Tutorials/Sound directory

This tutorial will help you locate the sound directory, where the sounds for the PC version of Minecraft are stored.

Sound directory (after 1.7.2)
The sound files in version 1.7.2 (specifically 13w42a) and above are scattered and hashed into different folders, which are located in:


 * Windows:
 * Mac OS X:
 * Linux:

Locating specific sound files
Find the folder indexes, which is found under the same assets folder as objects, where the sound files are indexed and logged in the sounds.json file. Select the version you want and open the sounds.json file with a program that supports it, such as Notepad. Programs such as Notepad++ are recommended to help make the file more readable. Once opened, you may find something that looks like this:

From this, we can determine that  is hashed (or labeled) as. Perform a search in the directory objects under assets and you should find a file with the same exact string; this is the file "menu1.ogg", one of the pieces of music that plays on the menu screen. The first two letters of the file name ("c1") will match the folder that the file is in as well; knowing this can help locate specific files faster.

After locating the file, you can test it to make sure it is the right one by playing it with a media player that is able to play .ogg sound files. If the media player you have cannot play the file, try renaming it with ".ogg" at the end. If this fails too, then it either means the media player you use does not have proper .ogg extension to play the sound, or the file you found is not a sound file.

Note: If you accidentally edit or remove the file from the original directory, the launcher will automatically re-download it again the next time you launch the game. (You must be connected to the Internet when you launch the game. If not, then the sound directory will not be reset and could potentially lead to errors.)

Old sound directory (pre-1.7)
If you play the game before 1.7.2, the sound directory is located as follows:


 * Windows:  or
 * Mac OS X:
 * Linux:

If you have played both the old and new versions, then both the old and new directories will exist in the game files. The old directory is only used for pre-1.7 versions.

Legacy sub-folders
In, there are 13 sub folders:


 * : Ambiance and rain/thunder
 * : Sounds of the player taking damage
 * : Breaking blocks
 * : Fire sounds
 * : Fireworks sound effects
 * : Sounds made by water/lava
 * : Sounds created by moving minecarts
 * : Mob sounds
 * : Background music by C418
 * : Various sound effects from eating to explosions
 * : Music on the record discs found
 * : Footsteps
 * : Pistons

Warning
If you edit, add, or remove sounds directly in the sound directory, executing the launcher and then launching Minecraft while connected to the Internet will automatically re-download and revert any changes you've made to the sound directory, deleting your work. This applies for both the new and old sound directories. Disconnecting from the Internet before launching the game will not revert the files, but this is not recommended. The best method to safely store custom sounds is to create your own resource pack.

Video tutorials
Minecraft Tutorial: Locate the Minecraft Sound Directory and Convert Audio Files (Old sound directory only)

How to Make Custom Sounds in Minecraft 1.8.7 (How to safely edit sound files into a resource pack)