Formatting codes

Text in Minecraft can be formatted with the section sign. In normal gameplay, the section sign can only be entered into book and quills. However, external programs can be used to insert it in other locations.

Color codes


Messages sent from the server to the client can contain color codes, which allow coloring of text for various purposes.

A section sign (§) followed by a hex digit in the message tells the client to switch colors while displaying text.

Formatting codes
Text can be formatted using the § symbol followed by a character.

[INFO] The § symbol can only be used in Book and Quills in Minecraft without using an external program. Some Bukkit plugins allow you to use § to format other text. The § symbol may be used in the server.properties file and the Minecraft Server text box.

To enter "§" on Windows with most US/UK English keyboards type, or (In both cases, you must use the Number Pad). On a Mac US keyboard, ( for US Extended). On Linux with the compose key activated, type. Alternatively, you can copy the character from this page, and press to paste the character into a book. Note that this does not work on the Minecraft chat bar or Command Block GUI.

If a color code is used after a formatting code, the formatting code will be disabled beyond the color code point. For example,  displays as X Y , whereas   displays as X Y. Therefore, when using a color code in tandem with a formatting code, ensure the color code is used first and reuse the formatting code when changing colors. can be used to reset all texts format beyond it, e.g.  displays as XXX YYY

Note: The random characters placed after  will always be the same width as the original characters, except if using   and   in 1.4.5 - 1.5.2. For example, any random character cycled through where the letter "m" would be wide characters while any random character in the spot an "i" would be narrow characters.

Sample Text
The following text can be pasted into a Book and Quill to produce what is shown in the picture at the top of the page:

§nMinecraft Formatting

§r§00 §11 §22 §33 §44 §55 §66 §77 §88 §99 §aa §bb §cc §dd §ee §ff

§r§0k §kMinecraft §rl §lMinecraft §rm §mMinecraft §rn §nMinecraft §ro §oMinecraft §rr §rMinecraft

Use in server.properties and pack.mcmeta
In order to get a MOTD colored or formatted you need to put \u00A7 instead of the §. So for example, §5 would turn into \u00A75. The full list of these is listed below.

Compatibility with older versions
Formatting codes can be used in the  line in a server.properties file, but the section signs must be escaped as. If a section sign is entered directly, the server will replace it with  (Â§); clients will display the \u00C2 character as a question mark. Delete the \u00C2 character in the MOTD if it comes with a bunch of question marks. This will happen if you are minecraft version 1.2.5 or below, or something is not compatible.

Use in custom language packs
Formatting codes can also be used to color item/achievement names/descriptions/block names by using



Additionally, you can rename the world's folder to contain one of the codes. In the world selection menu, the specified color or effect will appear.

You can also use a resource pack with a § already in the world name when creating a world and all the user has to do is to change the color code after the §.

Use in server names
With the use of a third party tool such as NBTExplorer, server names can have custom colors. To utilize this functionality you select the Name attribute in the servers.dat file in your .minecraft directory using your third party tool. In the following example the Name tag is set to:



Formatting codes 样式代码