How to Create a Minecraft Texture Pack From Scratch

What you need to create a texture pack

A Minecraft texture pack is a folder of image files that replace the way blocks, items, and mobs look in the game. You do not need special software or coding knowledge — just an image editor, a file manager, and the ability to organize folders. Most people use free tools like Photoshop, GIMP, or even Paint.NET to edit the textures themselves.

The game reads texture packs from a specific folder on your computer. When you launch Minecraft, it looks for your custom textures in that location and swaps them in. If a texture is missing, the game falls back to the default. This means you can start small — change just a few blocks — and expand later.

Before you start, decide what version of Minecraft you are modifying. Java Edition and Bedrock Edition use different folder structures and file formats. Most custom texture packs are made for Java Edition, which is what this guide covers. If you play Bedrock (Windows 10/11, console, mobile), the process is similar but the folder names differ slightly.

Key Takeaways

Texture packs live in a specific folder on your computer that Minecraft reads automatically — you create the folder structure yourself if it does not exist.
Each texture is a PNG image file at a set resolution, usually 16x16 or 32x32 pixels, organized in folders that match Minecraft's internal structure.
You must include a pack.mcmeta file (a text file) that tells Minecraft the pack exists and what version it supports.
Testing happens inside the game — you reload textures or restart to see changes, so keep Minecraft open while you work.
Texture packs can be shared as a single ZIP file, which other players can drop directly into their texture pack folder.

Finding and opening the texture pack folder

Minecraft stores texture packs in a folder called resourcepacks. On Windows, this is usually at C:\Users\[Your Username]\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\resourcepacks. On Mac, it is at ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft/resourcepacks. On Linux, it is at ~/.minecraft/resourcepacks.

If the resourcepacks folder does not exist, create it yourself. Open your file manager, navigate to the .minecraft folder (you may need to show hidden files), and make a new folder named resourcepacks with no spaces or special characters. This is where all your texture packs will live.

Inside resourcepacks, create a new folder for your pack. Name it something simple like my_first_pack. This folder will hold all your textures and the pack.mcmeta file. Everything inside this folder is what players will see when they load your pack.

Creating the pack.mcmeta file

Every texture pack needs a pack.mcmeta file in its root folder. This is a plain text file that tells Minecraft the pack exists, what it is called, and which game version it supports. Without it, Minecraft will not recognize your pack at all.

Open Notepad (or any plain text editor — not Word) and paste this text:

{ "pack": { "pack_format": 12, "description": "My First Texture Pack" } }

Change "My First Texture Pack" to whatever you want to call it. The pack_format number depends on your Minecraft version: use 12 for versions 1.19 and 1.20, 11 for 1.18 to 1.18.2, and 10 for 1.17. If you are unsure, check your launcher to see which version you play.

Save this file as pack.mcmeta (not pack.mcmeta.txt) in your pack folder. Make sure your text editor is set to save as plain text, not rich text. If you see a .txt extension appear, delete it manually in your file manager.

Setting up the texture folder structure

Minecraft expects textures to be in specific folders that mirror the game's internal organization. Inside your pack folder, create a folder called assets. Inside assets, create a folder called minecraft. Inside minecraft, create a folder called textures. This path should look like: my_first_pack/assets/minecraft/textures.

Inside the textures folder, create subfolders for different texture types. The most common ones are block (for block textures like dirt, stone, wood), item (for item textures like swords and tools), and entity (for mob textures like cows and creepers). You only need to create the folders for textures you plan to change.

If you want to change a block texture, the file goes in textures/block. If you want to change an item, it goes in textures/item. Minecraft looks for files by name — if you name your texture dirt.png and put it in the block folder, it will replace the default dirt texture. If the file name does not match, the game ignores it.

Finding and editing texture files

Before you can edit a texture, you need to know what it is called in Minecraft. The easiest way is to look at the default textures. Download the default texture pack from the Minecraft launcher: go to Installations, find your version, click the folder icon, then navigate to versions and find the .jar file for your version. Open it with an archive manager (like 7-Zip or WinRAR) and browse to assets/minecraft/textures to see every texture file name.

Once you know the file name, open it in your image editor. Minecraft textures are PNG files, usually 16x16 pixels for the default pack (though you can make them larger — 32x32 or 64x64 — and Minecraft will scale them). Edit the image however you want: change colors, add details, redraw it completely. Save it as a PNG file with the exact same name as the original.

Place your edited texture in the correct subfolder inside your pack. If you edited dirt.png, save it to my_first_pack/assets/minecraft/textures/block/dirt.png. If you edited a sword texture, save it to my_first_pack/assets/minecraft/textures/item/[sword_name].png. The folder structure and file names must match exactly, or Minecraft will not find them.

Testing your texture pack in the game

Launch Minecraft and go to Options > Resource Packs. You should see your pack listed on the left side under "Available". Click it once to select it, then click the arrow button to move it to the right side under "Selected". The pack is now active.

Load a world and look for the textures you changed. If they appear, your pack is working. If they do not, check three things: the file name matches exactly (including capitalization), the file is in the correct subfolder, and the pack.mcmeta file is in the root folder with no typos.

If you make changes to your textures while Minecraft is running, you do not need to restart the game. Go back to Resource Packs, unselect your pack, then select it again. Minecraft will reload the textures from disk. This lets you edit and test quickly without closing and reopening the game each time.

Packaging your texture pack for sharing

Once your pack is finished, you can share it with other players by turning it into a ZIP file. Right-click your pack folder and select "Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder" on Windows, or "Compress" on Mac. This creates a single file that contains your entire pack.

Other players can download this ZIP file and drop it directly into their resourcepacks folder. Minecraft will recognize it as a texture pack without needing to unzip it first. If you want to update your pack later, create a new ZIP file with the same name and players can replace the old one.

Before you share, test your pack one more time on a fresh world. Make sure every texture you intended to change is present and looks right. Check that the pack.mcmeta file has the correct description and pack format number. Once you are confident it works, the ZIP file is ready to distribute.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use textures that are bigger than 16x16 pixels?

Yes. Minecraft will scale larger textures up or down to fit. A 32x32 or 64x64 texture will look sharper than a 16x16 one if your computer can handle it, but it uses more memory. Most custom packs use 32x32 or 64x64. Just make sure all your textures are the same size within your pack, or they will look inconsistent.

What if I only want to change a few textures, not the whole pack?

That is exactly how most packs start. Create the folder structure, add only the textures you want to change, and leave everything else blank. Minecraft will use your custom textures for those files and fall back to the default for everything else. You can add more textures later without affecting what you already made.

Can I use textures from another pack in my own pack?

Only if the original pack's creator gave permission. Most texture packs have a license that says whether you can reuse or modify them. Always check the pack's readme or description before copying textures. If there is no license listed, assume you cannot use them without asking first.

Why does my texture pack not show up in the Resource Packs menu?

The most common reason is a missing or incorrectly named pack.mcmeta file. Make sure it is named exactly pack.mcmeta with no extra extensions, and that it is in the root of your pack folder, not inside assets or textures. Also check that your pack folder is inside the resourcepacks folder, not nested deeper.

Can I make a texture pack that works on Bedrock Edition?

Yes, but the folder structure is different. Bedrock uses a folder called textures directly in the pack root instead of assets/minecraft/textures. The process is similar, but file paths and some texture names differ. Look up Bedrock-specific texture pack guides if you want to support that version.

This guide is for general information only and is not medical, financial, legal, or other professional advice. For decisions specific to your situation, consult a qualified professional. See our Editorial Policy.