.minecraft

This feature is exclusive to Java Edition.

.minecraft (or simply minecraft on macOS) is the game directory of Minecraft: Java Edition and the launcher directory of the Minecraft Launcher.

The game directory stores data managed by the game client, such as game configuration, worlds and resourcepacks. The launcher directory stores data managed by the launcher, such as its own configuration, the game client program, game libraries and assets. Those two directories, while technically distinct, are normally unified (in the default layout) into .minecraft.

Locating

Below is a table showing the default path of .

OS	Location
Windows	`%APPDATA%\.minecraft`
macOS	`~/Library/Application Support/minecraft`
Linux	`~/.minecraft`

Locating the .minecraft directory can be vital for installing a resource pack or locating any made screenshots.

The path in the table above is just the default case. Launchers can place .minecraft at any path.

If you're a Windows user and are unfamiliar with how to find your %APPDATA% directory, follow these steps:

Click Start → Run. If you don't see "Run", press ⊞ Windows + R.
Type %APPDATA%\.minecraft and click "OK".

If you're a Mac user, you can open the directory through Spotlight:

Open Finder and press ⇧ Shift + ⌘ Command + G or open the Spotlight popup through the magnifying glass icon on the right of the Menu Bar.
Type ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft and hit ↵ Enter.

On Linux or macOS, the ~ in the path refers to the home directory. Files starting with . are hidden by default. In most file managers, pressing Ctrl + H toggles viewing hidden files. In macOS specifically, since version 10.12 (Sierra), pressing ⌘ Command + ⇧ Shift + . toggles viewing hidden files.

Changing location

Changing the game directory path can be done per installation in the Minecraft Launcher. Changing the launcher directory path can be done by using the --workDir command line parameter (see Tutorials/Custom Minecraft directory).

The default location of the game directory is the launcher directory, so changing the launcher directory is sufficient if it's desirable for both of them to be moved to another place.

Directory structure

The complete directory structure is a combination of the game directory and the launcher directory.

Game directory

.minecraft
- debug
  - year-month-day_hour.minute.second.zip
    - deviations
      - <tick_number>@year-month-day_hour.minute.second.txt
    - metrics
      - eventloops.csv
      - frame_times_ms_.csv
      - jvm.csv
      - mailboxes.csv
      - rendering_chunk_dispatching.csv
      - rendering_chunk_stats.csv
      - task_total_duration_ms.csv
    - profiling.txt
- logs
  - year-month-day-sessionNumber.log.gz
  - latest.log
- resourcepacks
- saves
  - worldName
    - advancements
      - uuid.json
    - data
    - datapacks
    - DIM1
      - data
        raids_end.dat
      - poi
        r.x.z.mca
      - region
        r.x.z.mca
    - DIM-1
      - data
        raids_nether.dat
      - poi
        r.x.z.mca
      - region
        r.x.z.mca
    - generated
      - namespace
        structures
        name.nbt
    - playerdata
      - uuid.dat
    - poi
      - r.x.z.mca
    - region
      - r.x.z.mca
    - stats
      - uuid.json
    - icon.png
    - level.dat
    - level.dat_mcr
    - level.dat_old
    - special_level.dat
    - special_level.dat_old
    - resources.zip
    - session.lock
- screenshots
  - year-month-day_hour.minute.second.png (or, ...second_instance.png)
- stats
  - stats_player_unsent.dat
  - stats_player_unsent.old
- texturepacks
- texturepacks-mp-cache
- command_history.txt
- debug.stitched_items.png
- debug.stitched_terrain.png
- hotbar.nbt
- options.txt
- realms_persistence.json
- servers.dat
- textures_0.png
- textures_1.png
- textures_2.png
- textures_3.png
- textures_4.png
- usercache.json

Use of a resource pack can be forced by renaming its ZIP file to resources.zip and placing it in the root directory of the world save.^[1] This feature is single-player only;^[2] however, there is another way for servers to ask or force clients to use the server resource pack.

Launcher directory

.minecraft
- assets: Contains game assets, provided to the game using the --assetsDir command line parameter.
  - indexes
    - asset-id.json: The asset index, provided to the game using the --assetIndex command line parameter as the asset-id value only (it is not provided as a full path to the file, and the .json suffix is left out).
  - log_configs
    - client-version.xml
  - objects
    - 00 .. ff: subdirectories containing the actual asset files: mainly sounds, music and language translations
  - skinpacks
    - 00 .. ff: subdirectories containing the actual asset files: skin images
  - virtual
    - legacy: legacy assets; used by pre-1.6 versions
    - pre-1.6: additional legacy assets; used by pre-1.6 versions
- bin
  - jinput.jar
  - lwjgl.jar
  - lwjgl_util.jar
  - minecraft.jar: client.jar for launchers of 1.5.2 and older. The current launcher uses the versions directory instead.
  - natives
    - (native libraries)
  - random ID
    - (native libraries)
- libraries: Various Java libraries packaged per Maven convention (without POM files). Libraries appropriate for the launched version are picked by the launcher and provided to the game.
- versions
  - version
    - version.jar
    - version.json
- webcache
  - Cache
    - data_0
    - data_1
    - data_2
    - data_3
    - f_<hexa>
  - Cookies
  - Cookies-journal
  - GPUCache
    - data_0
    - data_1
    - data_2
    - data_3
    - index
  - Visited Links
- launcher_cef_log.txt
- launcher_entitlements.json
- launcher_gamer_pics.json
- launcher_msa_credentials.json
- launcher_profiles.json
- launcher_quick_play.json
- launcher_settings.json
- launcher_skins.json
- launcher_ui_state.json
- nativelog.txt (macOS only)
- nativeUpdaterLog.txt (macOS only)
- output-client.log
- output-server.log

For Windows and Linux, the contents of nativelog.txt and nativeUpdaterLog.txt can be found within launcher_log.txt when applicable (i.e. the contents of nativeUpdaterLog.txt is present only in latest_log.txt after the launcher is updated or launched for the first time).

History

Java Edition Infdev
20100629		Added `level.dat_old`
Java Edition Alpha
v1.0.11		Added `session.lock`
Java Edition
1.6		Removed `lastlogin`
1.6.1	13w16a	Introduced the modern `.minecraft` directory structure, initially only containing: `assets`, `library` and `versions`.
1.13	17w43a	Removed structure data.
1.13	17w43a	Added datapacks directory.
1.14	18w47a	Added `raids.dat`
1.14	19w13a	Removed `villages.dat` and added `poi` region files.
1.20.2	23w31a	Added `command_history.txt` to persist command history between worlds.

References

↑ Minecraft snapshot 14w07a – Dinnerbone on mojang.com; February 14, 2014
↑ "[MC-73716] Resources.zip doesn't work for servers (and possibly LAN worlds) - Jira" – Mojira, October 27, 2014.

Navigation

[1] Minecraft snapshot 14w07a – Dinnerbone on mojang.com; February 14, 2014

[2] "[MC-73716] Resources.zip doesn't work for servers (and possibly LAN worlds) - Jira" – Mojira, October 27, 2014.

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