Minecraft Tutorial Datapack Create

Tutorial: Making a Data Pack

How to make data packs for Java Edition (Bedrock's equivalent: behavior packs). Prerequisites: command blocks, basic JSON and SNBT.

Overview

A data pack is a folder or zip adding/modifying functions, loot tables, world structures, advancements, recipes, predicates, tags, dimensions, custom worldgen, etc. Unlike mods (which decompile/replace Java code), data packs only feed data into the fixed interfaces the vanilla game defines. Data packs also power vanilla-style maps and minigames, usually combined with resource packs.

Setup (VS Code)

• Install VS Code, then the extensions: "syntax-mcfunction" and "Datapack Helper Plus by Spyglass" (DHP; requires syntax-mcfunction). The Chinese language pack is optional.
• If Spyglass fails to initialize (connection errors): add DNS-resolved IPs for raw.githubusercontent.com and github.com to the hosts file (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts, save as admin), then reinstall the extension.
• Verify autocomplete works in a data/<ns>/function/test.mcfunction; if not, add a spyglass.json at the workspace root with an env object (see the DHP docs).

Creating the Data Pack

1. Java 1.21.6+: run /datapack create my_example "description" in chat (it creates the folder in the save), then via the world's "Edit" → "Open world folder" → datapacks/ find it. (1.21.5 and below: create the folder manually.)
2. Required structure: <pack>/data/ + <pack>/pack.mcmeta at the pack root (a zip works too).

pack.mcmeta

Required so Minecraft recognizes the pack. Example:

{
  "pack": {
    "description": { "text": "Tutorial pack", "color": "gold" },
    "min_format": 88,
    "max_format": 88
  }
}

• pack_format (deprecated) / min_format/max_format — the pack version; F3+V shows the current game's pack_data number. supported_formats (deprecated) sets a version range.
• A mismatched version shows the pack as "incompatible" in the UI but doesn't necessarily break loading — the directory structure and file contents are what really matter.
• Check with /datapack list; if your pack is missing, verify pack.mcmeta exists (not empty), is valid JSON (braces/quotes/commas; field names in double quotes — not SNBT), and sits at the pack root.

Adding Content

• Namespaces: data/ may contain several namespaces (e.g. minecraft for overrides, test for custom content). Namespace/path/folder/file names allow only 0-9, a-z, _, -, / (not in namespaces), .; prefer lower_case_with_underscores and keep namespaces unique (your game ID is a safe choice).
• Namespace IDs and registries: see the namespaced-id skill; every file in data/<ns>/<registry>/<path>.json registers <ns>:<path>.
• Functions: see the function skill (first function, basic usage/debugging).
• JSON files: see the JSON tutorial (extract the jar to browse vanilla JSON, use source to confirm formats).
• Autocomplete: DHP provides field completion/descriptions for JSON and SNBT.
• Structure files (.nbt): save structures with structure blocks → files appear under .minecraft/saves/<save>/generated/<ns>/structures/<name>.nbt; copy them into your pack's data/<ns>/structure/.
• Reference the vanilla pack: unzip the client jar — its data/ has the same layout as your pack; copy and tweak vanilla files for small adjustments.
• With resource packs: combine for "vanilla mods" (custom items, trims); see the custom-item and custom-armor-trim tutorials. For large datapacks consider code generation with tools like Beet (Python plugins transform pack files; e.g. the Gamemode4 project).

Tools

Many community converters and syntax-highlight extensions exist — install third-party tools carefully (not officially monitored).

See also: the data-pack skill, install tutorial, function tutorial, JSON tutorial, input detection tutorial; examples: raycasting, sight magic.