It’s here. The Cave Update, with a side of cliffs. That’s right, The Caves & Cliffs Update: Part I is launching today!

Now you can finally swim with the glow squid, fight alongside the axolotls, and get rammed off a mountain by a goat. You can also build with new blocks like copper, pointed dripstone, and moss, hang some hanging roots and cave vines, and marvel at the new ore textures. Light up your homes, caves, mineshaft and lives with the glow berry. Build a spyglass and peep your next adventure or just keep track of what that creeper over yonder is doing. Wait, what is it doing? Is it getting closer, or is this spyglass just really good?

Have fun with Part I!.

FEATURES

• Added Dripstone Block and Pointed Dripstone
• Added Block of Amethyst, Budding Amethyst, Amethyst Cluster, and Amethyst Bud
• Added Block of Raw Iron, Copper, and Gold
• Added Candles
• Added Copper
• Added Deepslate
• Added Glow Lichen
• Added Lava Cauldron
• Added Lightning Rod
• Added Lush Caves Block
• Added Powder Snow
• Added Raw Copper, Raw Iron, and Raw Gold items
• Added the Axolotl
• Added the Glow Squid
• Added the Goat
• Added Spyglass
• Added Tinted Glass
• A Shulker hitting a Shulker with a Shulker Bullet can make a new Shulker
• Additions to Wandering Trader and Mason trades
• Bundles and Shulker Box items will drop their contents when destroyed
• Changed Infested Block destroy times
• Changes to Shipwreck and Mineshaft loot
• Dirt Paths (formerly Grass Path) can now be made by using a Shovel on Dirt, Podzol, Mycelium, or Coarse Dirt (as well as Grass)
• Drowned now has a chance of dropping a Copper Ingot, and they no longer drop Gold Ingots
• Experience Orbs now sometimes merge when in large quantities to improve performance. This does not change the rate at which the player can absorb them, it simply limits the amount of separate orbs floating around in the world. Orbs that merge will gain the lifetime of the most recently created one.
• Holding down the space bar now increases the scroll speed in the credits
• Minecarts and Rails work in water
• Particles now appear when Pistons break blocks
• Reordered some blocks in the Building Blocks Tab in the Creative Menu
• Reordered the Redstone Tab in the Creative Menu
• Simple Firework Rockets with one Gunpowder can now be crafted using the recipe book

ACCESSIBILITY

• Added an alternative solid black background color for the Mojang Studios loading screen, toggleable with the “Monochrome Logo” accessibility option

ADVANCEMENTS

• Added “Whatever Floats Your Goat!” for floating in a boat with a Goat
• Added “Wax on” for applying Honeycomb to a Copper block
• Added “Wax off” for scraping wax off a Copper block
• Added “The Cutest Predator” for catching an Axolotl in a Bucket
• Added “The Healing Power of Friendship!” for teaming up with an Axolotl and winning a fight
• Added “Glow and Behold” for making a Sign glow
• Added “Light as a Rabbit” for walking on Powder Snow with Leather Boots
• Added “Surge Protector!” for having a lightning strike a Lightning Rod near a Villager without setting the area on fire
• Added “Is It a Bird?” for looking at a Parrot through a Spyglass
• Added “Is It a Balloon?” for looking at a Ghast through a Spyglass
• Added “Is It a Plane?” for looking at the Ender Dragon through a Spyglass

AMETHYST BLOCKS

• Amethyst comes in block form inside the Geodes in two ways: Block of Amethyst and Budding Amethyst
• All types of Amethyst blocks (Clusters included) create beautiful sounds when you walk on them, break them, place them, or hit them with a projectile – go make some music!

AMETHYST CLUSTERS

• Amethyst Clusters grow from Budding Amethyst, which can be found inside Amethyst Geodes
• Clusters have four growth stages: Small Amethyst Bud, Medium Amethyst Bud, Large Amethyst Bud, and Amethyst Cluster
• Clusters can only grow when they are placed on Budding Amethyst blocks
• Fully-grown Amethyst Clusters drop four Amethyst Shards (or more with Fortune) when mined with a Pickaxe, and drop two Amethyst Shards when broken by hand, Piston, or other means
• Clusters can be Silk Touched at any stage

AMETHYST GEODES

• These huge geodes can be found anywhere underground in the Overworld
• Amethyst Geodes have an outer layer of a new stone called Smooth Basalt
• Amethyst Geodes have a second layer of another new block called Calcite
• Amethyst Geodes have an inner layer of various Amethyst blocks

