Minecraft: Java Edition

Although this product has been released, it remains under active development - information may change frequently and could be outdated or irrelevant.

Minecraft: Java Edition

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Developers
	Mojang
Engines
	LWJGL
Release dates
Windows	November 18, 2011
macOS (OS X)	November 18, 2011
Linux	November 18, 2011

Minecraft
Minecraft: Java Edition	2011
Minecraft: Pi Edition	2013
Minecraft: Story Mode (series)
Minecraft: Education Edition	2016
Minecraft: Bedrock Edition	2016
Minecraft Dungeons	2020
Minecraft Legends	2023

This page is for the Java Edition. For the Windows 10 version, see Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition.

Key points

Active and dedicated modding scene, responsible for many fixes, tools and additional content.

Game follows the Software as a Service model and support for previously supported platforms can easily be removed with the next version.

General information

Official Bug Tracker

Official Wiki

Mojang's Support Center

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Official website

All versions require a Mojang Account or Minecraft Account.

Purchase includes access to Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition (see the Mojang Account page).

A demo is available.

Essential improvements

Utilities

• Magic Launcher - a custom launcher. It can configure some in-game options and includes a dedicated mod loader with compatibility checks.
• MultiMC - a custom open source launcher. It allows you to have multiple, separate instances of Minecraft, each with their own mods, texture packs, saves, etc.

Mods

• Minecraft Forge is required by most mods, and is the standard for a modded setup.
• OptiFine adds support for HD textures and a lot of options for better looks and performance. As of 12/17/2015, Optifine now also supports shaderpacks.
  • MCPatcher can be used alternatively without the performance for better HD texture support.

Java version

The Windows version of Minecraft includes Java (used for Minecraft only). Installing Java manually is not necessary.

Minecraft benefits from using the latest version of Java. Using 64-bit Java on 64-bit operating systems is strongly recommended.

RAM allocation

The official launcher allows you to easily allocate RAM and set other Java arguments. The manual methods are detailed below.

OS X memory allocation[citation needed]
Right-click on Minecraft.app in Finder and choose Show Package Contents. Go to Contents and open info.plist using TextEdit. Modify -Xms ### MB - replace ### with the minimum amount of memory Minecraft can use (in megabytes). Modify -Xmx $$$ MB - replace $$$ with the maximum amount of memory Minecraft can use (in megabytes).

Linux memory allocation[citation needed]
Go to the location of Minecraft.jar. Run the command java -jar Xms###MB -Xmx$$$MB Minecraft.jar Replace ### with the minimum amount of memory Minecraft can use (in megabytes). Replace $$$ with the maximum amount of memory Minecraft can use (in megabytes).

Make a portable version or install on a different drive

Installing to a different/portable location[citation needed]

Making the Minecraft install portable allows putting the game files on the drive of your choosing, e.g. storing them on an SSD for faster loading, as well as easily using it across multiple computers. This method is only available on Windows. Make a folder where you want to store Minecraft game data. Move the .minecraft folder from %APPDATA% to the folder you made. Download the latest Minecraft version and save it into the folder you made. Open Notepad Paste in the following text: set APPDATA=%CD% Java -jar Minecraft.exe Choose File>Save and choose the folder you made in step 1. Save the file as Minecraft.bat (or similar). You can now launch Minecraft from Minecraft.bat and everything will be saved in the folder you made. This folder is fully portable so you can move it wherever you like and even put it on external storage to use it on other computers as long as they have Java installed (see Java version). You can make a shortcut to Minecraft.bat on the desktop and so forth to launch it more conveniently.

Game data

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In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%APPDATA%\.minecraft\options.txt
macOS (OS X)	~/Library/Application Support/minecraft/options.txt
Linux	~/.minecraft/options.txt

launcher_profiles.json contains stored user profiles.

It's unknown whether this game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux. Please fill in this information.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%APPDATA%\.minecraft\saves
macOS (OS X)	~/Library/Application Support/minecraft/saves
Linux	~/.minecraft/saves

The server save is stored in world in the root directory of the server.

Saves are not compatible with Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition.

Video settings

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In-game video settings.

Field of view (FOV)

Use OptiFine to disable the dynamic FOV feature.

Set custom FOV[citation needed]
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Edit options.txt. Find fov and modify its value. Notes 1.0 = 110° FOV, 1.25 = 120°, 1.5 = 130°, 1.75 = 140°, 2.0 = 150°.

Input settings

In-game controls settings.

