Java Edition 1.17

1.17, the first release of Caves & Cliffs, is a major update to announced at Minecraft Live 2020 and released on June 8, 2021. This update adds amethyst geodes along with amethyst blocks and items, copper ore and its derived forms, deepslate and its variants, and the goat, glow squid and axolotl mobs.

On April 14, 2021, Mojang Studios announced that the update would be split into two updates due to the amount and complexity of content, as well as team health. Multiple features such as revamped mountain and cave generation, the lush caves and dripstone caves biomes, and increased world height were removed on 21w15a, and are set to release for 1.18. A data pack was included in the Minecraft.net article for 21w15a that re-enabled the removed features, and subsequent snapshots updated this data pack. The latest data pack for the full 1.17 release, named the Caves & Cliffs: Part II Preview, can be downloaded here.

Blocks

 * Amethyst Bud
 * Grows from budding amethyst, which is found in amethyst geodes.
 * Starts out tiny, but grows into medium after a while, large after even more time, and eventually becomes an amethyst cluster.
 * Unlike crops, each growth stage is a separate block instead of a block state.
 * Drops only when mined with a Silk Touch pickaxe.


 * Amethyst Cluster
 * The final, mature stage of the amethyst bud, which grows from budding amethyst in amethyst geodes.
 * Drops amethyst shards if broken, in an amount affected by Fortune, but can also be picked up with Silk Touch.
 * Breaking by hand, piston, breaking the support block or other means drops only 2 amethyst shards instead of 4 that would be dropped by using any pickaxe.
 * Emits a light level of 5.


 * Azalea
 * Has variants with either no blossoms or pink blossoms.
 * Bush-like blocks that can be planted on dirt and grass blocks.
 * Both azaleas can grow from moss blocks when bone meal is used on them.
 * The variant with pink blossoms is seen as small flowers by the game (for example, bees can pollinate them).


 * Azalea Leaves
 * Has variants with either no blossoms or pink blossoms.
 * Yield azalea and sticks on decay.
 * The variant with pink blossoms is seen as small flowers by the game (for example, bees can pollinate them).


 * Block of Amethyst
 * A decorative block found in amethyst geodes.
 * Unlike the Budding Amethyst, the Block of Amethyst can be obtained when mined.
 * Can also be crafted with 4 amethyst shards.


 * Block of Copper
 * Can be crafted with 9 copper ingots, and can also be crafted back into 9 copper ingots.
 * Oxidizes and changes texture to a turquoise-green over time.
 * Can be stopped from oxidizing by combining it with a honeycomb to create a Waxed Block of Copper.
 * Honeycomb can also be, or applied with a dispenser to wax them.
 * Yellow particles are formed when waxing the block.
 * Axes can be to scrape off wax and oxidation (one stage at a time).
 * White particles are formed when scraping off wax from the block.
 * Lightning may clean oxidation, reverting the oxidation process by one or several stages.
 * Chances of cleaning and number of reverted stages are higher the closer to the struck block.
 * Can be crafted into cut copper.
 * There are 8 variants in total.


 * Block of Raw Metal
 * Raw copper, raw gold and raw iron can be crafted into the respective block of raw metal.


 * Budding Amethyst
 * Generates amethyst buds/clusters on any side that is exposed either to air or a water source block.
 * Cannot be obtained when mined, even with Silk Touch, and does not drop anything.
 * Breaks immediately if pushed by a piston or sticky piston.
 * Cannot be pulled by sticky pistons.
 * Generates in amethyst geodes.


 * Calcite
 * An off-white stone that generates in geodes, between smooth basalt and amethyst.


 * Candle


 * Comes with 16 dyed types and a yellowish non-dyed type.
 * Can be lit by any item that produces fire.
 * Up to 4 can be placed in a single block, similar to sea pickles, for a maximum light level of 12.
 * Only candles of the same color can be placed on the same block.
 * Only one can be placed on an uneaten cake and lit.
 * If any of the cake is consumed, the candle pops off.
 * Can be placed underwater, but cannot be lit.


 * Cave Vines


 * A natural light source, with a light level of 14.
 * Drop glow berries.
 * Growth can be sped up using bone meal.
 * Berries can be harvested by with the vine.
 * Grow from glow berries when placed on the underside of a block.


 * Cobbled Deepslate
 * Drops from deepslate when mined with a pickaxe without Silk Touch.
 * Can be used interchangeably with cobblestone and blackstone in crafting recipes of basic tools, furnaces and brewing stands.
 * Can be crafted into respective stairs, slabs and walls, Polished Deepslate, Chiseled Deepslate, Deepslate Bricks and Deepslate Tiles, which can be used to craft their respective stairs, slabs, and walls (excluding Chiseled Deepslate).
 * Deepslate Bricks and Deepslate Tiles can also be smelted into their cracked variants.
 * Can be smelted back into deepslate.


 * Copper Ore
 * Generates randomly underground in small blobs.
 * Copper ore generates uniformly between levels 0 and 64.
 * Drops raw copper when mined.
 * Can be smelted into a copper ingot.


 * Cut Copper
 * Can be made into stair and slab variants.
 * Oxidizes and changes texture over time.
 * Can be stopped from oxidizing by combining it with a honeycomb to create Waxed Cut Copper.
 * There are 8 variants in total.


 * Cut Copper Slab
 * Oxidizes and changes texture over time.
 * Can be stopped from oxidizing by combining it with a honeycomb to create a Waxed Cut Copper Slab.
 * There are 8 variants in total.


