Minecraft Pig Variant

Pig Variants

This content applies only to Java Edition.

Pig variant definition files define pig variants and their spawn rules.

Definition format

Pig variants use the PIG_VARIANT registry; the datapack path is pig_variant (definitions in data/<namespace>/pig_variant).

Definition files use JSON with the following structure:

• JSON file root object
  • asset_id (string, required): (namespace ID) pig texture; resolved to assets/<namespace>/textures/<path>.png.
  • baby_asset_id (string, required): (namespace ID) baby pig texture; resolved the same way.
  • model (string, default normal): normal (temperate/tropical pigs) or cold (cold pigs).
  • spawn_conditions (list, required): variant spawn selectors.
    • One selector (compound):
      • condition (compound): conditions for the selector; absent = always.
        • type (string, required): biome (checks biomes — tag #, ID, or list), moon_brightness (checks range min-max bounds; full moon 1, new moon 0), or structure (checks structures — tag #, ID, or list).
      • priority (int, required): selection priority; ties are resolved randomly.

Definition behavior

Pig variant data is loaded only once at server startup; /reload does not reload it — a server restart is required. The PIG_VARIANT registry must have at least one element, or the game errors during sync and blocks world loading.

When spawning a pig, the game evaluates all variant selectors and spawns the variant of a highest-priority valid selector (random among ties).