Minecraft:Cape

File:Steve MINECON2011Cape.png

width=341x341

Capes are special commemorative items that are shown on the back of the player's Minecraft:skin. They are purely cosmetic and do not alter any gameplay. Wearing a cape also changes the appearance of the Minecraft:elytra to match the look of the respective cape.

Unlike skins, capes cannot be custom-made and have to be earned. In addition, they cannot be transferred between accounts. Some capes can be earned through various promotions, while others are not available to the general public.

Various Minecraft:mods offer unofficial capes for players to use. These capes, however, are only visible to other users of those mods. Only capes added by Minecraft:Mojang Studios are featured below.

Overview

Capes are rectangular and are 16x10x1 pixels in size. They attach to the top of the player's back and sit at an angle, such that the bottom of the cape is separated from the player's back by a few degrees.

Capes remain immobile as long as the player wearing them does not move. They flap upwards when the player moves along the x and z-axes, as well as when falling, including the brief descent after jumping. Flying or bouncing straight upwards instead causes the cape to become flush with the player's back, although even slight horizontal movement made while moving upwards is enough to override this. The degree that the cape flaps upward increases depending on the player's speed, such that sprinting causes the cape to go higher than simply walking. This degree is much higher on Template:BE than on Template:JE; sprint-jumping at normal speed will cause a cape to go well above 90 degrees from the player's back on the former while it stays around 45 degrees from it on the latter.

Capes can tilt slightly to either side, particularly when using mounts such as Minecraft:boats or Minecraft:horses.

Obtaining

With the exception of the Minecraft:Pan Cape, capes that are available to the general public can only be obtained through limited-time promotions. Some types of promotions that distribute capes are social media campaigns, Minecraft:event servers, and in-person events. Capes cannot be obtained after their respective promotions have ended.Template:Note

Modern capes are often distributed to both editions of the game at the same time, although logging into Template:BE is often required to activate such capes in Template:JE.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Equipping

Java Edition

In Template:JE, capes can either be equipped in the skin creation menu in the Minecraft:Minecraft Launcher, or on the profile page on the Minecraft website.

Java Edition capes are not shipped as game resources, but are instead stored on Mojang's servers in the same way as skins are. This allows newer capes to be used on older versions of Java Edition in the same way that newly created skins can be used on older versions.<ref group=note>Minecraft:Java Edition 1.7.6 switched the game to use a new skin server setup. The old setup no longer exists, which prevents skins and capes from working with all prior Java Edition versions without using mods.</ref> The cape that a player currently has equipped is publicly displayed on the Minecraft:Mojang API along with their current skin.

Bedrock Edition

In Template:BE, capes can be equipped in the Capes section on the Minecraft:Character Creator.

Further information

The Minecraft.net cape selection menu, as it would be viewed with a hypothetical account with all of the capes. The order that capes are displayed in varies per user.

Java Edition

For about a decade after the introduction of capes in 2010, Java Edition capes could be split into five groups:

Mojang capes, given only to Mojang employees.
Minecraft:MINECON capes, distributed to attendees of the convention. Around 27,000 of these capes are known to exist.Template:Note
Personal capes, which were given to single individuals as appreciation for something they did.
Volunteer capes, given to contributors in various programs, such as Minecraft:Crowdin, Minecraft:Mojira, and the Minecraft:Realms map making program.
Competition capes, given to those who had won competitions in Mojang's other games, Minecraft:Scrolls and Cobalt. These competitions were short-lived, with only the top players winning these capes, so only around 30 of these capes exist.

Of these, only MINECON capes were available to the public in significant numbers. Therefore, at the time, capes were far more exclusive items than they are today.

As Minecraft became more popular, however, this exclusivity caused capes, and accounts that had them, to become premier items on black markets.<ref>Template:Tweet</ref> Partly due to this, accounts with rare capes have been known to be common targets of hacking attempts<ref>Template:Tweet</ref><ref>Template:Tweet</ref> and unwanted solicitation. This exclusivity grew in 2017 when MINECON events became livestreams and stopped distributing capes, leading to a period of almost five years between Minecraft:MINECON 2016 and the account migration in 2021 where no new Java Edition capes could be obtained by the public.

Since the account migration, which granted the Minecraft:Migrator Cape to all Java Edition players who migrated, various capes have been available to the general public without being tied to in-person events. This is likely in order to avoid the problems associated with the aforementioned exclusivity.

Bedrock Edition

File:MinecraftCapesSelectionBedrock.png

The Bedrock Edition cape selection menu, as it would be viewed with a hypothetical account with all of the capes

In Bedrock Edition, capes are Minecraft:Character Creator items, and as such are assigned a rarity, usually Legendary.