 * Cut Copper Stairs
 * Oxidizes and changes texture over time.
 * Can be stopped from oxidizing by combining it with a honeycomb to create Waxed Cut Copper Stairs.
 * There are 8 variants in total.


 * Deepslate
 * A dark-gray stone that generates in blobs between heights 0 and 16.
 * Has a hardness value greater than that of stone but can be mined with any pickaxe.
 * Drops cobbled deepslate when mined.
 * Can be obtained only with a Silk Touch pickaxe, or by smelting cobbled deepslate.
 * There are 19 variants in total, including
 * Cobbled Deepslate Slab
 * Cobbled Deepslate Stairs
 * Cobbled Deepslate Wall
 * Polished Deepslate
 * Polished Deepslate Slab
 * Polished Deepslate Stairs
 * Polished Deepslate Wall
 * Deepslate Bricks
 * Cracked Deepslate Bricks
 * Deepslate Brick Slab
 * Deepslate Brick Stairs
 * Deepslate Brick Wall
 * Deepslate Tiles
 * Cracked Deepslate Tiles
 * Deepslate Tile Slab
 * Deepslate Tile Stairs
 * Deepslate Tile Wall
 * Chiseled Deepslate


 * Deepslate Ore
 * Added deepslate variants of all ores, including iron, gold, copper, coal, diamond, redstone, emerald, and lapis lazuli.
 * Takes twice as long to mine as normal ores.
 * Has the texture of deepslate replacing the normal stone texture.
 * Takes place of ores that generate in deepslate.
 * Can be used in blasting and smelting recipes like normal ores.
 * These recipes can be unlocked in the recipe book with deepslate ores as well.


 * Dripleaf
 * Allows an entity to stay on it for 1.5 seconds (30 ticks) before the entity falls through it.
 * The tilt happens in 3 stages: unstable, partial, and full. These can be seen in the F3 debug menu.
 * All the stages are solid except the full stage, which is when the player falls through.
 * When nobody is standing on it, it is set to none stage.
 * The tilt can also be triggered by hitting the plant with a projectile.
 * The tilt can be prevented by powering it with redstone, but hitting it with a projectile still causes it to tilt.
 * Comes in two sizes: small and big. Small can be applied bone meal to grow into big.
 * Small dripleaf can be obtained only with shears (otherwise breaks) and can be planted on clay or moss blocks, or underwater on clay and dirt blocks.
 * Big dripleaf can be obtained with any tool or by hand and can be planted on grass, dirt, and moss blocks.
 * Both sizes can be found inside lush caves, which can currently only be accessed through the single biome, caves, or floating islands world types.
 * It is available in survival through the wandering trader.


 * Dripstone Block
 * A decoration block.
 * Appears to be made of the same materials as stalactites and stalagmites but as a full cube.
 * Generates mainly in the dripstone caves biome, which is currently available only through single biome, caves, or floating islands world types.
 * Dripstone clusters can also be found rarely in regular caves.
 * Can be crafted from 4 pointed dripstone.


 * Glow Item Frame
 * Placeable entities that appear to glow.
 * Do not affect the light level, but appear as if lit up themselves.
 * Items placed inside also glow.
 * Crafted using an item frame and a glow ink sac.
 * Includes application to maps.


 * Glow Lichen
 * A naturally occurring light source found rarely in caves, growing on any face of a block.
 * Has a light level of 7.
 * Obtained with shears, otherwise breaks.
 * Does not spread naturally, although bone meal can be used to spread it horizontally (or vertically if on the side of a block).
 * It spreads to adjacent spaces, up to 4.
 * Can be waterlogged.
 * Unlike vines, it does not pop off when underwater, and is not climbable.
 * Up to 6 can be put on the same block space, merging into one block.


 * Hanging Roots
 * Decorative blocks that can be placed only on the underside of a block.
 * Obtained with shears, otherwise breaks.
 * It can be obtained using a hoe on rooted dirt turning it into normal dirt.


 * Infested Deepslate
 * An infested variant of deepslate.
 * Spawns a silverfish when mined.


 * Light
 * A new waterloggable source of light, originally from.
 * Only available with commands such as.
 * Behaves like air and it is visible only when the item is held, similar to barriers.
 * Unlike barriers, light blocks can only be targeted when holding the item.
 * The light level it is emitting can be changed by interacting with it.


 * Lightning Rod
 * Can be crafted with 3 copper ingots.
 * Lightning strikes within a 32-block radius get redirected to the lightning rod.
 * Turns completely white when struck by lightning.
 * Gives off a redstone signal with a strength of 15 if hit by lightning.
 * Can be activated directly by throwing a trident with Channeling at it during a thunderstorm, though this does not produce a redstone signal.


 * Moss Block
 * An opaque block with a grass-like texture on all sides.
 * Can be fertilized with bone meal to grow grass, tall grass, moss carpets, and both types of azaleas on it and in its vicinity.
 * Can be fertilized with bone meal to grow over (expand) across stone surfaces, but not grass surfaces.
 * Breaks when pushed by a piston or sticky piston.
 * Can be combined with cobblestone or stone bricks to make the mossy versions of those blocks.
 * Vines can still be used, in addition to moss blocks.
 * Hoes are the appropriate tool to collect it.
 * Small dripleaf can be planted on it.


