Create, edit, and debug Minecraft vanilla datapacks for 1.21.x. Covers the full datapack format: pack.mcmeta, function files (.mcfunction), advancements, predicates, loot tables, item modifiers, recipe overrides, tags, damage types, dimension types, worldgen overrides, and structure sets. Handles function syntax, execute command chains, macro functions (1.20.2+), storage NBT, scoreboard operations, advancement triggers, pack format numbers, and /reload workflow. No Java or mod loader required — pure vanilla JSON and .mcfunction files. Use when creating or editing Minecraft datapacks, writing .mcfunction files, configuring loot tables or advancements, or any vanilla datapack development that does not need mod loaders.
npx skills add https://github.com/Jahrome907/minecraft-agent-skills --skill minecraft-datapack
Use when: the deliverable is datapack files (pack.mcmeta, data/...) and .mcfunction/JSON content.Do not use when: the request is command-only snippets not tied to a datapack file tree (minecraft-commands-scripting).Do not use when: the request requires loader APIs, Java code, or runtime mod behavior (minecraft-modding).| Minecraft Version | Preferred pack metadata |
|-------------------|---------------------------|
| 1.21 / 1.21.1 | pack_format: 48 |
| 1.21.2 / 1.21.3 | pack_format: 57 |
| 1.21.4 | pack_format: 61 |
| 1.21.5 | pack_format: 71 |
| 1.21.6 | pack_format: 80 |
| 1.21.7 / 1.21.8 | pack_format: 81 |
| 1.21.9 / 1.21.10 | min_format: [88, 0], max_format: [88, 0] |
| 1.21.11 | min_format: [94, 1], max_format: [94, 1] |
Use pack_format through 1.21.8. Starting in 1.21.9, Mojang replaced that
single field with explicit min_format / max_format values.
For exact patch targeting, use [major, minor] arrays for both min_format and
max_format, including .0 versions such as [88, 0]. A single integer is
equivalent to [major, 0] for min_format, while a single integer in
max_format allows any minor version on that major line. Do not write decimal
JSON numbers such as 94.1.
Keep pack.mcmeta exact for the patch you target instead of trying to span the
entire 1.21.x line with one metadata block.
my-datapack/
├── pack.mcmeta
└── data/
└── <namespace>/ ← use your pack's name (e.g., mypack)
├── function/
│ ├── main.mcfunction
│ └── tick.mcfunction
├── advancement/
│ └── custom_advancement.json
├── recipe/
│ └── custom_recipe.json
├── loot_table/
│ └── custom_loot.json
├── predicate/
│ └── is_night.json
├── item_modifier/
│ └── add_name.json
└── tags/
├── block/
│ └── climbable.json
├── entity_type/
│ └── bosses.json
└── function/
├── load.json ← runs on /reload
└── tick.json ← runs every game tick
pack.mcmeta{
"pack": {
"pack_format": 81,
"description": "My Custom Datapack v1.0"
}
}
{
"pack": {
"min_format": [88, 0],
"max_format": [88, 0],
"description": "My Custom Datapack v1.0"
}
}
{
"pack": {
"min_format": [94, 1],
"max_format": [94, 1],
"description": "My Custom Datapack v1.0"
}
}
data/<namespace>/tags/function/load.json{
"values": [
"<namespace>:setup"
]
}
data/<namespace>/tags/function/tick.json{
"values": [
"<namespace>:tick"
]
}
data/<namespace>/function/setup.mcfunction# Runs once on /reload
scoreboard objectives add deaths deathCount
scoreboard objectives add kills playerKillCount
tellraw @a {"text":"[MyPack] Loaded!","color":"green"}
data/<namespace>/function/tick.mcfunction# Runs every tick — KEEP THIS SHORT
# Only put fast, targeted operations here
execute as @a[scores={deaths=1..}] run function mypack:on_death_check
# Chained execute — common datapack pattern for conditional per-player logic
execute as @a[gamemode=!spectator] at @s if block ~ ~-1 ~ #minecraft:logs run give @s minecraft:apple
# store result into score (bridge between NBT world and scoreboard state)
execute store result score @s mypack.health run data get entity @s Health
# in: run logic in another dimension
execute in minecraft:the_nether run say This runs in the Nether
# Storage is the datapack-native key-value store — persists across /reload
data modify storage mypack:data config.difficulty set value "hard"
data get storage mypack:data config.difficulty
# Copy live entity data into storage for macro use or cross-function state
data modify storage mypack:log last_player_pos set from entity @s Pos
For full command syntax, selectors, and scoreboard operations see the
Minecraft Wiki — Commands reference.