AMETHYST SHARDS

• Amethyst Clusters drop two Amethyst Shards when broken by hand, Piston, or other means
• Amethyst Clusters drop four Amethyst Shards when mined with a Pickaxe (or more with Fortune)

AXOLOTL

• Amphibious!
• Axolotls spawn in underground water that is in total darkness with Stone, Granite, Diorite, Andesite, Tuff, or Deepslate below
• Axolotls love tropical fish! Bucket of Tropical Fish can be used to breed Axolotls.
• Axolotls will swim around with you if you’re holding a Bucket of Tropical Fish in either hand
• When a player kills a mob that the Axolotl was attacking or being attacked by, the Axolotl will show its appreciation by granting the player temporary Regeneration and removing any Mining Fatigue effects
• If the player has more than 2 minutes of Regeneration effect left already, the axolotl will not grant additional regeneration
• You can pick up your Axolotl in a Water Bucket and carry it around just like a Salmon or a Cod!
• Axolotls will always chase after and attack Squids, Glow Squids, Tropical Fish, Cod, Salmon, Pufferfish, Drowned, Guardians, and Elder Guardians
• Axolotls do not like being out of water, and will dry up and begin taking damage if they are out of water for longer than 5 minutes
• An Axolotl will not dry up as long as they are in water or rain
• Sometimes when an Axolotl takes damage while inside water, it will pretend to be dead so that it stops being attacked
• There are four common varieties and one rare variety (blue) of Axolotl
• Axolotls spawn in underground water sources that are in total darkness and above natural stone blocks
• Axolotls now have a two-minute cooldown after hunting non-hostile targets: Squids, Glow Squids, Tropical Fish, Cod, Salmon, and Pufferfish
• Axolotls will prioritize targeting hostile mobs over hunting

BONE MEAL

• A crinkly, crunchy sound plays when Bone Meal is used

BUDDING AMETHYST

• On any side of a Budding Amethyst block where there is air or a water source block, a Small Amethyst Bud will eventually grow
• Amethyst Buds can only grow when attached to Budding Amethyst, and will grow until they become Amethyst Clusters

BUILDING BLOCKS TAB

• All ores have been reordered to be in the same location in the creative inventory
• Compact forms of raw and refined underground materials have been reordered

CANDLES

• Candles come in all sixteen colors and one uncolored variant
• Up to four Candles can be placed in one block
• Waterloggable! (But you cannot light them underwater, silly)
• Wish anybody a happy birthday with a Cake with a Candle!
• Candles can only be placed if there is a solid surface below but will remain even if the surface below is removed

CAULDRONS

• Cauldrons can now be filled with Lava and Powder Snow Buckets!
• Cauldrons filled with lava give off a Redstone signal with Strength 3 when used with a comparator

COPPER BLOCKS

• Craft nine Copper Ingots into a Copper Block
• Craft Cut Copper, Cut Copper Stairs, and Cut Copper Slabs
• The Stonecutter can be used to craft the different Copper Block variants
• Use Honeycomb to craft Waxed Copper Blocks
• Right-click with Honeycomb on Copper Blocks to wax them
• Use Honeycomb in a Dispenser to wax Copper Blocks

COPPER ORE

• Copper Ore can be found in ore blobs across the Overworld, similar to Iron and Coal (this is not the final generation for Copper…)
• Smelt Copper Ore to get a Copper Ingot
• Copper Ore drops 2-3 Raw Copper

DEEPSLATE

• Deepslate can be found in the deepest parts of the underground, and is slightly tougher to mine than normal Stone
• Deepslate will drop Cobbled Deepslate, similar to how Stone drops Cobblestone
  • You can still obtain Deepslate with Silk Touch
• Like Cobblestone, Cobbled Deepslate can be used to craft basic tools, Furnaces and Brewing Stands
• You can also craft the following blocks with Deepslate:
  • Cobbled Deepslate Slab
  • Cobbled Deepslate Stairs
  • Cobbled Deepslate Wall
  • Polished Deepslate
  • Polished Deepslate Slab
  • Polished Deepslate Stairs
  • Polished Deepslate Wall
  • Deepslate Bricks
  • Deepslate Brick Slab
  • Deepslate Brick Stairs
  • Deepslate Brick Wall
  • Deepslate Tiles
  • Deepslate Tile Slab
  • Deepslate Tile Stairs
  • Deepslate Tile Wall
  • Chiseled Deepslate
  • Cracked Deepslate Bricks
  • Cracked Deepslate Tiles
• There is also an Infested variant of Deepslate found in the underground
• Cobbled Deepslate can be smelted into Deepslate