 * Moss Carpet
 * Same texture as the moss block, but one pixel thick.
 * Can be crafted with moss blocks, or be obtained by applying bone meal to them.


 * Pointed Dripstone
 * Can be either placed on a ceiling to create a stalactite or on top of a block to create a stalagmite.
 * Can be combined to form longer stalactites and stalagmites.
 * Thrown tridents break pointed dripstone. They also break when pushed directly or with a block by a piston.
 * Stalagmites break if not attached to something below.
 * Stalagmites hurt entities that fall on top of them more than normal fall damage.
 * Damage is relative to height: For example, jumping on a stalagmite deals of damage, and falling from 3 blocks deals  of damage.
 * Stalactites can fall or break if unsupported, and break apart on impact, hurting entities they fall on.
 * Damage is relative to height: For example, one falling from 2 blocks deals of damage, and one falling from 3 blocks deal  of damage.
 * They drip water or lava into cauldrons if a source block is placed above the stalactite, and gradually fill the cauldron. Water drips even without any water above the block (as does lava in the Nether) but this effect alone does not fill the cauldron.


 * Powder Snow
 * A variant of snow, entities that walk over it sink into it.
 * Leather boots can be worn to prevent entities from sinking into powder snow blocks.
 * Players can still crouch to descend with leather boots. Wearing leather boots also allows powder snow to be "climbed", like water or scaffolding. They also prevent fall damage when landing on powder snow.
 * Leather Horse Armor also protects horses from freeze damage.
 * When inside a powder snow block, a frosty vignette appears around the player's screen and any entity (with the exception of strays, polar bears, and snow golems) inside starts freezing and taking damage after a short time.
 * Wearing any piece of leather armor stops the freeze effect.
 * Can be collected and placed with a bucket.
 * Entities on fire melt powder snow when colliding.


 * Rooted Dirt
 * A dirt-like decorative block with roots on its texture.
 * Similar to coarse dirt, neither mycelium nor grass spread to it.
 * bone meal on any side grows hanging roots underneath.


 * Sculk Sensor
 * A redstone component that detects vibrations.
 * Currently, it does not generate naturally, available only from commands such as, but natural generation is planned for future versions.
 * Senses vibrations such as block placement, footsteps, and projectiles, and emits a redstone signal.
 * Vibration JE1 BE1.gif Emits particles when it senses a vibration nearby.
 * A comparator connected to it emits different signal strengths based on what caused the signal.
 * Does not detect ambient weather such as rain.
 * Wool blocks between the sensor and the cause of the sound prevent the sensor from detecting the sound.


 * Smooth Basalt
 * A basalt variant that composes the outer layer of amethyst geodes.
 * Can be obtained by smelting basalt.


 * Spore Blossom
 * Available only in creative or in buffet/custom worlds with the currently unused lush caves biome.
 * Can be placed only on the underside of a block.
 * Sends green particles downward when opened.
 * Particles appear in the air around the block.


 * Tinted Glass
 * A black variant of glass that is transparent to players, but does not let light through.
 * Can be crafted with 4 amethyst shards and a glass block.
 * Stained glass cannot be used to craft tinted glass.
 * Drops itself if mined without Silk Touch or even by hand, unlike glass.


 * Tuff
 * A deep grayish stone that generates in blobs between levels 0 and 16.

Items

 * Amethyst Shard
 * Obtained from breaking amethyst clusters.
 * The amount dropped can be increased with the Fortune enchantment.
 * Can be used to craft tinted glass, blocks of amethyst, and spyglasses.


 * Bucket of Axolotl
 * Obtained by using a water bucket on an axolotl, similar to fish.
 * Can be used to carry around and empty out axolotls, also similarly to fish.


 * Bundle
 * Available only from commands such as ,
 * Used to store other items (except shulker boxes) inside of it.
 * Can hold only one stack of items, but is able to hold different types of items inside of it.
 * Items with smaller stacks, such as ender pearls, take up more room in a bundle, and non-stackable items take up the whole bundle.
 * The bundle's contents can be opened by pressing while holding it, throwing out its entire content into the world. When destroyed as an entity, it drops the items it currently has as well.
 * Right-clicking a bundle in the inventory empties one item from the bundle.
 * The player receives a tutorial when first having a bundle in the inventory.
 * Even though bundles are not stackable, bundles can be nested.
 * Can hold up to 16 bundles.
 * Only empty bundles can be placed in other bundles without using commands.
 * Has a GUI when hovering over it.
 * Shows contained items in its GUI's inventory slots when hovering over it, as well as fullness as a number.
 * Note: Bundles can hold any amount of any item if added using commands.


 * Copper Ingot
 * Obtained by smelting raw copper or copper ore.
 * Used to craft copper blocks, lightning rods, and spyglasses.


 * Glow Berries
 * Can be eaten, restoring.
 * Grow on cave vines.
 * Once harvested the vines will lose their glow berry texture.


 * Glow Ink Sac
 * Dropped by glow squids when killed.
 * Can be used to craft glow item frames.
 * Can be used to make text glow on signs.


 * Powder Snow Bucket
 * Obtained by using a bucket on powder snow.
 * Can be used to place a powder snow block wherever it is used, or can be used to fill cauldrons with powder snow.


 * Raw Copper
 * Drops from copper ore when mined with a stone pickaxe or higher without Silk Touch.
 * Can be smelted into copper ingots.


 * Raw Gold
 * Drops from gold ore when mined with a iron pickaxe or higher without Silk Touch.
 * Can be smelted into gold ingots.
 * Piglins attempt to pick up raw gold.


