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Setup & mods · Tutorial

How to install a Minecraft data pack (new or existing world)

Add a data pack when you create a world, or drop it into the datapacks folder of an existing one and run /reload. Pack format 121 for 26.3, Safe Mode and load order.

Beginner 2 min read Updated Tested on Java 26.3
On this page · 7
  1. Download the data pack for your version
  2. Add it when you create a world
  3. Add it to an existing world
  4. Load it and check that it works
  5. Enable, disable or reorder packs
  6. Install it on a server
  7. Fix a pack that does not load

What you need

all free · links go to our pages
Terralithmod · Datapack · Fabric · Forge · NeoForge · Quilt ✓ 26.3 Tectonicmod · Datapack · Fabric · Forge · NeoForge · Quilt ✓ 26.3 Dungeons and Tavernsmod · Datapack · Fabric · Forge · NeoForge ✓ 26.3 VeinMinermod · Bukkit · Datapack · Fabric · Folia · Forge · NeoForge · Paper · Purpur · Quilt · Spigot ✓ 26.3

To add a data pack to a new world, click Create New World, open the More tab, click Data Packs and drag the .zip file into the window. For an existing world, put the .zip in the world's datapacks folder, then reopen the world or type /reload. Use the file made for your version: Minecraft 26.3 reads pack format 121. Data packs exist only in Java Edition.

Download the data pack for your version

Get the file from the project's official page on Modrinth or CurseForge and pick the data pack file, not the mod .jar. Terralith, Tectonic, Dungeons and Taverns and VeinMiner, for example, publish both. Take the file listed for your Minecraft version: in 26.3, a pack made for another version shows "(Made for an older version of Minecraft)" or "(Made for a newer version of Minecraft)" and may not work.

Add it when you create a world

  1. Click Singleplayer, then Create New World.
  2. Open the More tab and click Data Packs.
  3. Drag the .zip file into the window and answer Yes to "Do you want to add the following packs to Minecraft?".
  4. Move the pack from the Available list to the Selected list, then click Done.
  5. Create the world.

World generation packs, which add biomes, terrain or structures, must be added this way: they only shape chunks generated after they are active.

Add it to an existing world

  1. Click Singleplayer, select the world, click Edit, then Open World Folder.
  2. Open the datapacks folder inside it. If there is none, create it with exactly that name.
  3. Copy the .zip into it.

Back up the world first with Make Backup on the same Edit screen: some packs change items and blocks for good.

Load it and check that it works

Open the world again, or, if it is already running and commands are allowed, type:

/reload

The chat answers "Reloading!". Then list the active packs:

/datapack list

Your pack appears as file/ followed by its file name. Both commands need commands allowed in the world. Details are on the /datapack command page.

Enable, disable or reorder packs

When two packs change the same recipe or loot table, the one loaded last wins. To move a pack to the end of the list:

/datapack enable "file/Terralith.zip" last

To switch it off without deleting the file:

/datapack disable "file/Terralith.zip"

Keep the quotes around the name: the slash in file/ requires them. Press Tab to complete the name.

Install it on a server

Copy the .zip into the datapacks folder of the server's world, which is the folder named by level-name in server.properties, then run /reload from the console or as an operator. Every player sees the pack's effects without installing anything.

Fix a pack that does not load

  • Not in /datapack list: the ZIP holds another folder. Open it: pack.mcmeta and the data folder must be at the top.
  • "Data pack validation failed!" or a world that will not open: the game offers Safe Mode, which loads the world with only the vanilla data pack. Then remove or update the faulty pack.
  • A pack that needs experimental features: turn them on with Experiments, on the same More tab, when you create the world.

FAQ

Do I need to unzip a data pack?

No. Leave the .zip as it is. A folder works too, as long as pack.mcmeta sits directly inside it.

Do data packs work on Bedrock Edition?

No. They are a Java Edition feature. Bedrock Edition uses behavior packs, installed as add-ons.

Can I add a world generation data pack to an old world?

It only changes chunks that have not been generated yet, so you get visible borders between old and new terrain. Add packs like Terralith or Tectonic when you create the world.

Is a data pack the same as a mod?

No. A data pack only changes the game's data (recipes, loot, world generation, functions) and needs no mod loader. Some projects, like Terralith, exist in both forms: pick the data pack file for a vanilla world.