DEEPSLATE ORES

• When ore is generated in the same place as Deepslate, Deepslate variants of that ore are now generated instead
• Twice as tough to mine as normal ores

DRIPSTONE BLOCK

• Decorative block
• Can be crafted with four Pointed Dripstone

POINTED DRIPSTONE

• Forms a stalactite if placed on the ceiling or a stalagmite if placed on the floor
• Can be combined to form longer stalactites & stalagmites
• Stalactites and stalagmites merge if the tips are next to each other unless you press shift while placing
• Stalagmites will break if they’re not attached to something below
• Landing or jumping on a stalagmite hurts! They are sharp
• Stalactites fall down if not attached to something above
• Being hit by a falling stalactite hurts! They are sharp
• Stalactites drip water (or lava if there is lava above the ceiling)
• A stalactite with a water source above the ceiling will gradually fill a cauldron below with water
• A stalactite with a lava source above the ceiling will fill a cauldron below with lava after a while
• Thrown Tridents break Pointed Dripstone

DRIPSTONE GROWTH

• If a stalactite is hanging from a Dripstone Block with a water source above, it will slowly grow both the stalactite from above and a stalagmite from below
• Growth speed is random but very slow, a single growth step can take several Minecraft days
• A stalactite will only grow up to seven blocks long
• A stalactite will only cause stalagmite growth if the floor or stalagmite below is within 10 blocks
• If the stalactite tip is inside water it won’t drip, and therefore won’t trigger any growth
• If the stalagmite tip is inside water it won’t receive drops, and therefore won’t be grown by a dripping stalactite. Same thing if there is any fluid between the two tips.
• A stalagmite or stalactite will never grow into a fluid

GLOW LICHEN

• A dim light source that generates in caves
• Use Shears to pick it up
• Use Bone Meal to spread it along block surfaces

GLOW SQUID

• Glow Squids are well-lit and can be seen from far distances
• When killed, Glow Squids drop Glow Ink Sacs
• Glow Ink Sacs can be used on Signs to make the text super visible, even at night. Works with colors!
• Craft a Glow Item Frame by combining a Glow Ink Sac with an Item Frame in a Crafting Table. Any item in a Glow Item Frame is perfectly illuminated, even at night.
• Use an Ink Sac on a Sign to remove the glow effect
• Axolotls will attack any Glow Squids they see, so… be careful
• Glow Squids spawn in underground water that is in total darkness with Stone, Granite, Diorite, Andesite, Tuff, or Deepslate below

GOAT

• Goats spawn in mountains
• Goats can scale the sides of mountains with their incredible jumps
• Goats can be tempted and bred using Wheat
• Goats are another source of Milk!
• Goats will ram anything that moves… also Armor Stands
• Two in every 100 goats have something very loud to tell you!
• Goats will avoid walking on Powder Snow
• Screaming Goats will use their ram attack more often than other Goats will
• Mobs rammed by Goats do not retaliate

INFESTED BLOCKS

• Infested Blocks are no longer instantly destroyed, and instead, have half the destroy time of their non-infested counterpart

LIGHTNING ROD

• A Lightning Rod is crafted from three Copper Ingots
• Keeps your builds safe (well, as long as the closest area around the Lightning Rod is fireproof) during thunderstorms!
• The Lightning Rod will protect an area of 8 * 16 blocks around it from the, sometimes devastating, lightning strikes!
• Lightning Rods give off a Redstone signal when struck by lightning

LUSH CAVES BLOCKS

• Added Moss
• Added Dripleaves
• Added Rooted Dirt and Hanging Roots
• Added Spore Blossoms (currently only available in the Creative inventory)
• Added Cave Vines and Glow Berries
• Added Azalea Bushes

AZALEA BUSHES

• Added Azalea Bushes as well as Flowering Azaela Bushes
• Bees see Flowering Azalea (and Flowering Azalea Leaves) as flowers
• Bonemeal Azalea or Flowering Azalea to get an Azalea Tree