 * Raw Iron
 * Drops from iron ore when mined with a stone pickaxe or higher without Silk Touch.
 * Can be smelted into iron ingots.


 * Spawn Eggs
 * Added Axolotl spawn egg.
 * Added Goat spawn egg.
 * Added Glow Squid spawn egg.


 * Spyglass
 * Crafted with 2 copper ingots and an amethyst shard.
 * When used, it zooms in on wherever the player is looking but limits their view to a square.
 * The scope texture is a glass square with a copper border.
 * The overlay that limits the view can be removed with a resource pack or by pressing.
 * There is a unique animation for using the spyglass, which is visible in a third-person perspective or by another player.

Mobs

 * Axolotl
 * Can only spawn in complete darkness and where there's a natural stone block less than 5 blocks below the spawning space.
 * The first amphibian added to Minecraft.
 * Dry out and start taking damage after 5 minutes of being out of water.
 * Can be caught using a water bucket, like fish.
 * Can be bred using buckets of tropical fish.
 * Come in five different colors (leucistic, yellow, brown, cyan, and blue, with blue being the rarest).
 * Blue axolotls are very rare, with a $1/1200$ chance of spawning.
 * Plays dead when damaged on water, receiving Regeneration I.
 * This regeneration ability is likely based on how real axolotls can regrow lost limbs.
 * Attacks drowned, guardians, elder guardians, squids, glow squids and fish, dealing damage.
 * They have a two-minute cooldown after hunting non-hostile targets such as fish and squids.
 * They prioritise attacking hostile mobs over passive ones.
 * If a player kills a mob an axolotl is in combat with, the player gets a Regeneration I effect and is rid of Mining Fatigue, if they had it.


 * Goat
 * Spawns in mountain biomes.
 * Currently a place holder until the new mountains are added.
 * Can jump higher than other mobs to avoid obstacles, up to 10 blocks high.
 * Takes reduced fall damage.
 * Avoids powder snow by jumping over it.
 * Can be bred with wheat to produce a baby goat.
 * A bucket can be used on them to get milk.
 * Do not drop anything.
 * They have a 2% chance of spawning as a screaming goat, which are more hostile and make different noises.


 * Glow Squid
 * Originates from the mob of the same name in Minecraft Earth.
 * Underwater mob that behaves like a regular squid.
 * Can only spawn in complete darkness and where there's a natural stone block less than 5 blocks below the spawning space.
 * Is attacked by axolotls without provocation.
 * Drops glow ink sacs when killed.
 * Does not affect the light level, but appears as if lit up. Glows in the same way that magma cube cores, vexes, blazes and the eyes of spiders, drowned, and endermen do.
 * Stops glowing for a short time and swims away quickly after taking damage.

World generation

 * Amethyst Geodes
 * A new feature found uncommonly underground (can rarely appear exposed to the surface close to sea level).
 * Contains blocks of amethyst and budding amethyst blocks, which are encased in a shell of calcite and smooth basalt.
 * Also generates with a small air pocket nearby that may open into the geode.
 * Generates between Y=70 and y=0.
 * Overrides standard caves and ravines, but is overridden by abandoned mineshafts.
 * Currently has a high generation rate, presumably for testing purposes as with ruined portals in the 1.16 snapshots.


 * Azalea Tree
 * Generate above lush caves, either on the surface or underground. Lush caves do not generate in normal worlds.
 * Consist of azalea leaves (both variants), oak logs and rooted dirt.

Biomes

 * Dripstone Caves




 * Currently available only in buffet or custom worlds, as cave biomes were delayed to 1.18.
 * Contains pointed dripstone (both stalactites and stalagmites) and dripstone blocks.
 * Dripstone clusters are abundant here, often forming pillars.


 * Lush Caves




 * Currently available only in buffet or custom worlds, as cave biomes were delayed to 1.18.
 * Contain moss, moss carpet, spore blossom, glow berry vines, big dripleaf and small dripleaf.
 * Moss covers the ceilings and floors.
 * Axolotls can spawn here.
 * Clay pools generate inside.

Command format

 * Modifies the inventory of a block or entity.
 * This command has three forms:
 * – same as old
 * – modifies item (without copying).
 * {{cd|/item copy
 * Whether entities take damage from freezing inside of powder snow.
 * Controls what percentage of players must sleep to skip the night.
 * When set to 0 or a negative value, a single player is sufficient to skip the night. The sleeping animation occurs as normal.
 * When set over 100, the night cannot be skipped.
 * Set to 100 by default.
 * When set over 100, the night cannot be skipped.
 * Set to 100 by default.

Gameplay

 * Death messages
 * Added 6 new death messages:
 * " froze to death"
 * " was frozen to death by "
 * " was skewered by a falling stalactite"
 * " was skewered by a falling stalactite whilst fighting "
 * " was impaled on a stalagmite"
 * " was impaled on a stalagmite whilst fighting "


 * Loot tables
 * New condition:
 * Checks range of value.
 * Parameters:
 * – see "New value providers" section (currently combination of random generators and score)
 * – min/max range
 * New functions:
 * Modifies enchantments on item.
 * Parameters:
 * – map of enchantment id to level value (can be score or random number)
 * – if, change is relative to current level. If , level is replaced with current value (default behavior)
 * Sets tags needed for banner patterns. Parameters:
 * - list of pattern objects:
 * - name of pattern (square_bottom_left, bricks, etc.)
 * - name of color (light_gray, etc.)
 * - if true, new elements are appended to existing ones instead of replacing
 * New value providers:
 * Returns scaled scoreboard value.
 * Parameters:
 * – scoreboard name
 * – same as in  predicate
 * – scaling factor (float)
 * – same as in  predicate
 * – scaling factor (float)

General

 * Accessibility
 * Added an alternative solid black background color for the Mojang Studios loading screen, toggleable with the “Monochrome Logo” accessibility category in options.


