Minecraft Carver

Configured Carvers

This content applies only to Java Edition.

Configured carvers (carvers for short) are the basic units the game uses for terrain carving. Definition files are their data-driven definitions in datapacks.

Definition format

Carvers use the CONFIGURED_CARVER registry. Before 26.3 the datapack path is worldgen/configured_carver (definitions in data/<namespace>/worldgen/configured_carver, tags in data/<namespace>/tags/worldgen/configured_carver). From 26.3 the path is worldgen/carver (and tags/worldgen/carver).

Definition files use JSON with the following structure:

• JSON file root object
  • type (string, required): (namespace ID) carver type.
  • config (compound, required): the carver's configuration.
    • probability (float, required): (0.0≤v≤1.0) chance per chunk to attempt generation.
    • replaceable (string/list, required): blocks the carver can carve (block ID, tag, or list).
    • y (compound, required): height the carver attempts to generate (height provider).
    • lava_level (compound, required): carved areas at or below this Y are filled with lava (vertical anchor).
    • debug_settings (compound): debug settings; debug_mode (bool, default false).
    • air_state (block state, default acacia button): replaces air.
    • water_state (block state, default candle, waterlogged if possible): replaces water.
    • lava_state (block state, default orange stained glass pane): replaces lava.
    • barrier_state (block state, default glass): replaces aquifer barrier blocks.
    • yScale (float provider, required): vertical scaling of carved caves.

Carver types

• cave — carves circular chambers and cave tunnels; the common small caves.
• canyon — carves a canyon.
• nether_cave — like cave, but vertically larger; ignores aquifers and surface rules; fills lava below bottom_y + 32.0.

Cave config: horizontal_radius_multiplier (float provider, required), vertical_radius_multiplier (float provider, required), floor_level (float provider, required, 0.0–1.0; 0 = ellipsoid, 1 = upper half ellipsoid for flat floors).

Canyon config: vertical_rotation (float provider, required), shape (compound): distance_factor (float provider, required), thickness (float provider, required), horizontal_radius_factor (float provider, required), vertical_radius_default_factor (float), vertical_radius_center_factor (float), width_smoothness (int, ≥1).

Definition behavior

Carver data is loaded only once at server startup; /reload does not reload it — a server restart is required. During world generation, configured carvers carve carver caves at specified positions.