Minecraft datapack generator for vanilla data packs

A data pack is a folder or .zip that Minecraft loads alongside a world. It is pure data: JSON files and command files read by the vanilla game. Because it lives in the world, players join without downloading anything, and the same pack works in singleplayer and on a dedicated Java server.

The generator writes every kind of file a vanilla pack uses:

A data pack cannot add genuinely new blocks, items or textures. It can rename an existing item, give it custom components and change what it does through commands, but the game will still draw it with a vanilla model. New visuals need a resource pack, and truly new blocks or items with their own behavior need a mod.

If your idea falls on that side of the line, use the resource pack generator for textures and models, or the mod generator for new content. A data pack paired with a resource pack covers a surprising amount of ground, but we would rather tell you up front than hand you a pack that cannot deliver.

Every data pack declares which game versions it was built for in pack.mcmeta. When the numbers do not match, Minecraft warns that the pack was made for an older or newer version, and recent releases changed the format itself. Up to 1.21.8 the file uses pack_format; from 1.21.9 the game uses min_format and max_format and no longer accepts pack_format.

That is why the AI never writes pack.mcmeta. Spaleforce writes it for the exact version you choose: format 48 for 1.21 and 1.21.1, 61 for 1.21.4, 71 for 1.21.5, 88 for 1.21.9 and 1.21.10, 94 for 1.21.11, 101 for 26.1.x, 107 for 26.2 and 121 for 26.3. The version picker covers 26.3, 26.2, 26.1.2 and every 1.21 release from 1.21.11 down to 1.21.3, plus 1.21.1.

The content follows the same version. Folders use the singular names introduced in 1.21 (function/, recipe/, loot_table/, advancement/, tags/function/), recipe JSON uses the 1.21.2+ format where it applies, and text components are written as SNBT from 1.21.5 onward.

Before the project is saved, every .json file is parsed to make sure it is valid JSON, and namespaces are checked against the folder structure. If a file fails these checks, the generation is refunded rather than counted.

We also test the pipeline on real servers. A generated pack called RubyTools loaded on a vanilla 1.21.11 server with no version warning; its load function ran, and its loot table dropped the custom item as described.

Building a data pack by hand means juggling folder names that changed between versions, a pack format number that changes almost every release, and JSON where a single missing comma silently disables a recipe. Experienced creators manage it, but it is easy to lose an evening to a file that simply does not load.

The generator handles that scaffolding and leaves you the interesting part: deciding what the pack does. You can still open every file in the editor and adjust it by hand.

Download the .zip and drop it into the datapacks folder of your world (saves/<world>/datapacks in singleplayer, world/datapacks on a server). Run /reload or reopen the world, then /datapack list to confirm it is enabled.

After generation, the project opens in the online editor. Change files yourself or ask the AI for modifications in plain language. Downloading the .zip is free.