The minecraft-commands-scripting skill covers command-only work in depth.
Macro functions let you pass dynamic arguments to a function.
data/mypack/function/greet.mcfunction)# Macro argument: $(name)
$tellraw @a {"text":"Welcome $(name)!","color":"gold"}
$scoreboard players set $(name) points 0
run function + with# Pass values from storage
data modify storage mypack:tmp input set value {name:"Steve"}
function mypack:greet with storage mypack:tmp input
# Pass values from entity NBT
function mypack:greet with entity @p {}
# Pass value from block NBT
function mypack:greet with block 0 64 0 {}
data/<namespace>/advancement/my_advancement.json{
"display": {
"icon": {
"id": "minecraft:diamond"
},
"title": {"text": "Diamond Hunter"},
"description": {"text": "Mine your first diamond"},
"frame": "task",
"show_toast": true,
"announce_to_chat": true,
"hidden": false
},
"criteria": {
"mined_diamond": {
"trigger": "minecraft:item_picked_up",
"conditions": {
"item": {
"items": ["minecraft:diamond"]
}
}
}
},
"rewards": {
"function": "mypack:on_diamond_obtained",
"experience": 10
}
}
| Trigger | When it fires |
|---------|--------------|
| minecraft:impossible | Never (use for manual grants) |
| minecraft:tick | Every tick while player is online |
| minecraft:player_killed_entity | Player kills an entity |
| minecraft:entity_killed_player | Entity kills a player |
| minecraft:item_picked_up | Player picks up an item |
| minecraft:placed_block | Player places a block |
| minecraft:inventory_changed | Player inventory changes |
| minecraft:changed_dimension | Player changes dimension |
| minecraft:consume_item | Player consumes an item |
| minecraft:location | Player at a specific location |
| minecraft:recipe_unlocked | Player unlocks a recipe |
data/<namespace>/recipe/shaped.json){
"type": "minecraft:crafting_shaped",
"pattern": [
"DDD",
"D D",
"DDD"
],
"key": {
"D": { "item": "minecraft:diamond" }
},
"result": {
"id": "minecraft:diamond_block",
"count": 1
}
}
{
"type": "minecraft:crafting_shapeless",
"ingredients": [
{ "item": "minecraft:wheat" },
{ "item": "minecraft:wheat" },
{ "item": "minecraft:wheat" }
],
"result": {
"id": "minecraft:bread",
"count": 2
}
}
{
"type": "minecraft:smelting",
"ingredient": { "item": "minecraft:beef" },
"result": { "id": "minecraft:cooked_beef" },
"experience": 0.35,
"cookingtime": 200
}
To remove a vanilla recipe, create a file at the same path under data/minecraft/recipe/
in your datapack with just {} as the content:
{}
For example, to disable the piston recipe, create:
data/minecraft/recipe/piston.json containing only {}.
> Get the exact filename from the vanilla jar:
> jar xf minecraft.jar data/minecraft/recipe/
{
"type": "minecraft:smithing_transform",
"template": { "item": "minecraft:netherite_upgrade_smithing_template" },
"base": { "item": "minecraft:diamond_sword" },
"addition": { "item": "minecraft:netherite_ingot" },
"result": { "id": "minecraft:netherite_sword" }
}
data/<namespace>/loot_table/custom_chest.json{
"type": "minecraft:chest",
"pools": [
{
"rolls": { "type": "minecraft:uniform", "min": 3, "max": 8 },
"entries": [
{
"type": "minecraft:item",
"name": "minecraft:diamond",
"weight": 5,
"functions": [
{
"function": "minecraft:set_count",
"count": { "type": "minecraft:uniform", "min": 1, "max": 3 }
}
]
},
{
"type": "minecraft:item",
"name": "minecraft:gold_ingot",
"weight": 20
},
{
"type": "minecraft:empty",
"weight": 30
}
]
}
]
}
data/<namespace>/predicate/is_daytime.json{
"condition": "minecraft:time_check",
"value": { "min": 0, "max": 12000 }
}
data/<namespace>/predicate/player_has_diamond.json{
"condition": "minecraft:entity_properties",
"entity": "this",
"predicate": {
"inventory": {
"items": [
{ "items": ["minecraft:diamond"] }
]
}
}
}
execute if predicate mypack:is_daytime run say It is daytime!
execute unless predicate mypack:player_has_diamond run tell @s You need a diamond!
data/minecraft/tags/block/climbable.json — override vanilla){
"replace": false,
"values": [
"minecraft:ladder",
"minecraft:vine",
"#minecraft:wool"
]
}
data/<namespace>/tags/item/my_fuel.json){
"replace": false,
"values": [
"minecraft:coal",
"minecraft:charcoal",
"minecraft:blaze_rod"
]
}
Use "replace": false to append to existing tags. Use "replace": true to completely
override (use with care for vanilla tags).
data/minecraft/worldgen/noise_settings/overworld.json)Edit inside an existing copy — do NOT create from scratch without the full JSON.
