Minecraft Datapacks

The data pack system provides a way for players to further customize their Minecraft experience. Data packs can be used to override or add new advancements, dimensions, functions, loot tables, predicates, recipes, structures, tags, world generation settings, and biomes without any code modification. Data packs can be placed in the .minecraft/saves/(world)/datapacks folder of a world. Each data pack is either a sub-folder or a .zip file within the datapacks folder. After it is in the folder, a data pack is enabled for that world when the world is reloaded or loaded. Data packs load their data based on the load order. This order can be seen and altered by using the /datapack command and is stored in the level.dat file. The player can also select data packs at the world creation screen by clicking the Data Packs button and dragging-and-dropping their data pack folders/zip-files there. This is similar to the Resource Pack selection screen, and allows the player to enable data packs before the world is generated, and easily customize the load order too. History of Datapacks 1.13 17w43a Added data packs. 17w46a Added /datapack, a command to control loaded data packs. 17w48a Data packs can now load custom recipes. Added the initial pack format version of 4. 17w49a Tags can now be created with data packs. 17w49b Tags can now be created for functions. Functions tagged in tick now run every tick at the beginning of the tick. 18w01a Added set_name function to loot tables. Functions tagged in load now run once after a (re)load. Crash reports now list what data packs are enabled. 1.14 18w43a Tags can now be created for entity types. 1.15 19w38a Added predicates folder where predicates can be defined. Pre-release 1 Changed the pack format number to 5. 1.16 20w22a Slightly changed data pack loading to prevent custom data packs from crashing. If data pack reload fails, changes are not applied and the game continues using previous data. Changes to data pack list are stored only after successful reload. If existing data packs prevent the world from loading, the game gives an option to load the world in safe mode, which loads only vanilla data pack. Added --safeMode option for servers to load only with vanilla data pack. Game now detects any critical data pack issues, such as required tags being missing, and prevent the world from being loaded. Pre-release 1 Data packs can now be loaded before the world is created. Data packs can now add and change dimensions and dimension types. 1.16.2 20w27a Data packs can now have a pack.png in the root folder, and display it in the data pack menu. 20w28a Custom worlds now support custom biomes and can now be used in custom dimension generators. Datapacks can now customize world generation in the worldgen folder Release Candidate 1 Changed the pack format number to 6. 1.17 20w45a Pack format in version.json has been split into data and resource versions. 20w46a Changed the pack format version to 7. Upcoming Java Edition 1.18 21w37a Changed the pack format version to 8.