Craft a datapack

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Prerequisites

• Knowledge about Datapacks
• Be sure that what you want to achieve is possible with Datapacks. Datapack VS mods
• A little knowledge about JSON
• A text editor like notepad or a code editor like VSCode

Guide

1. Create a new folder with the name of your datapack and open it in your editor

   Note

   Consider creating your datapack directly inside a Minecraft world save (Datapack folder location) to quickly test while developing and later export it in a better place.

   Remember to execute /reload after any datapack change to load the new chages into the game without exiting the world.

2. In the root folder of your datapack create a

   pack.mcmeta

   The pack.mcmeta describes information about your datapack

   // pack.mcmeta
   {
     "pack": {
       "description": "This is the description of your datapack",
       "pack_format": 8,
       "supported_formats": [8, 9]
     }
   }

   The description field can use Formatting codes.

   The pack_format field is the version of the datapack format. This field is related to the Minecraft Version you want your datapack to be compatible with. Check out which Datapack versions you should set.

   Note

   Starting from 25w21a, datapacks can be easily created with the right Datapack version, in game, with the /datapack create <id> <name> Command.

   New Minecraft Versions may introduce new features to datapacks by bumping the Datapack version.

   Starting from 1.20.2, if your datapack uses functionalities that haven’t been changed in the version bump, it’s possible to set the supported_formats field to make your datapack compatible with new Minecraft Versions without changing the code nor the pack_format field. Set the first number of the supported_formats field to the lowest Datapack version you support, and the second number to the highest Datapack version you support.

   If your datapack uses functionalities that may have been affected by the version bump, you have to bump you pack_format field and also update the code according to the chages made.

   Note

   I personally recommend to set the lowest supported version to the same version of pack_format and not use older versions than the “base” version your developing you datapack for.

   pack.png

   The pack.png is the icon that will be displayed in the datapack selection menu. It’s optional and it has to be a square

3. Create a data folder

   This folder will contain all the code of your datapack organized in namespaces

   For example, if you want to change some Minecraft features, create a minecraft folder, and the code in this folder will overwrite the corrisponding file inside of Minecraft Vanilla.

   Note

   You can easily inspect Minecraft Vanilla files here Mc Assets

   If you want to add new features, create a new folder, and the files in this folder will be added to the base game.

   Note

   If your playing with a Modpack be sure that the namespace your choosing it’s not used anywhere else, otherwise you are still going to be overwriting other Mods or Datapacks functionalities.

   Note

   Namespaces can also be used to organize your code if your datapack has a lot of features.

   So far your datapack should look something like this:

   • Directory<datapack>

     • pack.mcmeta
     • pack.png
     • Directorydata

       • Directoryminecraft

         • …
       • Directory<namespace>

         • …
       • Directory<namespace2>

         • …

4. Add features to your datapack (view all)

   • Advancements
   • Dialog
   • Dimensions
   • Enchantments
   • Loot tables (Drops)
   • Recipes
   • Structures
   • Tags
   • World generation

5. Done

   Note

   Datapacks folder can also be zipped to save space and reduce loading time.

Examples

Here’s some code examples of datapacks I’ve made:

• Beehaviour
• Delicate
• BE boats

Generators

Since Datapacks are static files, they can also be generated with online tools like Crafting or Misode.

Keep in mind that sometimes these generators won’t have the latest version right away or a niche snapshot, since the datapack syntax can change a lot with new Versions.

When aiming for a more complex datapack, maybe a hybrid or complete manual approach is better.

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Resources

• Minecraft Wiki

Related

• Craft
• Craft a resource pack