Enable Datapacks for Minecraft

In this guide, we will show you how to download and install a datapack for both the client and the server.

Downloading the datapack

If you do not already have a Datapack downloaded, they can be obtained from multiple sites, but a good modern source for datapacks tends to be Modrinth .
As datapacks come in a .zip format and only contain text based configuration files, they tend to be safer than plugins and mods that come in a java .jar format.

A datapack can be installed on both servers and clients, the only difference being that when installed on a server it will affect every player connected to the server without them having to download anything on their client.

On MacOS and Linux, the easiest method is to open Minecraft.
Click on Options>Texture Packs>Show Pack Folder. This will open a folder with the resource packs.
From there you will want to go back one folder either through the top left “back” arrow or by clicking minecraft at the bottom of the file explorer window to navigate to the top level Minecraft folder.

Alternatively, you can access this folder without opening Minecraft on MacOS by running the following command in a terminal: open ~/Library/Application\ Support/minecraft/.
Navigate to the saves/ folder. This will contain a folder for every single player world you have created.
Go into the folder for the world you want to install the datapack in by double-clicking the server name.
Drag and drop the datapack .zip file inside the datapacks/ folder.

Inside the server folder, there will be a folder called world containing the world data for the overworld dimension.
Inside of this world folder, there will be a datapacks folder where you can simply drag and drop the datapack .zip file.
Note that a datapack present in this folder will affect all dimensions, so datapacks that affect nether and end world generation for example must be placed in the overworld’s datapacks folder.

To update a datapack, simply download the newer version of the datapack, stop the server, delete the old datapack, drag and drop the new version and restart the server.
Note that this may cause issues which is why making a backup before upgrading is heavily recommended.

Some datapacks, notably ones that affect world generation may cause lag if the processor is not powerful enough as custom world generation requires more processing power than would normally be necessary.
This can of course be mitigated by pre generating the world.

If you require further assistance, you can open a support ticket here!

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