Get the vanilla version from the Minecraft jar: jar xf minecraft.jar data/.
{
"spawn_costs": {
"minecraft:zombie": {
"energy_budget": 0.12,
"charge": 0.7
}
}
}
# Place datapack in world folder
/datapacks/my-datapack/
# Or as a zip
/datapacks/my-datapack.zip
# In-game commands
/datapack list # see all datapacks
/datapack enable "file/my-datapack"
/datapack disable "file/my-datapack"
/reload # hot-reload all datapacks without restart
.mcfunction or .json files ./scripts/validate-datapack.sh --root /path/to/datapack
/reload in-game (or /minecraft:reload if a mod intercepts it)/function mypack:setup, trigger an advancement)latest.log for runtime errors (missing references, bad selectors)| Error | Cause | Fix |
|-------|-------|-----|
| Unknown or invalid command | Syntax error in function | Check whitespace, selector, trailing space |
| Datapack did not load | Invalid JSON in any file | Validate with jq . < file.json |
| pack metadata mismatch | Wrong pack_format or min_format / max_format values | Update pack.mcmeta for the exact 1.21.x patch |
| Function not running on tick | Missing tick tag or wrong namespace | Check tags/function/tick.json path |
| Macro error | $ line but no with | Provide with storage/entity/block |
Use the bundled validator script before shipping a datapack update:
# Run from the installed skill directory (for example `.codex/skills/minecraft-datapack`):
./scripts/validate-datapack.sh --root /path/to/datapack
# Strict mode treats warnings as failures:
./scripts/validate-datapack.sh --root /path/to/datapack --strict
What it checks:
pack.mcmeta and data/**/*.jsontags/function/load.json and tags/function/tick.json references resolve to real .mcfunction filesAutomatically creates user-facing changelogs from git commits by analyzing commit history, categorizing changes, and transforming technical commits into clear, customer-friendly release notes. Turns hours of manual changelog writing into minutes of automated generation.
Use when the user asks to run Codex CLI (codex exec, codex resume) or references OpenAI Codex for code analysis, refactoring, or automated editing. Uses GPT-5.2 by default for state-of-the-art software engineering.
Implement memory-safe programming with RAII, ownership, smart pointers, and resource management across Rust, C++, and C. Use when writing safe systems code, managing resources, or preventing memory bugs.
Python/HTSlib workflows for genomic files. Use when reading, querying, filtering, or writing SAM/BAM/CRAM, VCF/BCF, FASTA/FASTQ, or tabix data with pysam, including pileup, coverage, indexing, and CRAM references.
Evaluate scientific claims and evidence quality. Use for assessing experimental design validity, identifying biases and confounders, applying evidence grading frameworks (GRADE, Cochrane Risk of Bias), or teaching critical analysis. Best for understanding evidence quality, identifying flaws. For formal peer review writing use peer-review.
Use when a user asks to debug or fix failing GitHub PR checks that run in GitHub Actions; use `gh` to inspect checks and logs, summarize failure context, draft a fix plan, and implement only after explicit approval. Treat external providers (for example Buildkite) as out of scope and report only the details URL.
> Create, build, deploy, and localize declarative agents for M365 Copilot and Teams. USE THIS SKILL for ANY task involving a declarative agent — including localization, scaffolding, editing manifests, adding capabilities, and deploying. Localization requires tokenized manifests and language files that only this skill knows how to produce. "scaffold an agent", "new agent project", "add a capability", "add a plugin", "configure my agent", "deploy my agent", "fix my agent manifest", "edit my agent", "localize my agent", "add localization", "translate my agent", "multi-language agent", "add an API plugin", "add an MCP plugin", "add OAuth to my plugin", "review instructions", "improve instructions", "fix my instructions"
Documentation generation workflow covering API docs, architecture docs, README files, code comments, and technical writing.
Take jahrome907/minecraft-datapack from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal
use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.
The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the
same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.