Mouse acceleration

Disable Windows mouse acceleration

Minecraft uses a Windows function to control mouse movement, which can be modified. Modifying the function affects any software that relies on it (not just Minecraft). Download the MarkC Mouse Acceleration Fix. Extract its contents to a new folder. Open the Start menu and open the Control panel. Select Display from the list. Check your PC's text size (100%, 125%, 150%) in the display settings. Open the folder you created in step 1. Open the sub-folder that fits your operating system. Double-click the .reg file that corresponds with your text display percentage. Confirm the changes to registry. Reboot your PC.

Audio settings

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In-game audio settings.

Localizations

An up-to date page of all supported languages can be found here

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English				Includes localizations for Australia, Canada UK, USA and New Zealand
Belarusian
Bulgarian
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Czech
Dutch
Estonian
Filipino
Finnish
French				Includes localizations for France and Canada
German				Includes localizations for Austria, Germany and Switzerland
Greek
Hungarian
Indonesian
Italian
Korean
Japanese
Luxembourgish
Norwegian				Available in variants: Normal and Bokmål
Polish
Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese
Ripuarian
Romanian
Russian
Vietnamese
Serbian
Slovenian
Slovak
Spanish				Includes localizations for Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela
Latin American Spanish
Swedish
Ukrainian
Vietnamese
Valencian

Network

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In-game chat settings.

Requires a Mojang Account or Minecraft Account.

Multiplayer is not compatible with Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition.

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
Local play		∞	Usable with the Joypad mod
LAN play		8	Maximum 8 players
Online play		∞	No max player limit

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	25565
UDP	25565

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
Native 3D		3D Anaglyph mode.
Nvidia 3D Vision		See Helix Mod: Minecraft 1.7.10 in 3D Vision.

Headsets
SteamVR		Use Vivecraft or Minecrift Vive.
Oculus VR (LibOVR)		Can also use Vivecraft or Minecrift.
Windows Mixed Reality		Use Vivecraft or Minecrift Vive.
OSVR

Devices
Tracked motion controllers
Traditional controller
Keyboard/Mouse

Play area
Seated
Standing
Room-scale		Use Vivecraft or Minecrift Vive.

Issues fixed

Mojang has created an Official Bug Tracker that you can use to find or report bugs. Please search for your problem before reporting it, as it may have already been fixed for the next update or reported previously. Reporting bugs multiple times does NOT help the developer fix them faster.

General fixes

Some problems can be solved by simply restarting the client.

Cannot update the game[citation needed]
Check the status of Minecraft services. If all servers are online, continue reading the instructions. Add Minecraft as an exception to any firewall software you use (including Windows Firewall). For OS X and Linux uninstall all versions of Java on your computer and install the latest version. Restart your computer.

Graphical issues

Black screen / broken textures[citation needed]
Uninstall any mods and texture packs that are incompatible (or of questionable compatibility) to the version of Minecraft you are using.

Crashes

Some crashes are caused by the game's rendering distance. Try setting it to 8 chunks or lower.

Crashes on a 64-bit operating system[citation needed]
Make sure you have the latest version of Java in its 64-bit variant. Notes This fix does not apply to the latest Windows version of Minecraft.

Game crashes with a GPU-related error[citation needed]
Install the latest driver for your graphics card (Intel drivers, Nvidia drivers, AMD drivers). If you're using a Toshiba laptop with an Intel GPU, uninstall any AMD/ATI driver.

Mouse delay in Minecraft 1.8 and later

Use Mouse Delay Fix[citation needed]

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
OpenGL	2.1

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux

Feed The Beast

Feed The Beast (or FTB) is a massive mod pack, combining the more popular Minecraft mods into a complete and easy to use package. All the mods included use the Minecraft Forge API.

Multiple variations of FTB are available to suit different playstyles and needs.

Full details and download links can be found on the official website.

System requirements

Windows

macOS (OS X)

Linux

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	Java-compatible (JRE 1.6+)
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium D 2.6 GHz AMD Athlon 64 (K8) 2.6 GHz	Intel Core i3 2.8 GHz AMD Athlon II (K10) 2.8 GHz
System memory (RAM)	2 GB	4 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	200 MB	1 GB
Video card (GPU)	Intel HD Graphics AMD Radeon HD OpenGL 2.1 compatible	Nvidia GeForce 2xx Series AMD Radeon HD 5xxx Series OpenGL 3.3 compatible
Other		Latest release of Java 8 from java.com

Requirements can be found on the Mojang Support page.