Minecraft:Identifier

Identifiers (also known as resource locations, namespaced IDs, namespaced identifiers, resource identifiers,<ref>Template:Snap</ref> or namespaced strings<ref>DataFixerUpper/NamespacedStringType.java at 8b5f82ab78b30ff5813b3a7f3906cd3f4f732acf · Mojang/DataFixerUpper – GitHub</ref>) are a way to declare and specify game objects in Minecraft, which can identify built-in and user-defined objects without potential ambiguity or conflicts.

Introduction

Identifiers are used as plain strings to reference Minecraft:blocks, Minecraft:items, entity types, and various other objects in vanilla Minecraft.

A valid identifier has a format of namespace:path, where only certain characters can be used.

Legal characters

Java Edition

The namespace and the path of an identifier should only contain the following symbols:

• 0123456789 Numbers
• abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz Lowercase letters
• _ Underscore
• - Hyphen/minus
• . Dot

The following characters are illegal in the namespace, but acceptable in the path:

• / Forward slash (directory separator)

The preferred naming convention for either namespace or path is snake_case.

Bedrock Edition

The namespace and the path of a namespaced ID can contain all symbols with the exception of slashes and colons.

The following characters are illegal in the namespace, but acceptable in the path of loot tables and functions.

• / Forward slash (directory separator)

The preferred naming convention for either namespace or path is snake_case.

Conversion to string

An identifier is converted to a string by concatenating its namespace with a : (colon) and its path.

Examples:

Namespace	Path	String representation
minecraft	diamond	minecraft:diamond
foo	bar.baz	foo:bar.baz
minecraftwiki	commands/minecraft_wiki	minecraftwiki:commands/minecraft_wiki

Conversion from string

All identifiers can be converted to strings; however, not all strings can be converted to identifiers.

For a string to be converted, it must follow these restrictions:

• The string may have at most one : (colon) character
• The rest of the string must fulfill the requirement for legal characters. This includes disallowing / (forward slash) characters before the :, if a : is present

When the : is present, the part of the string before the : becomes the namespace, and the part of the string after the : becomes the path.

Template:IN, and in some cases Template:In, when the : is absent, minecraft becomes the namespace and the whole string becomes the path.

It is recommended to always include a : in the string format of identifiers.

Examples

String	Resolved namespace	Resolved path	What the game converts it back to
bar:code	bar	code	bar:code
minecraft:zombie	minecraft	zombie	minecraft:zombie
diamond	minecraftTemplate:Only NoneTemplate:Only	diamond	minecraft:diamondTemplate:Only diamondTemplate:Only
:dirt	minecraft	dirt	minecraft:dirtTemplate:Needs testing
minecraft:	minecraft	None	minecraft:Template:Needs testing
:	minecraft	None	minecraft:Template:Needs testing
Empty String	minecraft	None	minecraft:Template:Needs testing
foo/bar:coal	Invalid character /
minecraft/villager	minecraftTemplate:Only NoneTemplate:Only	minecraft/villager	minecraft:minecraft/villagerTemplate:Only minecraft/villagerTemplate:Only
mymap:schrödingers_var	mymap	Invalid character öTemplate:Only schrödingers_varTemplate:Only	mymap:schrödingers_varTemplate:Only
custom_pack:Capital	custom_pack	Invalid character CTemplate:Only CapitalTemplate:Only	custom_pack:CapitalTemplate:Only

Java Edition usage

Template:IN, identifiers act mainly as main keys of objects in registries or file paths of contents in Minecraft:data packs and Minecraft:resource packs. Some non-customizable contents also use identifiers to identify them.

Registries and registry objects

All registries and objects therein have identifiers to represent them. At the root of all registries is a registry with the identifier of Template:Cd into which all other registries are registered. Most registries are intended only for use internally by the game and by extension by Minecraft:mods, but some dynamic registries can have content added to them through Minecraft:data packs, marked in the list below with an asterisk (*).

