Minecraft’s endless creative options are one of its best features. However, it’s hard to know where to start when mods can customize virtually every aspect of a Minecraft game.
If you’re ready to explore modding, you’ve come to the right place. This article will explain everything you need to know.
How to Make Easy Minecraft Mods
There are a few ways to create your own mods in Minecraft when you’re ready to upgrade from the default “vanilla” program. For some, you will need to know the Java coding language. There are also ways to make modifications if you’re not ready to invest in learning a new programming language.
Make modifications easily with MCreator
MCreator is a tool that allows you to create your own unique mods without knowing how to write Java code. However, if you know Java, you can use it in MCreator.
- Visit the MCreator website.
- Click the “Download MCreator” button.
- The next page is complicated because there are many big green buttons offering downloads. Click the gray “Download” button next to the “MCreator” information. When you hover over the correct button, you should see “
- If an ad appears, click the “X” at the top right of the window to close it.
- Choose the “.exe” option to begin the download.
- When complete, drag the MCreator executable file from your downloads folder to your desktop (or anywhere in the file tree where you want to install the application).
- Run the executable file and follow the prompts.
Now you are ready to create your own mods with Mcreator. The app has an easy-to-use interface, but if you need help getting started, there are plenty of MCreator tutorials online.
Make modifications in Minecraft with packs
A second way to modify Minecraft is to use resource or data packs. These can add custom scripts to the game without you having to know how to write the code yourself.
- Data Packs add functionality to Minecraft. Some of the most popular data packs add coastal cities to Minecraft worlds, recipes to the crafting table, and create armor from unusual materials.
- Resource packs allow customization of features such as sounds and textures. There are many popular texture mods to make a Minecraft world look more realistic, more fantasy-themed, or even glow in the dark.
It is possible to create your own data and resource packages, but you can also find thousands of packages already created for you. Make your own modifications in Minecraft by installing the packages that interest you.
- PlanetMinecraft – Do you want a robotic Minecraft world? Or would you love to play in a world that looks like a Picasso painting? PlanetMinecraft has a wide variety of data packs and resources to start adding mods to your Minecraft.
- Resource Pack – This website has creative texture packs that give Minecraft a new spin. With all these texture options, you will never get bored with the game. From whimsical to retro, mods give your world a complete overhaul.
- cursed forge – Minecraft is just one of the many games that CurseForge supports. You can find mods that alter something small, like the appearance of fire, or mods that add entirely new realms to your world.
Resource and data packs are a great feature if you want to add mods to your Minecraft quickly and without having to write code from scratch.
Create your own Minecraft mods: configure your environment
If you’re interested in creating your own mods, it requires a little more time and effort. Minecraft code is written in a programming language called Java. The term “Modding” officially means writing custom code in Java or JavaScript to change the way Minecraft works. To create your own mods, you’ll need five things:
- Java Development Kit (JDK): Contains tools, libraries, and the runtime environment for creating and running Java programs.
- Text Editor – A way to write and edit source code JSON files
- Mod Development Kit – Contains a basic structure to help create mods.
- Image editing program, such as Paint, Pinta or GIMP, to edit and create .png files
- Integrated development environment (IDE) – to read and create class files
Download an open Java development kit
The first piece you need to create a Minecraft mod is a Java Development Kit or JDK. This will allow you to create and run original Java programs.
- Navigate to the Oracle website.
- Download the current JDK standard edition for free. It will be a self-installable .zip file.
While you can use your default text editor, there are better options. We recommend installing Notepad++ to use to create Minecraft mods. Two other options are Push either Emacs.
Set up a text editor
Choose and download a mod development kit
While there are several mod development kits or MDKs, Forge tends to be everyone’s favorite. Download Forge MDK to help your mods and your Minecraft talk to each other in a language you both understand.
- Visit to the officer Forge website.
- Click the three lines in the top left corner to expand a version menu and select the version of Minecraft you play.
- Click on the “MDK” icon and wait patiently while it downloads.
- After six seconds, click the red “Skip” button that appears in the upper right corner.
- Follow the instructions to choose where to save the file.
- Click “Keep” if you are notified that this file may be harmful to your computer, but the file you see is in the “counterfeit” format.[version number]-installer.jar.” Delete any other files you see.
- Double-click the installed Forge file.
- From the pop-up menu, choose “Install Client” and click “OK.”
- Click “Install” each time you are prompted to complete the installation.
Once you are done with the MDK file, take a look at where the files are located. Every time you create a mod, you will need to copy files from this folder to a new project folder for your mod.
Set up an image editing program
Microsoft Paint works well for editing modified images. Some users prefer to use Pinta instead. Either way, open or install a program that can edit simple images and save them as .png files.
Download an IDE
The last step is to download an IDE. IntelliJ is the leading Java IDE, making it our top pick.
- Visit the IntelliJ website.
- Click the blue “Download” button.
- Choose which type of file to install, .exe or .zip, and click “Download” again.
With this latest download, you now have a suitable environment for creating Minecraft mods.
Create Minecraft Mods
Once the tools are in place, you’ll be ready to start writing mods from scratch.
- Create a folder for your new mod in C:/Users/
/Documents. 
- Open IntelliJ and wait while it loads. The welcome window will open.
- Click “New Project.”
- Confirm that the SDK version is the Open JDK version you downloaded previously. If so, click “Next” twice.
- Give your project a name.
- Choose the location that will be your new project folder and click “Finish.”
- Locate the Forge folder from your previous MDK installation. Copy these folders/files from the forge-…-mdk folder to your new mod folder:
- the “src” folder
- the gradle folder
- gradlew
- gradlew.bat
- build.gradle
- Back in the IntelliJ window, click “Project” and select your new mod. You will see the files you just copied in your folder.
- Right click on “build.gradle” and select “Line Gradle Project”.
- Open the IDEA terminal tab and type
./gradlew.bat genIntellijRunsand press enter.
Now you’re all set to start coding your first Minecraft mod. Coding details are outside the scope of this article. But you can find some great Java coding help for Minecraft mods here:
MinecraftFandom – Creating Forge Mods
JetLearn – Minecraft Mod Tutorials
Make modifications to your Minecraft
Whether you want to mod Minecraft by adding packs to your game or creating them from scratch, creating mods is a great way to increase the excitement of playing Minecraft. With so many possibilities for add-ons and modifications, the creative possibilities are truly endless.
Have you created your own mods or made modifications to your game with data packs and resources? If so, did you use any of the tips and tricks in this article? Tell us in the comments p below.