CAVE VINES AND GLOW BERRIES

• Cave Vines grow down from the ceiling, like Weeping Vines
• When they grow they have a chance of producing Glow Berries
• Glow Berries are a natural light source as well as a food source
• Foxes eat Glow Berries
• Use Glow Berries to plant new Cave Vines
• Bonemealing a Cave Vine will create Glow Berries

DRIP LEAVES

• Small Dripleaf needs moisture, so it grows on Clay or underwater
• The facing direction of Small Dripleaf blocks is determined by which direction the player is facing when placing it
• The Wandering Trader will sometimes sell Small Dripleaf plants
• Small Dripleaf grows into Big Dripleaf when bonemealed
• Big Dripleaf grows taller when bonemealed
• If you stand on a Big Dripleaf, it will tilt after a while, and you will fall off
• A tilted Big Dripleaf will tilt up again after a while
• A Big Dripleaf will tilt when hit by a projectile
• A Redstone powered Big Dripleaf will not tilt (except when hit by a projectile)

MOSS

• Two new decorative blocks: Moss Block and Moss Carpet
• Moss Carpet can be crafted from Moss Blocks
• Moss Blocks can be crafted with Cobblestone or Stone Bricks to make the mossy versions of those blocks

ROOTS

• Added Rooted Dirt and Hanging Roots – decorative blocks that will appear in the upcoming Lush Caves biome
• Bonemealing Rooted Dirt grows Hanging Roots underneath
• Tilling Rooted Dirt with a Hoe will convert it into Dirt, and pop out a Hanging Roots item.

SPORE BLOSSOMS

• A beautiful large flower placed on ceilings
• Particles drip from it and will appear in the air around it

MINECARTS AND RAILS WORK IN WATER

• All Rails can be waterlogged (works with a Dispenser & Water Bucket too)
• Flowing water doesn’t break Rails
• Minecarts can pass through water, but get slowed down more than usual

OXIDATION

• Copper will oxidize over time
• There are four stages: Copper, Exposed Copper, Weathered Copper, and Oxidized Copper
• It takes 50-82 Minecraft days (in loaded chunks) for a Copper Block to oxidize one stage
• Waxed Copper Blocks will not oxidize
• You can wax any oxidation stage – how lovely, that means you can keep that pretty Weathered Copper Block in its weathered stage forever!
• A lightning strike hitting Copper will clean its oxidation
• Waxed Copper Blocks can be crafted into nine Copper Ingots
• Axes can scrape off wax and oxidation from Copper Blocks

POWDER SNOW

Snowier snow!

• Powder Snow is a trap block that causes any entity that walks into it to sink in it
• You can pick up and place Powder Snow with a Bucket
• Wear Leather Boots to prevent yourself from sinking into Powder Snow blocks
• Leave a Cauldron outside in falling snow and it will fill with Powder Snow
• Entities on fire now get extinguished when they collide with Powder Snow. The Powder Snow block is also destroyed
• Skeletons now convert to Strays when frozen
• Powder Snow is pushable by Pistons and Sticky Pistons
• Rabbits, Endermites, Silverfish, and Foxes can walk on top of Powder Snow without falling in

FREEZING

• Standing in Powder Snow will slowly freeze an entity
• Once frozen, freeze damage is done every few seconds to the frozen entity
• Wearing any piece of Leather Armor prevents freezing entirely
• Added a freezeDamage game rule that allows players to toggle whether Powder Snow causes freeze damage or not
• Strays, Polar Bears, and Snow Golems are immune to freezing
• Mobs that are fully frozen will shake
• Mobs that enjoy the heat (Blazes, Magma Cubes, and Striders) take increased freeze damage

REDSTONE TAB

• The Redstone Tab has been reordered to prioritize highly-used blocks
• Redstone items/blocks have been grouped and ordered in the following way:
  • Essentials
  • Unique activators
  • Miscellaneous
  • Common activators
  • Openables
• Slime Blocks and Honey Blocks have been moved to the Redstone tab

SMELTABLE ORE DROPS

• Ores that are smeltable now drop raw item forms of the ore instead of the ore block, and these can be smelted just like before
• This is to prevent cluttering the inventory, and have consistency with Fortune on all ores
• Just like other ore materials, you can craft a compact version with raw ore items in order to save inventory space