• Template:File: Root registry.
  • Template:File: Attributes.
  • Template:File: Blocks.
  • Template:File: Block entity types.
  • Template:File: Chunk status.
  • Template:File: Command argument types.
  • Template:File*: Dimensions and level stems.
  • Template:File*: Dimension types.
  • Template:File*: Enchantments.
  • Template:File: Entity types.
  • Template:File: Fluids.
  • Template:File: Game events.
  • Template:File: Position source types (used by game events).
  • Template:File: Items.
  • Template:File*: Menu types.
  • Template:File: Mob effects.
  • Template:File: Particle types.
  • Template:File: Potions.
  • Template:File: Recipe serializers.
  • Template:File: Recipe types.
  • Template:File: Sound events.
  • Template:File: Statistics types.
  • Template:File: Custom Statistics.
  • Template:File: Minecraft:World clocks.
  • Template:File Timelines for world clocks.
  • Template:File Entity data registries:
    • Template:File: Entity schedule activitys.
    • Template:File: Entity memory module types.
    • Template:File: Entity schedules.
    • Template:File: Entity AI sensor types.
    • Template:File*: Painting motives.
    • Template:File: Villager professions.
    • Template:File: Villager types.
    • Template:File: Minecraft:Villager trade definition.
    • Template:File: Poi types.
  • Template:File Loot table serializers:
    • Template:File: Loot condition types.
    • Template:File: Loot function types.
    • Template:File: Loot nbt provider types.
    • Template:File: Loot number provider types.
    • Template:File: Loot pool entry types.
    • Template:File: Loot score provider types.
  • Template:File JSON file value providers:
    • Template:File: Float provider types.
    • Template:File: Int provider types.
    • Template:File: Height provider types.
  • Template:File World generator registries:
    • Template:File: Block predicate types.
    • Template:File: Structure feature rule test types.
    • Template:File: Structure feature position rule test types.
    • Template:File: World carvers.
    • Template:File*: Configured world carvers.
    • Template:File: Features.
    • Template:File*: Configured features.
    • Template:File: Structure sets.
    • Template:File: Structure processor types.
    • Template:File*: Structure processor lists.
    • Template:File: Structure pool element types.
    • Template:File*: Structure template pools.
    • Template:File: Structure piece types.
    • Template:File: Structure features.
    • Template:File*: Configured structure features.
    • Template:File: Structure placement types.
    • Template:File: Placement modifier types.
    • Template:File*: Placed features.
    • Template:File*: Biomes.
    • Template:File: Biome sources.
    • Template:File*: Normal noise.
    • Template:File*: Noise generator settings.
    • Template:File: Density functions.
    • Template:File: Density function types.
    • Template:File: World presets.
    • Template:File: Flat world generator presets.
    • Template:File: Chunk generators.
    • Template:File: Surface condition sources.
    • Template:File: Surface rule sources.
    • Template:File: Block state provider types.
    • Template:File: Foliage placer types.
    • Template:File: Trunk placer types.
    • Template:File: Tree decorator types.
    • Template:File: Feature size types.

Pack contents

Identifiers are also used to represent file paths in Minecraft:data packs or Minecraft:resource packs.

Data pack

• Tags
• Advancements
• Recipes
• Predicates
• Loot tables
• Item modifier
• Functions
• Structure files
• Dimensions
• Dimension types
• World generator contents
  • Biomes
  • Configured carvers
  • Configured features
  • Configured structure features
  • Placed features
  • Structures
  • Structure sets
  • Processor lists
  • Template pools
  • Noise
  • Noise generator settings
  • Density functions
  • Flat level generator presets
  • World presets

Resource pack

• Block state model definitions
• Models
• Textures
• Sounds
• Fonts
• Font resource files
• Particles
• Shaders

Locating contents in packs

Given that objects in resource packs and data packs are files, the identifiers are constructed from their path relative to the Template:Cd or Template:Cd folder.

Though the locations vary by object type and the pack type the object type belongs to, there is a pattern to follow. In general, the location is in the fashion of pack_type/namespace/object_type/name.suffix, where all the / (forward slash) symbol (may be part of object_type or name) is replaced by operating system-dependent directory separator.

Given the type of content we want to locate, we can find out the corresponding Template:Cd, Template:Cd, and Template:Cd. Then, we can substitute in and find out the final file location of the content.

Examples

Identifier	Content Type	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Final Location
Template:Cd	Texture	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
Template:Cd	Function	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
Template:Cd (same as Template:Cd)	Minecraft:Model	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
Template:Cd (same as Template:Cd)	Function Tag	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
Template:Cd	Minecraft:Advancement	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd

Registered pack contents

A registried pack content refers to pack content that is registered into a registry when the pack is loaded. For a registried pack content, its identifier works as both main key of registry entry and path of its resource file.

List of registered pack contents

Content Type	Registered into	Folder	Suffix
Dimensions	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
Dimension types	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
Configured carvers	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
Configured features	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
Configured structure features	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
Structure sets	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
Processor lists	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
Template pools	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
Placed features	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
Biomes	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
Noise	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
Noise generator settings	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
Density functions	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
Flat level generator presets	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd
World presets	Template:Cd	Template:Cd	Template:Cd

Other contents

Customizable contents

• Boss bars
• Command storages

Hardcoded contents

• Cat types for predicates (e.g. textures/entity/cat/tabby.png, textures/entity/cat/jellie.png)
• Criteria triggers
• Item properties (i.e. item predicates in models. e.g. angle, custom_model_data)
• Loot context param sets (i.e. types of loot table. e.g. barter, generic)
• Unaccessible contents:
  • Suggestion providers for autocompletion of commands (e.g. summonable_entities, all_recipes)
  • Entity models
  • Loot context params (e.g. this_entity, origin, tool)

