8.9/src/main/java/io/github/axolotlclient/mixin/ItemFrameRendererMixin.java

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright © 2026 DSNS <dominic@seung.dev>
+ *
+ * This file is part of DolphinClient.
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
+ * Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301, USA.
+ *
+ * For more information, see the LICENSE file.
+ */
+
+package io.github.axolotlclient.mixin;
+
+import com.llamalad7.mixinextras.injector.wrapoperation.Operation;
+import com.llamalad7.mixinextras.injector.wrapoperation.WrapOperation;
+import io.github.axolotlclient.DolphinClient;
+import io.github.axolotlclient.util.NametagRendering;
+import net.minecraft.client.render.entity.EntityRenderDispatcher;
+import net.minecraft.client.render.entity.ItemFrameRenderer;
+import net.minecraft.entity.Entity;
+import net.minecraft.entity.decoration.ItemFrameEntity;
+import org.objectweb.asm.Opcodes;
+import org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.Mixin;
+import org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.injection.At;
+
+@Mixin(ItemFrameRenderer.class)
+public class ItemFrameRendererMixin {
+
+	@WrapOperation(method = "renderNameTag(Lnet/minecraft/entity/decoration/ItemFrameEntity;DDD)V", at = @At(value = "FIELD", opcode = Opcodes.GETFIELD, target = "Lnet/minecraft/client/render/entity/EntityRenderDispatcher;targetEntity:Lnet/minecraft/entity/Entity;"))
+	private Entity axolotlclient$alwaysRenderNametags(EntityRenderDispatcher instance, Operation<Entity> original, ItemFrameEntity entity) {
+		return NametagRendering.lookTarget(original.call(instance), entity, DolphinClient.config().alwaysRenderNametags.get());
+	}
+}

versions/1.8.9/src/main/java/io/github/axolotlclient/mixin/MobRendererMixin.java

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright © 2026 DSNS <dominic@seung.dev>
+ *
+ * This file is part of DolphinClient.
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
+ * Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301, USA.
+ *
+ * For more information, see the LICENSE file.
+ */
+
+package io.github.axolotlclient.mixin;
+
+import com.llamalad7.mixinextras.injector.wrapoperation.Operation;
+import com.llamalad7.mixinextras.injector.wrapoperation.WrapOperation;
+import io.github.axolotlclient.DolphinClient;
+import io.github.axolotlclient.util.NametagRendering;
+import net.minecraft.client.render.entity.EntityRenderDispatcher;
+import net.minecraft.client.render.entity.MobRenderer;
+import net.minecraft.entity.Entity;
+import net.minecraft.entity.living.mob.MobEntity;
+import org.objectweb.asm.Opcodes;
+import org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.Mixin;
+import org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.injection.At;
+
+@Mixin(MobRenderer.class)
+public class MobRendererMixin {
+
+	@WrapOperation(method = "shouldRenderNameTag(Lnet/minecraft/entity/living/mob/MobEntity;)Z", at = @At(value = "FIELD", opcode = Opcodes.GETFIELD, target = "Lnet/minecraft/client/render/entity/EntityRenderDispatcher;targetEntity:Lnet/minecraft/entity/Entity;"))
+	private Entity axolotlclient$alwaysRenderNametags(EntityRenderDispatcher instance, Operation<Entity> original, MobEntity entity) {
+		return NametagRendering.lookTarget(original.call(instance), entity, DolphinClient.config().alwaysRenderNametags.get());
+	}
+}

versions/1.8.9/src/main/resources/axolotlclient.mixins.json

@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
 		"InGameHudMixin",
 		"ItemEntityMixin",
 		"ItemEntityRendererMixin",
+		"ItemFrameRendererMixin",
 		"KeyBindAccessor",
 		"KeyBindingMixin",
 		"KeyboardInputMixin",
@@ -44,6 +45,7 @@
 		"LocalRemoteClientPlayerEntityMixin",
 		"MinecraftClientAccessor",
 		"MinecraftClientMixin",
+		"MobRendererMixin",
 		"ParticleAccessor",
 		"ParticleManagerMixin",
 		"PlayerEntityMixin",