Although cape support on Bedrock Edition was added in 2016, it was used exclusively for Minecraft:skin packs until 2019. Capes included in skin packs can only be equipped with their corresponding skin; for example, the Minecraft:MINECON 2016 Skin Pack included Steve and Alex skins wearing all Minecraft:MINECON capes from 2011 to 2016, but these capes are locked to the skin pack, so they cannot be used with custom skins in the same way that their Java Edition counterparts can. For documentation purposes, capes from skin packs are considered to be separate from standard capes, which can be freely equipped with any skin. Statements about capes on this wiki will exclude these by default.

There were a few exclusive capes on Bedrock, starting with the Minecraft:Founder's Cape, which was released in 2019. A second cape, called the Minecraft:Pan Cape, was given to all Bedrock Edition players for free starting in 2020 and is still given out to this day. Thus far, it is the only cape on either edition to automatically be given out to all players without any known time limit.

Not long after this, however, the Java Edition account migration occurred, which ultimately led to the introduction of cross-platform capes.

On May 8, 2025, the Founder's Cape and Pan Cape were distributed to Java Edition players as well. The Minecraft:Progress Pride Cape is currently the only cape exclusive to Bedrock Edition.

Cross-platform capes

After the migration from Mojang accounts to Microsoft accounts in 2021, ownership of both Java Edition and Bedrock Edition was tied to a single account. In 2022, both editions were merged into one bundle, ensuring that all players would always have access to both. These changes allowed capes to be obtained in both editions at the same time after fulfilling the requirements, which became the standard. All capes released to the public after the merger were released for both editions, with the sole exception of the aforementioned Minecraft:Progress Pride Cape.

There may have been some hesitancy on Mojang's part to grant capes distributed through Bedrock Edition event servers to Java Edition accounts. This is supported by the fact that the Minecraft:Cherry Blossom Cape and the Minecraft:MCC 15th Year Cape, the first two capes tied to event servers, were not originally announced for Java. Ultimately, both of these capes were added to Java Edition after the conclusion of their respective events. Since then, capes added by live events have been announced for and immediately granted to both editions upon completion of the requirements.

Legacy Console Edition

Three Minecraft:Xbox 360 Edition capes were known to exist, none of which were permanently made available to the general public.

The Minecraft:Microsoft Xbox Cape, which was available only for Microsoft employees<ref>Template:Tweet</ref>
The Minecraft:Xbox 1st Birthday Cape, which was temporarily shown on all players during the Xbox edition's first anniversary
The Minecraft:Classic Mojang Cape, which was given out to Mojang employees<ref>Template:Tweet</ref>

Like Bedrock Edition, most of the Minecraft:Legacy Console Editions also featured skin packs, some of which came with capes.

The now-defunct Xbox 360 marketplace had some cosmetic Xbox avatar items based off of capes available for purchase. These include avatar versions of the Xbox 1st Birthday Cape and all of the MINECON capes released before 2016. These can be viewed on the Minecraft:Xbox 360 avatar items page.

List of capes

Ownership capes

These capes were given to players for owning or logging into Minecraft games during certain time periods.

Staff capes

These capes were only given out to employees of Mojang or Microsoft.

Event capes

Physical event capes

These capes were released in connection with in-person events, such as Minecraft:MINECON, Minecraft:Minecraft Experience, or Minecraft:TwitchCon.

Virtual event capes

These capes were released through or in connection with online events, such as Minecraft:Minecraft Live, social media campaigns, or Minecraft:event servers.

Personal capes

These capes were manually given to people from the community, often as appreciation for something they did. They are only available Template:In.

Competition capes

These capes were given to players who won competitions of Mojang's other games. They are only available Template:In.

Volunteer capes

These capes were given to volunteers in various programs. They are only available Template:In.

Other capes

Announced capes

On April 22, 2026, Minecraft:Anthony Toczek, the Head of Influence at Mojang, stated that they were "actively working" on a Minecraft:YouTube cape, but were "still building the tech to make drops work there".<ref>Template:Tweet, replying to Template:Tweet</ref>

Temporary capes

These were briefly shown on all players for certain periods of time without being added to their accounts.

Skin pack capes

Template:Main Various skin packs for Template:BE include capes as part of their included skins.

API testing capes

Template:Main These capes were added in some form by Mojang Studios, but should not be considered official.

size-m cape

size-m cape
Snail cape

Snail cape
ICU cape #1

ICU cape #1
ICU cape #2

ICU cape #2
Frog cape

Frog cape

Vote Update capes

Template:Main These capes were part of the April Fools joke snapshot Minecraft:23w13a_or_b. Within the snapshot, they can be obtained by passing proposals. All of them intentionally use the misspelling "caep".

