Tutorials/Creating a data pack

This tutorial shows how to create a data pack.

Getting Started
Note: This tutorial should take around 1 to 1.5 hours to complete.

Data packs can be used to add or modify functions, loot tables, world structures, advancements, recipes and tags.

What not to do
There are a some things that you should not do before creating a data pack. Here is a list of "don'ts":
 * Do anything that violates Mojang's terms of use for Minecraft.
 * Release Minecraft versions or modifications that allow players to play without having bought Minecraft from Mojang.
 * Release the decompiled source code of Minecraft in any way.

Creating a data pack
To create a data pack, start off by navigating to the  folder inside the world folder. To find the world folder, locate the  folder inside .minecraft. Once you are in the folder, create and open a folder and name it: "Tutorial Data Pack". This is the name of your data pack, which can be whatever you want.

The first thing to do after you have created the folder is to create a  file. This lets Minecraft know that the folder is a data pack.

Creating an MCMETA file
To create an MCMETA file, right click in the 'Tutorial_Data_Pack' folder and create a new text document. Name this file “pack.mcmeta”.

Requirement
You can download Notepad++ from here:
 * Any text editor should work but a suggested editor is Notepad++. It's a free text editor, with syntax highlighting for many programming languages.

Make sure the file extension is  and not   when you rename it. You may be warned that changing a file name extension could make the file unusable. However, don't worry about that message; keep the correct file extension no matter what.
 * Note

If you can’t see file extensions, you can turn them on by going to the View menu of the file explorer and checking the check box for file name extensions.



pack.mcmeta
Open  in a text editor of your choice and copy or type the following:

{       "pack": { "pack_format": 1, "description": "Tutorial Data Pack" }   }

The  can be any number as it's currently not enforced. The  can be any string and will show when hovering over your data pack in the output from.

This file is written in JSON! This tutorial does not go into specifics about the format now, but be aware about how things are laid out. '''Be very careful not to forget quotation marks, colons, and curly or square brackets. Missing one of these can lead to your data pack not working correctly!''' To check your files you can use a JSON validator, such as the one found on JSONLint.
 * Note

data
Make a folder called  in your datapack folder, the same folder you placed the   file in. In this  folder you have to create another folder which will act as your. Most things in the game have a namespace, so that if both, something and a mod (or map, or whatever) are added to the game, they both act as different "somethings".

Whenever you're asked to name something, for example, a loot table, you're expected to also provide what namespace that thing comes from. If you don't specify the namespace it will be  on default. This means that  and   are the same thing.

Make sure to always use your own namespace for anything new that you add, and only use other namespaces if you're explicitly overriding something else. Basically, try not to add new things in. Namespace and other folder and file names in the data pack should only contain the following symbols:

•  Numbers

•  Lowercase letters

•  Underscore

•  Hyphen/minus

•  Forward Slash/Directory separator (Can't be used in namespace)

•  Period (Can't be used in namespace)

The preferred naming convention is.

Testing our Pack
Once you have created your data pack, try testing it out in game! Launch Minecraft and open the world, then type. It should say two things. One is for “vanilla”, the second one should start with “/file”.

Troubleshooting
If you don’t see your pack working, make sure your  is correct. If it isn't, look for any missing curly braces { }, commas, colons :, quotation marks “”, or square brackets [ ]. Remember that for each open brace, quotation, or square bracket, you must have a closing brace, quotation, or square bracket.

Functions
Functions are a set of commands that can be run in order.

To add functions, first create a folder named  inside the namespace folder. Then, create a file named. This will be your functions file. See more on the Functions page. Your function will be named in the game as.

Loot tables
Loot tables will tell Minecraft what should be dropped when a mob dies or what should be generated inside containers, like chests, when opened for the first time. Create your loot table with the following name:. The loot table will be named in game as.

