Guides

How to make a Minecraft resource pack

A resource pack is a folder (or a .zip) with one small settings file and the textures, models or sounds you want to replace. This guide builds one by hand for Minecraft: Java Edition 1.19 and later, then shows the same thing in MineTexture.

1. Make the pack folder

Create a folder with your pack's name. Everything else goes inside it:

my_pack/
├── pack.mcmeta
├── pack.png              (optional icon, square, e.g. 128×128)
└── assets/
    └── minecraft/
        └── textures/
            ├── block/
            └── item/

Folder names are lowercase and singular (block, item), the way the game has used them since 1.13.

2. Write pack.mcmeta

This file tells the game the folder is a resource pack and which version it was made for:

{
  "pack": {
    "pack_format": 15,
    "description": "My first pack"
  }
}

pack_format changes with game versions. Some values for resource packs:

For newer versions, check the pack format page on the Minecraft Wiki. Recent versions also accept a version range (supported_formats from 1.20.2, and min_format/max_format in the newest releases). If the number is wrong the game still lets you turn the pack on, but marks it as made for another version.

3. Find the texture you want to change

The game's own textures are inside the version's client jar, in .minecraft/versions/<version>/<version>.jar. A jar is a zip file: copy it, open the copy with any zip tool and look in assets/minecraft/textures/. For example, the grass block's top is block/grass_block_top.png and the diamond sword is item/diamond_sword.png.

Copy the file you want into the same path inside your pack.

4. Edit the texture

Open the copy in a pixel editor and change it. Keep it a PNG and keep the size: most block and item textures are 16×16. Higher resolutions (32×32, 64×64) work as long as the image stays square, but a texture that doesn't match the others will look out of place.

Turn off smoothing or antialiasing in your editor. Minecraft shows every pixel as-is, so soft edges look blurry in game.

5. Install and test the pack

1. Open your Minecraft folder: in the game, go to Options, Resource Packs, then click Open Pack Folder.
2. Put your pack folder there, or zip it. When you zip it, pack.mcmeta must be at the top of the zip, not inside another folder. A pack zipped one level too deep is the most common reason a pack doesn't show up.
3. Move the pack to the Selected side and click Done.
4. After changing a file, press F3 + T in game to reload resource packs without restarting.

Doing the same in MineTexture

1. Open the editor and click Create Pack. Pick the Minecraft version; MineTexture downloads that version's textures from Mojang and writes the right pack format for you.
2. Search for a texture by name (for example grass_block_top) and paint over the game's pixels.
3. Click Export to get a pack .zip with pack.mcmeta at the top, ready for your resourcepacks folder.

Your pack is saved in your browser as you work. There is no account, and nothing is uploaded unless you choose to publish it to the community gallery.