 * Controls
 * Added shortcut to generate and persist performance metrics from in-game, similar to.
 * Metrics are saved in .minecraft/debug/profiling/.zip.


 * Data Packs
 * Added, and  to.


 * Particles
 * Added 15 new particle types:, , , , , , , , , , , ,  and.


 * Shaders
 * Are now included for all supported render states.
 * Any shader except for the blit shader can also be replaced in resource packs.
 * For now replacing these shaders is not officially supported and the way it works may change in the future.
 * Current rendering engine uses a system similar to the post-processing shader pipeline. There are some differences between both systems that cater to the slightly different requirements.


 * Tags
 * Added the entity type tag.
 * Contains drowned, guardian and elder guardian.
 * Axolotls are always hostile towards entities in this tag.
 * Added the entity type tag.
 * Contains tropical fish, pufferfish, salmon, cod, squid and glow squid.
 * Axolotls exhibit the cooldown-based "hunt" behavior towards entities in this tag.
 * Added the item tag.
 * Contains the bucket of tropical fish.
 * Items in this tag can be used to tempt axolotls.
 * Added the block tag.
 * Contains all 17 types of candle cake.
 * Blocks in this tag are considered candle cakes and can be lit if they have the block states set to false.
 * Added the block and item tags.
 * Contains all 17 types of candles.
 * Blocks in this tag are considered candles and can be lit if they have the block states and both are false.
 * Cakes use this tag to determine if a candle item can be placed on it or not.
 * Added the block tag.
 * Contains cauldrons, water cauldrons, lava cauldrons, and powder snow cauldrons.
 * This tag is used in certain pathfinding processes.
 * Added the block tag.
 * Contains the cave vines body block and cave vines head block.
 * Added the block and item tags.
 * Contain the normal and deepslate variants of each ore type.
 * Added the item tag.
 * Contains all pickaxes.
 * Added the block tag.
 * Contains amethyst blocks and budding amethyst.
 * Blocks in this tag play the "amethyst block chime" sound repeatedly for a short amount of time after being stepped on, gradually decreasing in volume.
 * Added the block tag.
 * Contains deepslate and tuff.
 * Added the block tag.
 * Contains dirt, coarse dirt, podzol and rooted dirt.
 * Grass, tall grass, ferns, tall ferns, sweet berry bushes, saplings, flowers, azaleas, sugar cane, and dead bushes can be placed in blocks in this tag.
 * Pumpkins and melons can grow onto blocks in this tag.
 * Added the block tag.
 * Contains the block tag and dirt.
 * Used in dripstone generation to determine what dripstone can replace and what pointed dripstone can generate on.
 * Added the item tag.
 * Contains sweet berries and glow berries.
 * Added the entity type tag.
 * Contains striders, blazes and magma cubes.
 * Entities in this tag take 5 times more damage from the freezing effect.
 * Added the entity type tag.
 * Contains strays, polar bears and snow golems.
 * Entities in this tag cannot be frozen.
 * Added the item tag.
 * Contains leather horse armor, leather boots, leather pants, leather tunic, and leather cap.
 * Having an item in this tag in an armor slot prevents entities from freezing.
 * Added new tag type.
 * Added the item tag.
 * Contains leather.
 * Baby piglins do not attempt to pick up items in this tag. Adult piglins are unaffected. Baby piglins still follow the other rules adult piglins follow.
 * If an item is in this tag while simultaneously being recognized as a wanted item by piglins, this tag takes precedence.
 * Added the game event tag.
 * Contains the step, swim, falling, and shooting projectile events.
 * Game events in this tag are ignored by sculk sensors if the source entity is sneaking.
 * Added the block tag.
 * Contains snow and powder snow.
 * Blocks in this tag create snow stepping noises while the player walks in them.
 * Added the block tag.
 * Contains the  block tag, clay, and moss block.
 * Added the block tag.
 * Contains the #base_stone_overworld block tag, the #cave_vines block tag, dirt, gravel and sand.
 * Added the block and item tag.
 * Contains the block and item tag.
 * Blocks in this tag prevent sculk sensors from hearing vibrations if the block is between the sculk sensor and the vibration.
 * As thrown entities, items in this tag do not trigger vibrations.
 * Added the item tag.
 * Contains raw and cooked porkchop.
 * Piglins can eat items in this tag.
 * Eating refers to the piglin seeking out and picking up an item without appearing in its inventory, thus vanishing.
 * Added the entity tag.
 * Contains foxes, rabbits, endermites, and silverfish.
 * Entities in this tag can walk on top of powder snow.
 * Added the block tag.
 * Contains snow, snow blocks and powder snow.
 * Blocks in this tag turn blocks with a snowy variant below them (like grass) into said snow variant.
 * Added the block tag.
 * Contains stone, granite, diorite, and andesite.
 * Added the game event tag.
 * Contains every game event.
 * Game events in this tag trigger sculk sensors.


