How to install data packs in Minecraft

Data packs modify game rules: recipes, loot tables, advancements, structures, functions and more. Unlike mods, they need no loader and are installed per world, not for the whole game.

1. Download the data pack

It is a .zip file that you do not extract. Make sure it is for your Minecraft version: the data pack format changes between versions and an old one may not load.

2. Install it in a new world

When creating a world, press Data Packs on the creation screen. A menu like the resource pack one opens: drag the .zip onto the game window or press Open Pack Folder, copy the file there and move it to the selected column. Then create the world.

2. Install it in an existing world

Copy the .zip into the world's datapacks folder:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\.minecraft\saves\<world name>\datapacks
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft/saves/<world name>/datapacks
• Linux: ~/.minecraft/saves/<world name>/datapacks

If the world is open, type the /reload command in chat to load it. If it is closed, it loads when you open it.

3. Check it is active

With cheats enabled, type /datapack list in chat. You will see the enabled packs. If yours shows as disabled, enable it with /datapack enable "file/name.zip".

Servers

On a server the folder is world/datapacks (or the world folder set in server.properties). Copy the .zip there and run /reload from the console or as an operator.

Tips

• Back up the world before installing data packs that change structures or world generation: they only affect new chunks and cannot be undone in chunks already generated.
• If the game warns that a data pack is for another version, it usually still works, but test it on a copy of the world.
• To remove it, delete it from the world's datapacks folder or disable it with the command.