Tutorials/Custom Minecraft directory

To play minecraft from a custom directory, you can use these simple steps.

If you have anything important in your Minecraft folder, it is strongly recommended you make a backup before moving it!

Windows 10
Method A Method B
 * Go to the folder where you installed Minecraft.
 * Shift right click in a blank space and press "Open Command Window Here."
 * Get the Directory Path of where you want to store the game.
 * In the Command Prompt window, type in:  . Do not press enter yet.
 * In the file browser, find the folder you want Minecraft to be installed in to.
 * Click and drag the folder to the open command prompt window. It should fill in the path automatically.
 * Finish typing  and press enter.
 * In the folder, run the "run.bat" file.

Method A does not work when using a launcher installed via the App Store


 * Create a folder in the location you want Minecraft moved to
 * Open the original Minecraft folder (by default, appdata\roaming\.minecraft
 * Copy all contents of the original minecraft folder and paste them into the destination folder
 * Delete the .minecraft folder
 * In the search bar, find Command Prompt, right click and open as administrator
 * Paste  and click enter. The command prompt should acknowledge the appdata\roaming folder
 * Paste   Replace with the address of the destination folder and press enter. For example, if you're moving Minecraft to "E:\Destination", the command would be
 * Press enter. Command prompt should say "symbolic linked created for .minecraft"
 * If command prompt says "cannot create file when that file already exists", it is because you didn't delete the original .minecraft folder. Delete it and run the command again

Shortcut Method

 * Right click the Minecraft shortcut on your desktop and select "Properties".
 * If you do not have a shortcut, navigate to the folder where you installed Minecraft, right click MinecraftLauncher.exe, and click "Create Shortcut".
 * There should be a line labeled Target. After the file path, add a space and type: --workDir DIR_PATH
 * Replace "DIR_PATH" with the directory you want the game to use.
 * Minecraft will now use that directory as long as you launch it from that shortcut.