SMOOTH BASALT

• Smelt Basalt to obtain Smooth Basalt

SPYGLASS

• You can use a Spyglass to see faraway things
• Pretend to be a sea captain, or catch your neighbor in the act as they dye your Sheep lime green
• The Spyglass is crafted from two Copper Ingots and one Amethyst Shard

TINTED GLASS

• Tinted Glass is a type of glass that does not allow light to pass through
• Tinted Glass is crafted by putting a Glass Block in the middle of four Amethyst Shards
• Tinted Glass can be obtained without Silk Touch; it does not shatter like normal glass

TRADE & LOOT TABLE ADDITIONS

• Added the following trades to Mason:
  • Will sell 4 Dripstone Blocks for 1 Emerald
• Added the following trades to Wandering Trader:
  • Will sell 2 Pointed Dripstones for 1 Emerald
  • Will sell 2 Rooted Dirt for 1 Emerald
  • Will sell 2 Moss Blocks for 1 Emerald
• Moss Blocks can be found in Shipwreck Chests
• Glow Berries can be found in Mineshaft Chest Minecarts

TUFF

• A new type of stone that can be found in blobs between y0 and y16

UNDERGROUND STRUCTURE CHANGES

• Strongholds are mostly encased in Stone
• Mineshaft corridors are supported by log pillars below or Chains above when needed
• Cobwebs don’t generate fully floating in the air

VISUALS

• Sky color now varies smoothly when moving between different biomes
• Ores without unique shapes have been given new textures for accessibility reasons, so that each ore is distinguishable by shape alone
  • Emerald Ore and Lapis Ore have had some small touch-ups
• Being the most iconic ore, Diamond Ore texture is staying the same to keep that classic feel maintained
• Blackstone, Polished Blackstone Bricks, and Cracked Polished Blackstone Bricks have had some minor touch-ups
• Clock and Compass textures have been updated

WORLD GENERATION

• Dripstone clusters can be found rarely in normal caves
• Deepslate blobs can be found from Y0 to y16

TECHNICAL

• Added /debug function
• Added /item command
• Added lightning_bolt sub-predicate
• Added looking_at condition to player sub-predicate
• Added passenger, stepping_on and lightning_bolt properties to entity predicate
• Added source condition to effects_changed trigger
• Added started_riding, lightning_strike and using_item advancement triggers
• Added a metric cube of light
• Added a new NBT tag for entities, named “HasVisualFire”, which will cause any entity with this flag to visually appear on fire, even if they are not actually on fire
• Added F3+L shortcut to generate and persist performance metrics from in-game
  • F3+L on single-player worlds will also include reports for the integrated server
• Added gamerule playersSleepingPercentage (100 by default), which sets what percentage of players that must sleep in order to skip the night. Setting it to 0 will mean one player is always enough to skip the night. Setting it above 100 will prevent skipping the night.
• Added item modifiers, which will reuse loot table functions syntax to describe item modification in /item command
• Added loot table function set_banner_pattern
• Added the Marker entity
• Buttons that change value (like Difficulty) can now be controlled with the mouse wheel
• Clicking on a button that changes the value while holding the shift key changes to the previous value
• Data pack version is now 7
• “Debug” world type can now be accessed while holding the alt key (was shift)
• Entities are now saved separately from terrain chunks
• Expanded block field on block predicate to blocks
• Expanded item field on item predicate to items
• GUI narration now includes position and usage of hovered or focused elements
• Loot tables can now access scoreboard values by UUID
• OpenGL 3.2 core profile
• Perf start/stop command on dedicated servers will now generate and persist server performance metrics
• Removed /replaceitem
• Removed debug report command (use perf start/stop for server performance measurement)
• selector and nbt chat components can now configure separators between elements
• Servers can also display a custom message on resource pack prompt
• Servers can now require custom resource packs to be accepted
• The ‘/give’ command can only give up to 100 stacks of items at a time (e.g. 6400 stone or 100 iron swords)
• The default mode of structure blocks is now Load. Data is now hidden (but can be accessed by clicking the mode button while holding the alt key)
• The maximum length of item names in the Anvil UI has been increased from 35 to 50
• The maximum size that Slimes can be summoned with is now 128
• The pack format in version.json has been split into data and resource versions
• The Resource pack version is now 7
• Upgraded to Java 16
• Values inside random number generators can now be nested

/DEBUG FUNCTION

• New debug subcommand executes a command with the same syntax as function
• Every executed command, message (even if it would be normally invisible), result, or error is stored to file

