Sodium is a rendering optimization mod that noticeably improves frame rates and reduces stutter, and installing it is simpler than most mods for one specific reason: it is entirely client-side.
The important part: your server does not need it
Sodium only changes how your own client renders the world on your screen, it has no effect on server-side game logic. You do not need to install it on a dedicated server, it will not cause a "modded client on vanilla server" kick, and other players don't need it either for you to benefit from it. This is different from most gameplay mods, which typically need to match between client and server.
Step 1: Confirm your loader
Sodium supports both Fabric and, since version 0.6, NeoForge as well. Download the build matching whichever loader your client is running, a Fabric build will not work on a NeoForge client and vice versa.
Step 2: Download from Modrinth or CurseForge
Get Sodium from its official Modrinth page or CurseForge, matching your exact Minecraft version.
Step 3: Install it like any client mod
Place the downloaded jar into your client's mods folder (not the server's), then launch Minecraft through a profile using the matching Fabric or NeoForge loader version. No server-side installation, no mods folder changes on the server, no restart required there.
Step 4: Verify it loaded
Sodium adds its own video settings screen (accessible from Options > Video Settings once installed) with additional rendering options beyond vanilla's. If that screen appears, it is active.
Pairing it with other mods
Sodium is commonly paired with other client-side visual mods (shader-compatible rendering extensions, lighting engines, and similar), all of which are also client-only and follow the same install process: download, drop in the client's mods folder, launch. None of them need to go on your server either.
If it conflicts with another mod
Sodium replaces a large part of Minecraft's rendering pipeline, so it can occasionally conflict with other mods that also modify rendering directly. Check Sodium's Modrinth page for known compatible/incompatible mods if you hit a rendering-related crash after adding it alongside something else.
Focus your server setup elsewhere
Since Sodium and similar performance mods live entirely on the client, your server-side setup should focus on RAM allocation and the actual gameplay mods you are running instead. A RAM calculator can help size a modded server correctly for whatever gameplay mods you do need to install there. Tick Hosting's plans give you a properly sized server to pair with your optimized client, starting with a free tier. Get started on Tick Hosting's plans page.