How to Install Datapacks on a Minecraft Server (and Check They Load)
A datapack changes how the game works (recipes, advancements, structures, minigames) without installing mods or plugins: players join with their usual Minecraft. It works on any Java server, Paper included, and you install it by uploading a .zip to the world folder.
What a datapack is and how it differs from a mod or a plugin
A datapack is a .zip with files the game itself understands (functions, recipes, loot tables…). It doesn't add outside code: it uses what Minecraft already has. That's why players don't need to install anything, and also why it can't do things a mod or plugin can, like new blocks with their own model or an economy system.
It's tied to a world, not to the server: it lives inside the world folder. If you start a new world later on, you'll have to add it again.
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Installing it step by step
Download the datapack for your version
Find it on Modrinth (filter by “Data Packs”) or on its author's page and download the .zip that matches your server's Minecraft version. One made for another version may not load or may half work.
Don't unzip it
It has to stay a .zip. Inside you should see pack.mcmeta directly; if when you open it you only see another folder containing everything, the zip is packed wrong and won't load.
Upload it to the world folder
In the panel, “Files”, go into the world folder (it's called world unless you changed level-name in server.properties) and into its datapacks subfolder. If it doesn't exist, create it. Upload the .zip there.
Load it
Restart the server, or type /reload in the console with the server running. On Paper, /reload can cause problems with plugins: if you have plugins, a restart is better.
Check it's active
Type /datapack list. “file/name.zip” should appear among the enabled ones. If it shows among the available but not enabled ones, enable it with /datapack enable "file/name.zip".
If it doesn't load
Check the console on startup: if the datapack is for another version or packed wrong, the server says so with a warning that names the file. That's the first thing to read.
If two datapacks change the same thing (the same recipe, for example), the one loaded later wins. /datapack list shows the order; /datapack enable can place one before or after another.
Test big changes with a backup made beforehand (backups guide): a datapack that changes world generation can't be undone in areas already generated.
Removing it
Stop the server and delete the .zip from the datapacks folder, or disable it with /datapack disable "file/name.zip". Whatever already changed in the world (generated structures, items handed out) stays: removing it doesn't revert it.
Frequently asked questions
Where do datapacks go on a Minecraft server?
In the datapacks folder inside the world folder (world by default), as a .zip without unzipping it. Then /reload or restart the server.
Do players have to install anything?
No. A datapack loads on the server and they join with normal Minecraft. Only if it adds new textures or sounds would they also need a resource pack on top.
Do datapacks work on Paper, Fabric and Forge?
Yes, every Java server reads the world's datapacks folder. What isn't certain is that a datapack made for vanilla behaves the same with plugins or mods that change the same rules.
How do I know if the datapack is active?
With the /datapack list command in the console or in the game as an operator: the active ones appear in the first list.
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Free tool: /effect command generator. Effects with the level as the game shows it, forever or for minutes, without particles and for everyone: the /effect ready to copy.
Free tool: Minecraft recipe generator. Custom crafting recipes for your Minecraft server without mods: put the ingredients on the table and download the datapack for your version.
Free tool: /tellraw and /title generator. Messages with colours, bold and click actions in chat or across the screen: the /tellraw or /title command ready to copy.
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Free tool: Minecraft item IDs. Search any block or item by its in-game name and copy its ID or the /give. Every one from the latest version.
Free tool: pack.mcmeta generator. The pack.mcmeta for your data pack or resource pack with each version's format number (1.14 to 26.3), plus a checker for yours.
Keep reading
- Shaders on a Minecraft Server: How to Use Them (and Why They Don't Go on the Server)
Can you put shaders on a Minecraft server? They go in each player's game: Iris, OptiFine or Oculus, and how to use them on Paper or modded servers.
- How to Install a Modpack on Your Minecraft Server (Cobblemon, RLCraft, All the Mods…)
Choose a modpack, work out the RAM, install it on the server in one click from the panel and get your friends in with the same mods. No fighting with versions.
- How to Reset Your Minecraft Server World and Start Over (or With a New Seed)
Start a new map on your Minecraft server without losing the old one: back up, move the world folder aside, pick a seed and what happens to the Nether and End.