ADVANCEMENTS

CHANGED PREDICATES

BLOCK PREDICATE

• block field expended to blocks, which now accepts an array of block types

ENTITY PREDICATE

• passenger - a new sub-predicate for a passenger that is directly riding this vehicle (if present, must match one or more)
• stepping_on - a location predicate for a block that an entity is currently standing on
• lightning_bolt - a sub-predicate that is valid only for a lightning bolt entity

ITEM PREDICATE

• item field expended to items, which now accepts an array of item types

PLAYER PREDICATE

• looking_at - an entity that is currently viewed by a player
  • uses same the line-of-sight rules as attacking mobs
  • actual detection radius might be changed in future

CHANGED TRIGGERS

EFFECTS_CHANGED

• Added source triggers that match an entity that triggered the change
• Might be empty when:
  • there is no entity (for example, effect gained from a Beacon)
  • the effect is self-applied
  • an effect is removed

LIGHTNING BOLT

• blocks_set_on_fire - a range check for blocks set on fire by this entity
• entity_struck - a predicate for entities struck by this lightning bolt (if present, must match one or more)

NEW TRIGGERS

LIGHTNING_STRIKE

• Triggered when a lightning strike finishes (i.e. entity disappears)
• Triggers for any player within a certain radius of a lightning strike
• Conditions
  • player - a player for which this trigger runs
  • lightning -a predicate for a lightning entity
  • bystander - a predicate for one of the entities in a certain area around a strike that is not hurt by it

STARTED_RIDING

• Triggered when a player starts riding a vehicle or an entity starts riding a vehicle currently ridden by a player
• Conditions:
  • player - either a player that has started riding or one of the boat passengers

USING_ITEM

• Triggered for every tick of using items (like Crossbows and Spyglasses)
• Conditions
  • player - a player that uses an item
  • item - an item being used

CHAT COMPONENT SEPARATORS

• Components that prints lists of names, like selector or nbt can now override separator (, by default) with separator element
• Examples:
  • {"selector": "@e[type=chicken]", "separator": "|"}
  • {"nbt": "CustomName", "entity": "@e[type=chicken]", "interpret": true, "separator": {"text": "*", "color": "red"}}

COMMANDS

ITEM

Modifies the item or block inventory.
This command has three forms:
Possible sources and targets:
For example, /item replace block ~ ~ ~ container.0 from entity @s enderchest.0 will copy the first item from the player’s Ender Chest to the first slot of a container that the player is currently standing on.

• /item replace <target> with <item stack> [<count>] - the same as old replaceitem
• /item replace <target> from <source> [<modifier>] - copies an item for source to target(s), optionally applying a modifier
• /item modify <target> <modifier> - modifies an item (without copying)
• entity <selector> <slot>
• block <x> <y> <z> <slot>

CUSTOM SERVER RESOURCE PACKS

• A dedicated server can enforce custom resource packs by setting require-resource-pack in server.properties
  • When this option is used, players will be prompted for a response and will be disconnected if they decline the required pack
  • If user has a setting to automatically decline packs, the prompt will still be shown (since the alternative would be automatic disconnection)
• A dedicated server can also configure an additional message to be shown on the resource pack prompt (resource-pack-prompt in server.properties, expects chat component syntax, can contain multiple lines)
  • This message won’t be shown if user has already declined pack and it’s not required

CUSTOMIZED WORLDS

• World height related values are now exposed for customized worlds

DATA PACKS

Changes to data packs for version 7:

• Removal of /replaceitem (replaced with /item replace)

ENTITY STORAGE

• Entities have been extracted from main (terrain) chunks and are now stored in a separate entities directory (similar to POI storage)
• Those new files are still region files with NBT

ITEM MODIFIERS

• The function part of loot tables can now be defined as a separate data pack resource in the item_modifiers directory
• This type of file can contain a single function (i.e single JSON object) or an array of functions

JAVA 16

Minecraft now uses a more recent version of Java. If you are using a default setup, the Launcher will download and install the correct version. If you are using a custom Java setup, or a third-party launcher, you will need to ensure that your Java installation is version 16 or above.

