How do you create a Minecraft texture pack?

Who this is for: Minecraft players wanting to customize their game’s visual appearance and learn basic modding skills.


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Getting Started with Your Texture Pack

Creating a Minecraft texture pack lets you completely transform how your world looks, from changing block textures to redesigning items and mobs. The process involves replacing the game’s default image files with your own custom designs.

Setting Up Your Workspace

First, you’ll need to locate your Minecraft installation folder. On Windows, navigate to %appdata%\.minecraft\resourcepacks. Create a new folder here with your texture pack’s name – avoid spaces and special characters.

Inside this folder, create a file called pack.mcmeta. This tells Minecraft about your pack:

{
  "pack": {
    "pack_format": 15,
    "description": "Your pack description here"
  }
}

The pack_format number depends on your Minecraft version – use 15 for 1.20.2+, 9 for 1.17-1.18, or 6 for 1.16.2-1.16.5.

Understanding the File Structure

Minecraft organizes textures in specific folders. Create an assets folder, then minecraft inside that. Your main texture folders will be:

  • textures/block/ – All block textures (stone, dirt, wood, etc.)
  • textures/item/ – Tools, weapons, food, and other items
  • textures/entity/ – Mobs and creatures
  • textures/gui/ – Interface elements and menus

Creating Your Textures

Minecraft textures are typically 16×16 pixels, though you can create higher resolution packs (32×32, 64×64, etc.). Use image editing software like GIMP, Photoshop, or even free online tools like Pixlr.

Save your textures as PNG files with the exact same names as the original Minecraft files. For example, to change dirt blocks, create dirt.png in the textures/block/ folder.

Key Tips for Texture Creation

  • Maintain consistent lighting and style across all textures
  • Consider how textures will tile when placed next to each other
  • Test frequently in-game to see how your changes look
  • Start with a few blocks before attempting a complete overhaul

Testing and Refining

Launch Minecraft and go to Options > Resource Packs. Your pack should appear in the available list. Click the arrow to move it to the active packs, then click “Done” to apply it.

Create a test world to see your textures in action. Pay attention to how they look in different lighting conditions and when placed together.

Advanced Features

Once comfortable with basic textures, you can explore advanced features like animated textures (using .mcmeta files), custom models, and even sound replacements. These require additional JSON files and more complex folder structures.

For animated textures, create a .mcmeta file alongside your PNG with the same name, specifying frame timing and animation properties.

Ready to dive deeper into the world of Minecraft creativity and discover more ways to customize your gaming experience?

TL;DR

Create a Minecraft texture pack by making a resourcepacks folder, adding pack.mcmeta file, then replacing default PNG textures in the assets/minecraft/textures structure.

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Joyst1ck

Gaming Writer & HTML5 Developer

Answering gaming questions—from Roblox and Minecraft to the latest indie hits. I write developer‑focused HTML5 articles and share practical tips on game design, monetisation, and scripting.

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