Awesom caep

Awesom caep
Blonk caep

Blonk caep
No-Circle caep

No-Circle caep
Nyan caep

Nyan caep
Squid caep

Squid caep
Veterinarian caep

Veterinarian caep

Unused capes

These capes were designed, but never actually released.

MINECON 2011 cloak vote

File:Cloakvote.png

Minecon 2011 Cloak Candidates

File:Creepercloak.png

The winning Minecon 2011 Cloak Candidate

These capes were featured in a poll where readers could vote for the design of the Minecraft:MINECON 2011 cape.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> The red creeper cape (#2) won with 42% of the votes<ref name="polldaddy">Template:Citation</ref> and was chosen as the cape design for Minecraft:MINECON 2011.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> The blue cape with the pickaxe (#1), which received 33% of the votes,<ref name="polldaddy" /> was later reused for Minecraft:MINECON 2012. The remaining cape designs, however, have never been used.

11 other capes were designed for the vote, but were ultimately excluded from it. The existence of and designs for these 11 capes were revealed in Minecraft:The World of Minecraft.

Recreations of unused capes
Row 1	2011 Minecon Cape	2012 Minecon Cape	File:TWoM Cape 3.png	File:TWoM Cape 4.png	File:TWoM Cape 5.png	File:TWoM Cape 6.png	File:TWoM Cape 7.png	File:TWoM Cape 8.png
Texture	2011 Minecon Cape	2012 Minecon Cape	File:TWoM Cape 3 (texture).png	File:TWoM Cape 4 (texture).png	File:TWoM Cape 5 (texture).png	File:TWoM Cape 6 (texture).png	File:TWoM Cape 7 (texture).png	File:TWoM Cape 8 (texture).png
Row 2	File:MineconCape4.png	File:TWoM Cape 10.png	File:TWoM Cape 11.png	File:TWoM Cape 12.png	File:TWoM Cape 13.png	File:MineconCape2.png	File:MineconCape3.png	File:TWoM Cape 16.png
Texture	File:Unused Cape 3.png	File:TWoM Cape 10 (texture).png	File:TWoM Cape 11 (texture).png	File:TWoM Cape 12 (texture).png	File:TWoM Cape 13 (texture).png	File:Unused Cape 1.png	File:Unused Cape 2.png	File:TWoM Cape 16 (texture).png

Customer support tool capes

Mojang has confirmed that a number of unused Template:JE capes have existed in the Customer Support tool, which have never been shown to the public. Some of them, such as the Minecraft:Birthday Cape, were first given an owner a long time after they had been made.<ref>Template:Tweet</ref>

History

This section details more general history regarding capes. The history of specific capes is documented on their respective articles.

Cape release history

Cape	Java Edition release date	Bedrock Edition release date
Template:PersonaLink	December 20, 2010	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	January 12, 2011	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	April 21, 2011	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	August 19, 2011	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	October 10, 2011	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	May 16, 2012	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	November 24, 2012	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	October 11, 2013	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	October 30, 2013	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	November 7, 2014	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	December 25, 2014	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	2015Template:Note	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	June 4, 2015	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	July 9, 2015	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	October 7, 2015	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	December 15, 2015	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	February 2016Template:Note	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	June 20, 2016	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	September 26, 2016	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	February 5, 2018	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	May 8, 2025	October 29, 2019
Template:PersonaLink	May 8, 2025	February 12, 2020
Template:PersonaLink	April 30, 2021	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	July 9, 2021	N/A
Template:PersonaLink	July 25, 2021	July 25, 2021
Template:PersonaLink	August 31, 2022	August 31, 2022
Template:PersonaLink	N/A	August 1, 2023
Template:PersonaLink	October 26, 2023	October 13, 2023
Template:PersonaLink	July 1, 2024	May 15, 2024
Template:PersonaLink	May 17, 2024
Template:PersonaLink	July 1, 2024	May 18, 2024
Template:PersonaLink	August 5, 2024	July 28, 2024
Template:PersonaLink	October 23, 2024	October 18, 2024
Template:PersonaLink	December 13, 2024
Template:PersonaLink	March 18, 2025
Template:PersonaLink	March 18, 2025
Template:PersonaLink	April 2, 2025
Template:PersonaLink	May 6, 2025
Template:PersonaLink	October 15, 2025	October 13, 2025
Template:PersonaLink	December 18, 2025
Template:PersonaLink	May 27, 2026	May 15, 2026
Template:PersonaLink	May 30, 2026
Template:PersonaLink	May 30, 2026
Template:PersonaLink	September 29, 2026
Template:PersonaLink
Template:PersonaLink