LIGHT BLOCK

• Op-only (/give), air-like, waterloggable block
• Emits light at a level that is determined by block state
• Visible and targetable only when an item is held (similar to Barrier Blocks)
• Right click cycles the light level

LOOT TABLES

CHANGED CONDITIONS

CHANGED FUNCTIONS

COPY_NBT

• source parameter can now accept an object with type and additional parameters
• The old syntax of just writing “target” is present and equivalent to {"type": "context", "target": "<target>"}
• New storage provider (example: {"type": "storage", <namespaced id>}) can be used to access command storage

SET_COUNT

This function now has add parameter. If true, the change will be relative to the current item count. If false, item count will be replaced with current value (default behaviour)

SET_DAMAGE

This function now has an add parameter. If true, the change will be relative to the current damage. If false, the damage will be replaced with the current value (default behaviour)

NEW CONDITIONS

VALUE_CHECK

Checks range of value.
Parameters:

• value - see “New value providers” section (currently a combination of random generators and score)
• range - min/max range

NEW FUNCTIONS

SET_BANNER_PATTERN

Sets tags needed for banner patterns.
Parameters:

• patterns - list of pattern objects:
  • pattern - the name of the pattern (square_bottom_left, bricks, etc.)
  • colour - the name of the colour (light_gray, etc.)
• append - if true, the new elements will be appended to the existing ones instead of replacing them

SET_ENCHANTMENTS

Modifies enchantments on an item.

Parameters

• enchantments - map of enchantment id to level value (can be a score or a random number)
• add - if true, the change will be relative to the current level. If false, the level will be replaced with the current value (default behaviour)

NEW VALUE PROVIDERS

Note: value providers can be used in same places as random number generators.

SCORE

Returns scaled scoreboard value.

Parameters

• score - scoreboard name
• target - see below
• scale - scaling factor (float)

Scoreboard provider targets

• <target> or {"type": "context", "target": <target>} where <target> can be one of this, killer, direct_killer, killer_player (not all may be available depending on context)
• {"type": "fixed", "name": "<scoreboard name>"} for fixed scoreboard name (may be fake player)

MARKERS

Markers are a new type of entity that is meant for custom use cases like map-making and data packs.

• Only exist on the server-side, and are never sent to clients
• They do not do any updates of their own
• They have a data compound field that can contain any data

OPENGL

Rendering is now using OpenGL 3.2 core profile. All fixed-function rendering has been replaced with shader-based rendering.

SHADERS

Shaders are now included for all supported render states. Any shader, except for the blit shader, can also be replaced in resource packs. For now, replacing these shaders is not officially supported, and the way it works may change in the future.
The current rendering engine uses a system similar to the post-processing shader pipeline. There are some differences between both systems that cater to the slightly different requirements.

PARTICLES

• Added new particle types called vibration and dust_color_transition

PERFORMANCE METRICS REPORTING

These will be saved to a zip file in debug/profiling/<yyyy-MM-dd_HH.mm.ss-[levelname]-[version]>.zip and could be used for performance regression analysis if included in bug reports.
The exact metrics, output format, and names are susceptible to change between versions. Our plan is to continue iterating on which metrics to capture.

CLIENT F3+L SHORTCUT

Pressing F3+L while in the game will start a recording for 10 seconds, which captures metrics such as tick durations, used heap sizes, and other more detailed stats.
Pressing F3+L before the 10-second limit will end the recording early.
This shortcut is always available to clients, even on multi-player servers where it will record client-side performance.

DEDICATED SERVER PERF START/STOP COMMAND

• perf start will start a recording for 10 seconds, which captures metrics such as tick durations, used heap sizes, and other more detailed stats
• perf stop before the 10-second limit will end the recording early

RESOURCE PACKS

Changes to resource packs for version 7:

• Drowned texture mirroring has changed (see MC-174685)
• The slots for the Game Mode Selector are now 26 pixels instead of 25

SERVER PROPERTIES

• Removed max-build-height

STATISTICS

• The statistic for play time has been renamed to play_time
• There is now a statistic for “Time with World Open” (total_world_time) that also includes time when the game was paused

FIXED BUGS IN 1.17

• More than 300 bugs were fixed in this release. View the entire list on the issue tracker

GET THE RELEASE

​To install the release, open up the Minecraft Launcher and click play!

Cross-platform server jar:

• Minecraft server jar

• If you want to check out a few of the things that are upcoming in part II, you can download this data pack

Report bugs here:

• Minecraft issue tracker!

Want to give feedback?

• Head over to our feedback website or come chat with us about it on the official Minecraft Discord.