Here is an example of a cow's loot table, it can be used as a reference: {       "pools": [ {               "rolls": 1, "entries": [ {                       "type": "item", "name": "minecraft:leather", "weight": 1, "functions": [ {                               "function": "set_count", "count": { "min": 0, "max": 2 }                           },                            {                                "function": "looting_enchant", "count": { "min": 0, "max": 1 }                           }                        ]                    }                ]            },            {                "rolls": 1, "entries": [ {                       "type": "item", "name": "minecraft:beef", "weight": 1, "functions": [ {                               "function": "set_count", "count": { "min": 1, "max": 3 }                           },                            {                                "function": "furnace_smelt", "conditions": [ {                                       "condition": "entity_properties", "entity": "this", "properties": { "on_fire": true }                                   }                                ]                            },                            {                                "function": "looting_enchant", "count": { "min": 0, "max": 1 }                           }                        ]                    }                ]            }        ]    }

To learn what each tag means, see Loot tables. There are also a list of loot tables at that page.

Structures
Structures can be used with structure blocks and/or can overwrite how certain vanilla structures look in Minecraft. It is saved in an NBT format. You can create an NBT file by using a structure block or by exporting using a third party program like MCEdit. Then, create a folder call  inside the namespace folder. After that, paste your file with the name. Your structure can be loaded with structure blocks. It will be named as.

Advancements
Data packs also have the ability to change and add advancements. To do this, the first thing you need to do is create a folder named. Then, create your advancement file. See Advancements for a tutorial. The advancement file should be named as. Its name in the game will be.

Recipes
Modifying recipes is yet another function of data packs. First, create a folder named  in the namespace folder you just named. Next, create and open a file (with file extensions) named.

Shaped crafting
The first common type of crafting is shaped crafting.

{       "type": "crafting_shaped", "pattern": [ "123",           "231",            "312"        ],        "key": { "1": {               "item": "" },           "2": {                "item": "" },           "3": {                "item": "" }       },        "result": { "item": "", "count": 5 }   }

This is a rough example of a shaped crafting recipe, as specified by the  type. is a list used to specify the shape of the crafting recipe. It contains a maximum of 3 strings, each string standing for one row in the crafting grid. These strings then contain a maximum of 3 single characters next to eachother, each character standing for one spot in the crafting grid. You don't need all 3 strings, nor do you need to have 3 characters in each string. But each string should contain the same amount of characters. You can use spaces to indicate empty spots.

is a compound used to specify what item should be used for which character in. This can either be specified using  followed by an item ID or   followed by an item datapack tag.

The  compound speaks for itself, it specified what the resulting item should be. is used to specify how many of the item should be given.

This is the original recipe for a piston (can be used as a reference):

{       "type": "crafting_shaped", "pattern": [ "TTT", "#X#", "#R#" ],       "key": { "R": { "item": "minecraft:redstone" },           "#": {                "item": "minecraft:cobblestone" },           "T": { "tag": "minecraft:planks" },           "X": { "item": "minecraft:iron_ingot" }       },        "result": { "item": "minecraft:piston" }   }

Shapeless crafting
There's another common type of recipes, a shapeless recipe. {       "type": "crafting_shapeless", "ingredients": [ {               "item": "" },           {                "item": "" },           [                {                    "item": "" },               {                    "item": "" }           ]        ],        "result": { "item": "", "count": 5 }   }

As specified by the  type, this is a recipe without a. The  can be put in the crafting grid in any shape or form. In the example, there's a list inside the  compound. This means any of the items in this list can be used.

This is the original recipe for Fire Charge (can be used as a reference): {       "type": "crafting_shapeless", "ingredients": [ {               "item": "minecraft:gunpowder" },           {                "item": "minecraft:blaze_powder" },           [                {                    "item": "minecraft:coal" },               {                    "item": "minecraft:charcoal" }           ]        ],        "result": { "item": "minecraft:fire_charge", "count": 3 }   }

The recipe will be named in-game as.