 * Textures
 * Removed some unused textures, including:
 * The texture for the zombie villager before 1.9.
 * The "arrow.png" placed outside of the arrow folder that included the purple arrow texture.
 * The ruby item texture.
 * The piglin leather armor models.
 * The footprint particles.

Blocks

 * Banners
 * The unused "base" pattern has been renamed to the "field" pattern and given proper translation strings (its ID is still "base").


 * Beacon
 * Beacon beams are now visible up to 1343 blocks away from the source instead of 256 blocks.


 * Blackstone, gilded blackstone, polished blackstone bricks, and cracked polished blackstone bricks and stair, slab and wall variants
 * Slightly changed the texture.


 * Brewing Stand
 * Changed potion icon in the brewing stand GUI to reflect the new bottle texture in the Texture Update.
 * Removed some stray pixels from the GUI texture.


 * Cakes
 * Have a variation called "Candle Cake".
 * Can be created by using a candle on an uneaten cake.
 * The candle on the cake comes in 17 colors, depending on the color of the candle used to create it.
 * The candle pops off when any of the cake is eaten.


 * Cauldrons
 * Can now be filled with lava and powder snow.
 * Lava-filled cauldrons can damage players and mobs inside of them, and give off a redstone comparator signal of strength 3.
 * Powder snow cauldrons are formed when cauldrons are under the sky during snowfall.
 * Can also be filled with powder snow by a powder snow bucket on it.
 * Have been split into normal, water, lava, and powder snow cauldrons.


 * Composter
 * Some items are now compostable:
 * 30% chance: non-flowering azalea leaves, glow berries, moss carpet, small dripleaf, hanging roots.
 * 50% chance: flowering azalea leaves, glow lichen.
 * 65% chance: spore blossoms, non-flowering azalea, moss blocks, big dripleaf.
 * 85% chance: flowering azalea.


 * Dispenser
 * Can now place powder snow using a powder snow bucket.
 * Also can remove it using a bucket.
 * Can be used to wax copper blocks with Honeycomb.


 * Grass Block
 * Changed part of the dirt of the side texture of snowy grass to match regular grass.


 * Grass Path
 * Renamed to "Dirt Path", as per Bedrock Edition.
 * The block ID has also been changed to.
 * Can now be made with dirt, coarse dirt, rooted dirt, mycelium, and podzol by using a shovel.


 * Lapis lazuli block
 * Renamed to "Block of Lapis Lazuli".


 * Lectern
 * Slightly shrunk top part to prevent z-fighting with fire.


 * Ores
 * Texture changes (all overworld ores except diamond) had the shape of the "ore pattern" in the stone changed to make them visually distinct for colorblind players:
 * {| class="wikitable" data-description="Natural Blocks"

! Name ! Old texture ! New texture ! Deepslate texture
 * Coal Ore
 * Coal Ore JE2 BE2.png
 * Coal Ore JE5.png
 * Deepslate Coal Ore JE1.png
 * Diamond Ore
 * Diamond Ore JE3 BE3.png
 * Diamond Ore JE5.png
 * Deepslate Diamond Ore JE2.png
 * Emerald Ore
 * Emerald Ore JE3 BE2.png
 * Emerald Ore JE4 BE3.png
 * Deepslate Emerald Ore JE1.png
 * Gold Ore
 * Gold Ore JE3 BE2.png
 * Gold Ore JE7.png
 * Deepslate Gold Ore JE2.png
 * Iron Ore
 * Iron Ore JE3.png
 * Iron Ore JE6.png
 * Deepslate Iron Ore JE2.png
 * Lapis Lazuli Ore
 * Lapis Lazuli Ore JE2 BE2.png
 * Lapis Lazuli Ore JE4.png
 * Deepslate Lapis Lazuli Ore JE3.png
 * Redstone Ore
 * Redstone Ore JE2 BE2.png
 * Redstone Ore JE4.png
 * Deepslate Redstone Ore JE2.png
 * }
 * Deepslate Lapis Lazuli Ore JE3.png
 * Redstone Ore
 * Redstone Ore JE2 BE2.png
 * Redstone Ore JE4.png
 * Deepslate Redstone Ore JE2.png
 * }
 * }


 * Pistons
 * Particles now appear if a block is broken by a piston or sticky piston.
 * Sounds, however, do not play.
 * Breaks Budding Amethyst if pushed/pulled with a piston/sticky piston.


 * Pumpkin
 * Changed one pixel on the pumpkin's top texture to remove the possibility for a small swastika to be displayed.


 * Rails
 * Are now able to be waterlogged.


 * Signs
 * Changed the textures of acacia, birch, dark oak, jungle, oak, and spruce signs to reflect new textures in the Texture Update.
 * Can now be tinted with glow ink sacs to make the text glow.
 * Glowing signs do not affect the light level, but appear as if the text itself is illuminated.
 * A new  block state had been added to indicate whether the sign text is lit up.
 * Regular ink sacs can be used to remove the glowing effect.
 * Now has sounds for being dyed.


 * Smoker
 * Changed the top texture of the smoker to fix a stray pixel in the bottom left corner.


 * Stonecutter
 * Can be used to craft the different copper block variants.


 * Structure block
 * Default mode of structure blocks is now "Load". "Data" is now hidden by default.
 * "Data" can be accessed by clicking the mode button while holding the key.


 * Water
 * Flowing water no longer breaks rails.