Bedrock Edition usage

Unlike Java Edition, where there is a unified standard and handling methods of them, namespaced identifiers are usually treated as normal strings in Bedrock Edition. Moreover, some objects are identified based on their path (e.g. the identifier for Minecraft:recipes and trades) rather than what was defined in their file. In these cases, it is recommended that a folder named after the namespace is parented before the file at hand.<ref name="cooperative">Template:Citation</ref>

The following is a list of all places that use namespaced identifiers:

Built-in contents

• Blocks
• Block traits
• Block entities
• Items
• Entities
• Status effects
• Dimensions
• Biomes
• Structures
• Features
• Entity attributes
• Item NBT components
• Item components
• Block components
• Entity components
• JSON schemas
• GameTest script-enabled components

Registried add-on entries

A registried add-on entry refers to any add-on content that is registered with an identifier declared within the content's file definition. Custom content under these types are able to be created.

Here is a list of registried add-on entries whose identifiers are namespaced.

Behavior pack contents

• Blocks
• Block states
• Entities
• Entity events
• Items
• Spawn rules
• Biomes
• Features
• Feature rules
• Recipes
• Structures
• GameTests
• Dialog scenes
• Spawn groups
• Structure sets
• Template pools
• Processor lists
• Catalog groups

Resource pack contents

• Attachables
• Cameras
• Entity client definitions
• Particle effects
• Biome client definitions
• Fog settings
• Lighting settings
• Atmosphere settings
• Color grading settings
• Water effect settings

Some custom fields in add-on files can also be namespaced, such as custom block properties and entity component groups, which aren't listed here.

Others

• Structures saved from a structure block

Script-registered entries

Some content may also be registered within the scripts of behavior packs. These are read as the world is generating.

• Block components
• Item components
• Commands

Namespaces

"

This isn't a new concept, but I thought I should reiterate what a "namespace" is. Most things in the game has a namespace, so that if we add Template:Cd and a mod (or map, or whatever) adds Template:Cd, they're both different Template:Cds. Whenever you're asked to name something, for example a loot table, you're expected to also provide what namespace that thing comes from. If you don't specify the namespace, we default to Template:Cd. This means that Template:Cd and Template:Cd are the same thing.

A namespace is a domain for content. It is to prevent potential content conflicts or unintentional overrides of objects of the same name.

For example, two data packs add two minigame mechanisms to Minecraft; both have a function named Template:Cd. Without namespaces, these two functions would clash and the minigames would be broken. When they have different namespaces of Template:Cd and Template:Cd, the functions would become Template:Cd and Template:Cd, which no longer conflict.

Template:Cd namespace

Minecraft reserves the Template:Cd namespace. When a namespace is not specified, an identifier falls back to Template:CdTemplate:Only. As a result, the Template:Cd namespace should only be used by content creators when the content needs to overwrite or modify existing Minecraft data, such as adding a function to the Template:Cd function tag.

Custom namespace

The namespace should be distinct for different projects or content creations (e.g. a data pack, a resource pack, a mod, backing data/resource packs for a custom map, etc.)

To prevent potential clashes, it is recommended that the namespace should be as specific as possible:

• Avoid alphabet soups. For example, a project named "nuclear craft" should not use the namespace Template:Cd, as this is too ambiguous.
• Avoid words that are too vague. Template:Cd would not be informative to look up as well, but Template:Cd would be much better.
• For Minecraft:add-ons, use a shortened creator name followed by the name of the project in a format like Template:Cd.<ref name="cooperative"/>

In either case, these poorly chosen namespaces reduce the exposure of a project and bring difficulties for debugging when there are multiple content creations applied to the game.

Other built-in namespaces

Template:IN, the vanilla Minecraft resource pack declares Realms-oriented language files in the Template:Cd namespace (located at assets/realms/lang/.json) and game-related language files in the Template:Cd namespace, even though translation keys are not identifiers. The realms jar itself also declares its en_us.json language file and its various textures in the Template:Cd namespace.

In the IDs of command argument types, a Template:Cd namespace also appears for command argument types that are native to Minecraft:Brigadier.

Template:IN, the internal resource and behavior packs for Minecraft:Bedrock Editor contain some entities and items namespaced with editor.

History

See also

• Minecraft:Java Edition data values
• Minecraft:Bedrock Edition data values
• Minecraft:Resource pack
• Minecraft:Data pack
• Minecraft:Add-on

External links

• Namespaces, as explained in Template:Snap.