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• The Dy 1- x Ho x CoNi and Ho 1- x Er x CoNi compounds were fabricated. • The structural, magnetic and magnetocaloric properties were studied. • These compounds have high potential for hydrogen liquefaction. Magnetic refrigeration based on the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of magnetic solids has been considered as an emerging technology for hydrogen liquefaction. However, the lack of high-performance materials has slowed the development of any practical applications. Here, we present a family of rare-earth cobalt nickel-based magnetocaloric materials, namely Dy 1- x Ho x CoNi and Ho 1- x Er x CoNi compounds, and systematically investigated their structural and magnetic properties as well as the MCE and magnetocaloric performance. All of these compounds crystallize in the C15-type Laves-phase structure and undergo typical second-order magnetic phase transition (MPT). The change in magnetism and the MPT temperature for the Dy 1- x Ho x CoNi and Ho 1- x Er x CoNi compounds originate from the exchange interactions between nearest-neighbor RE3+ ion pairs. No hysteresis magnetocaloric effect was achieved, and the MPT temperature of these compounds could be tuned from the liquefaction temperature of nitrogen (∼77 K) to hydrogen (∼20 K) by adjusting the ratio of rare-earth elements. This study's findings indicate that the Dy 1- x Ho x CoNi and Ho 1- x Er x CoNi compounds are of potential for practical magnetic refrigeration applications in the field of hydrogen liquefaction. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]