Items

 * Clock
 * The texture has been changed from Clock JE2 BE2.gif to Clock JE3.gif


 * Compass and Lodestone Compass
 * The texture has been changed from Compass JE2 BE1.gif to Compass JE3.gif


 * Firework Rockets
 * Simple firework rockets with one gunpowder can now be crafted using the recipe book.


 * Jungle Doors
 * Changed the texture of the jungle door item to reflect the block texture in the Texture Update.


 * Pufferfish
 * The strength of the poison effect has been decreased from IV to II.


 * Shulker boxes
 * They now drop their items when destroyed as entities.


 * Spectral Arrows
 * Fired spectral arrows are now entirely golden to reflect the item texture in the Texture Update.


 * Sugar Cane
 * Changed the texture of the sugar cane item to better reflect biome tinting added in 1.7.2.


 * Suspicious Stew
 * Can now be eaten even if the player is at full hunger.

Mobs

 * Cats
 * Changed the texture of the siamese cat type, mostly brightening it.


 * Drowned
 * Now have a chance of dropping a copper ingot instead of a gold ingot.


 * Endermen
 * Can now pick up rooted dirt.


 * Foxes
 * Eat glow berries.


 * Guardian and Elder Guardian
 * Removed some stray pixels from the texture file.
 * Now drop cooked cod or salmon instead of raw cod or salmon if on fire when killed or killed by a fire source.


 * Husk, zombie and zombie villager
 * Now drop baked potatoes instead of normal potatoes if on fire when killed or killed by a fire source.


 * Polar bears
 * Now drop cooked cod or salmon instead of raw cod or salmon if on fire when killed or killed by a fire source.


 * Shulkers
 * If a shulker is hit by another shulker's projectile, it now has a chance of spawning a new shulker. Shulkers are more likely to spawn new shulkers when there are fewer shulkers nearby.


 * Skeletons
 * Begin the process of turning into strays when they are inside powder snow after 7 second.


 * Slime
 * The maximum size that slimes can be summoned with is now 128.


 * Villagers and Zombie Villagers
 * Moved the librarian top overlay texture to correct side of torso.
 * Mason villagers can now sell 4 dripstone blocks for an emerald.
 * Can now accept a filled cauldron as a valid workstation.


 * Wandering Traders
 * Added the following trades to the wandering trader:
 * Will sell 2 small dripleafs for an emerald.
 * Will sell 2 pointed dripstones for an emerald.
 * Will sell 2 rooted dirt for an emerald.
 * Will sell 2 moss blocks for an emerald.

Non-mob entities

 * Experience Orbs
 * Now sometimes merge when in large quantities, to improve performance.
 * Merging does not affect the amount of experience gathered from collecting the merged orbs.
 * No longer follow dead players.


 * Minecarts
 * Can now move in water, but move considerably slower than they do on land.


 * Paintings
 * Changed the back texture to reflect the texture of the planks in the Texture Update.

World generation

 * Biomes
 * Biome-specific sky colors now blend more smoothly.


 * Mineshafts
 * Mineshaft pieces no longer generate if they were fully floating in the air.
 * Corridors now generate with wooden logs as pillars for support, or chains and oak fences as hanging support if needed.
 * Cobwebs no longer generate floating without an adjacent block.
 * Glow berries can be found in mineshaft chest minecarts.


 * Shipwrecks
 * Moss blocks can be found in chests.

Command format

 * The give command can give only up to 100 stacks of items at a time (e.g. 6400 stone or 100 iron swords)
 * The give command can give only up to 100 stacks of items at a time (e.g. 6400 stone or 100 iron swords)


 * Removed command.
 * Replaced with.
 * Replaced with.


 * Can no longer set a player's spawn point to areas that are out of the world.
 * Can no longer set a player's spawn point to areas that are out of the world.

Gameplay

 * Absorption effect
 * The yellow absorption hearts now stay yellow if the player has the Poison or Wither effects, instead of appearing empty.


 * Advancements
 * Glow berries are now required for "A Balanced Diet".
 * Goats and axolotls are now required for "Two by Two" and available for "The Parrots and the Bats".
 * The advancement for obtaining diamond armor is now capitalized as "Cover Me with Diamonds", as opposed to "Cover Me With Diamonds".


 * Build limit
 * The message for letting the player know they are attempting to build beyond the build limit no longer says "blocks" at the end.


 * Glowing is now based on the outline of all layers on an entity, not just the base layer.
 * Glowing is now based on the outline of all layers on an entity, not just the base layer.


 * Loot tables
 * Loot tables can now access scoreboard values by UUID.
 * Loot table values inside random number generators can now be nested.
 * Changed condition:
 * parameter has now been replaced with . It can either contain value from old field (like ) or be an score holder name in form.
 * Changed function:
 * This function now has parameter. If, change is relative to current damage. If , damage is replaced with current value (default behavior)
 * Changed function:
 * This function now has parameter. If, change is relative to current item count. If , item count is replaced with current value (default behavior)
 * Changed function:
 * parameter can now be set to, to access command storage.


 * NBT data
 * All projectile entity data now has a field called HasBeenShot.
 * If this field is false, during the next tick the projectile fires a projectile shot game event, causing any nearby sculk sensors to react.


 * Recipe Book
 * Some recipe-unlocking advancements had criteria names changed.
 * The chiseled nether bricks recipe is now unlocked by having a nether brick slab instead of a nether brick block.
 * The chiseled polished blackstone crafting recipe is now unlocked by having a polished blackstone slab, instead of polished blackstone.
 * Simple firework rockets with one gunpowder can now be crafted using the recipe book.


