Resource packs and data packs sound alike and work in opposite ways. A resource pack changes how the game looks and sounds, and each player downloads it. A data pack changes how the game works, such as recipes, advancements or world generation, and it lives only on the server.
| Resource pack | Data pack | |
|---|---|---|
| Changes | Textures, sounds, models, text | Recipes, loot, advancements, functions, world generation |
| Where it runs | On each player's game | On the server only |
| How players get it | The server offers a download when they join | They need nothing |
| How you add it | A link and a checksum in Server Properties (Java) | The Modding tab, or a file in the world's datapacks folder |
These steps are for Java Edition. For Bedrock packs, see How to run a Minecraft Bedrock server.
Offer a resource pack to your players
The server does not store the pack. It gives players a link, and their game downloads the pack from that link. So the pack must be hosted somewhere players can reach.
- Get your resource pack as a
.zipfile. It must be no larger than 250 MiB, according to the Minecraft Wiki. - Put the file on a host that gives a direct link to the file. Test the link in your browser. It must start the download of the zip at once. A link to a page that shows a download button will not work.
- Work out the file's SHA-1 checksum, a 40-character code that identifies the exact file. On Windows, open a command prompt in the file's folder and type
certutil -hashfile pack.zip SHA1. On macOS or Linux, typeshasum pack.zip. Use your own file name. Write the code in lowercase letters and numbers, with no spaces. - Open your server in the panel and click Settings, then Server Properties (Java).
- Paste the link into Resource pack URL and the code into Resource pack checksum.
- If players must use the pack, switch Require resource pack on. Players who decline are disconnected. Leave it off to make the pack optional.
- Click Save & restart.
- Join the server. The game asks whether to use the server's pack. Accept it and check that it loaded.
The checksum is optional but you should set it. Without it, players download the pack again every time they join, and the checksum lets the game check that the file is the right one.
Change the pack later
Upload the new file, then put the new link and the new checksum in the same two settings and restart. Players download the pack again. If you keep the same link but change the file, update the checksum too.
If the pack does not load
| What happens | Check |
|---|---|
| Players are never asked | The link must be a direct link and the pack size must be under 250 MiB. Paste the link in your browser: it should download the file. |
| The pack downloads but the game refuses it | The checksum does not match the file. Compute it again from the exact file at the link, in lowercase. |
| Players are kicked on join | Require resource pack is on and they declined, or the download failed |
Install a data pack from the Modding tab
Data packs come from Modrinth. The panel puts the file in the right folder of your world for you.
- Open your server and click Modding, then the Datapacks tab. Every Java server type except proxies has it.
- Type a name in Search datapacks and press Enter. Sort by and the Category list narrow the results. Minecraft version starts on your server's own version.
- Click Install on the one you want. The panel installs the newest build for the version shown in the Minecraft version filter, which starts on your server's version. To get another build, change that filter, or upload the data pack by hand as described below.
- Restart the server. The Paper documentation advises restarting rather than using the reload command on a Paper server, and the Minecraft Wiki says some data pack features only change after a restart.
- Open the Console, and type
datapack listand press Enter. Your pack should appear. If it is listed as available but not enabled, typedatapack enableand the pack's name exactly as the list prints it, in quotes. The name usually looks likefile/Pack.zip, so the command isdatapack enable "file/Pack.zip".
A data pack is made for a particular Minecraft version, so pick a build that matches your server. The panel's filter starts on your version for that reason.
To see or remove your data packs, open the Installed view of the Datapacks tab. The ... menu has Uninstall. Take a backup first if the pack changed the world, because removing a pack that added things can leave gaps behind.
Install a data pack by uploading it
- Download the data pack from its official page. It is a
.zipfile or a folder with a file calledpack.mcmetain it. Thepack.mcmetafile must be directly inside the zip or folder, not inside another folder. - Stop the server and back up your world.
- In Files, open your world's folder. Its name is the World name setting, which is
worldunless you changed it. See Minecraft server properties explained. - Open the
datapacksfolder inside it. If it is missing, start the server once and stop it again. - Click Upload and choose the zip, or unzip a folder there.
- Start the server and check with
datapack listas above.
Good to know
- Data packs belong to the world. They live inside the world folder, so resetting or replacing the world also removes them. Reinstall them after a reset. See How to back up, restore and reset your Minecraft world. A world you upload brings its own data packs. See How to upload your own Minecraft world.
- Trust the source. The Minecraft Wiki warns that data packs have significant control over the game and can crash a world. Install only packs from creators you trust.
- Data packs do not need mods. They work on Vanilla, Paper and mod loader servers alike, which is why the Datapacks tab is offered on all of them.
- Plugins and mods are different things. See How to install plugins on Paper, Spigot and Purpur and How to install mods on Forge, Fabric and NeoForge.
If the server does not start after a pack, remove the newest one and start again. See How to fix a server that will not start.