 * Snowfall
 * During snowfall, cauldrons under the sky now slowly fills with powder snow.


 * Spawning
 * Added a new mob cap category, underground water creature.
 * Used by axolotls and glow squids.
 * Have a cap of 5, are friendly, are not persistent and despawn at 128 blocks or more from the player.


 * Spectator mode
 * It is now possible to see while inside lava.


 * Subtitles
 * Changed  to.
 * Changed  to.
 * Changed the subtitles for stripping logs and wood from "Axe scrapes" to "Axe strips".
 * "Axe scrapes" is now used for copper blocks.

General

 * Block Models
 * Made the vine's block model much simpler.


 * Code
 * Unused parts of code (unused static fields and methods) are no longer removed.
 * Although this does not affect the game itself, it adds more information for modders.
 * Updated required Java version to Java 16


 * Creative inventory
 * The Redstone Tab has been reordered to prioritize highly-used blocks.
 * Slime blocks and honey blocks are moved to the Redstone tab.
 * Redstone items/blocks have been grouped and ordered in the following way (from top to bottom): Essentials, Unique activators, Miscellaneous, Common activators, and Openables.
 * The category for the recipe book advancements for these recipes has moved as well.


 * Custom dimensions
 * Added height and min_y variables to dimension types, allowing for the height limit to be increased in custom worlds settings.


 * Data and Resource Packs
 * Changed the  number in   from 6 to 7.
 * Changed the resource pack version number from 6 to 7, as the following have been changed:
 * Drowned texture mirroring has changed.
 * Slots for the game mode selector are now 26 pixels instead of 25.
 * Data pack version is also changed to 7.


 * Dedicated servers
 * A dedicated server can enforce custom resource packs by setting in . When this option is used, players are prompted for a response and get disconnected if they decline the required pack.


 * Entity storage
 * Entities have been extracted from main (terrain) chunks and are now stored in separate directory (similar to POI storage). Those new files are still region files with NBT.


 * Game library updates
 * Rendering is now using OpenGL 3.2 core profile.
 * All fixed-function rendering has been replaced with shader-based rendering.
 * The game now uses javabridge 1.1.23 instead of 1.0.22.


 * Languages
 * Removed the Gothic, Kabyle, Maori, Mohawk, Nuk, Ojibwe, and Talossan languages as their translations were incomplete.


 * Materials
 * Removed the coral material.
 * Added the moss material.


 * Menu screen
 * Buttons tied to a set of values can now be scrolled through.
 * Clicking on a menu button changes it to the previous value.
 * The debug mode can now be accessed only by holding instead of  while clicking on the world type button.


 * Obfuscation map
 * Changed the license included in the obfuscation map.


 * Resource packs
 * Improved performance when using many overrides on an item model.
 * toasts.png GUI texture has a new icon for the bundle tutorial.


 * Servers
 * Removed the server setting.
 * Changed the error message for failing to connect to the authentication servers. Now says they are "not reachable" instead of "down for maintenance".


 * Splashes
 * Changed the splash "OpenGL 2.1 (if supported)!" to "Now on OpenGL 3.2 core profile!"


 * Tags
 * Added azalea leaves and azalea leaves flowers to the block and item tags.
 * Added flowering azalea leaves and flowering azaleas to the block and item tags.
 * Added deepslate and tuff to the block tag and deepslate to the  item tags.
 * Added deepslate gold ore to the block and item tags.
 * Added all copper slab and stair variants, as well as various deepslate variants to the block and item tags.
 * Added cave vines and cave vines plant to the block tag.
 * Added tinted glass to the block tag.
 * Added raw gold to the item tag.
 * Changed the block tags to use the  block tag, removing other mentions of dirt blocks from the tags.


 * Translation strings
 * The "World Type" string no longer contains a colon (":"). The colon is still visible in-game, however.
 * Changed "Use VSync" to "VSync".
 * Removed the unused string for enabling VBOs, "Use VBOs".
 * Added strings, "Mode", "Type", "Triggering", and "Track output". These are read out by the narrator for buttons in the command block UI.


 * World Selection
 * Added unique warnings for downgrading a world.

Fixes

 * Other
 * Improved desync issues when exiting a boat over a high latency connection.
 * Fixed crashes.

Videos
Videos made by slicedlime:

Trivia

 * 1.17 was released exactly 5 years after 1.10.
 * 1.17 has the third longest timespan of development versions of a major update so far, with the first snapshot, 20w45a, being released on November 4, 2020, 216 days before the full release.
 * Bested by the timespan between 14w02a and the full release of 1.8 (236 days), and the timespan between 17w43a and the full release of 1.13 (266 days).
 * 1.17 also has the third longest wait for a major update to Java Edition, with 350 days having elapsed since the release of 1.16 on June 23, 2020.
 * Bested by the wait time between 1.12 and 1.13 (406 days), and the wait time between 1.8 and 1.9 (545 days).
 * 1.17 is dubbed the title "slow farm update" by technical Minecraft YouTuber ilmango, because of the addition of several time-consuming processes in this update: amethyst growth, dripstone growth, copper block aging, and the accumulation of powder snow and lava in cauldrons.
 * Out of all first-of-the-week snapshots for 1.17, no snapshot was delayed (or released early).