Formatting codes

This article is about the legacy §-based formatting system. For the modern JSON system, see Raw JSON text format.

Formatting codes (also known as color codes) add color and modifications to text in-game.

Text in Minecraft can be formatted with the section sign ( § ). In Bedrock Edition, the section sign can be used in signs, world names, book and quills, anvils and cartography tables (to rename items and maps), and in the chat input field (including in commands such as /say and /title). In Java Edition, section signs may be used in server.properties , pack.mcmeta , splashes.txt , language files, world titles, and server names. External programs can be used to insert it in other locations.

Contents

• 1 Usage
  • 1.1 Color codes
  • 1.2 Formatting codes
  • 1.3 Typing
  • 1.4 Sample text
  • 2.1 Compatibility with older versions

  Usage [ ]

  Text can be formatted using the section sign (§) followed by a character. A § symbol followed by a hex digit in the message tells the client to switch colors while displaying text. In Bedrock Edition, the § symbol can be used in any text input, while in Java Edition, it may be used in server.properties , pack.mcmeta , language files, world titles, and server names.

  In Java Edition, if a color code is used after a formatting code, the formatting code is disabled beyond the color code point. For example, §cX§nY displays as XY , whereas §nX§cY displays as X Y . Therefore, when using a color code in tandem with a formatting code, ensure the color code is used first and reuse the formatting code when changing colors. Also, you could put; e.g. " §#04280D NVBIS ", in a anvil to rename an item it will be non-italic.

  

  In Bedrock Edition, formatting codes persist after a color code. Furthermore, if an obfuscated code is used and a reset code is not used before the end of the line, the client GUI continues to obfuscate text past the MOTD and into the version number display.

  Color codes [ ]

  Messages sent from the server to the client can contain color codes, which allow the coloring of text for various purposes.

  Code	Name	Foreground color				Background color				Equivalent ANSI escape code	Version
  		R	G	B	Hex	R	G	B	Hex
  §0	black	0	0	0	#000000	0	0	0	#000000	\e[0;30m
  §1	dark_blue	0	0	170	#0000AA	0	0	42	#00002A	\e[0;34m
  §2	dark_green	0	170	0	#00AA00	0	42	0	#002A00	\e[0;32m
  §3	dark_aqua	0	170	170	#00AAAA	0	42	42	#002A2A	\e[0;36m
  §4	dark_red	170	0	0	#AA0000	42	0	0	#2A0000	\e[0;31m
  §5	dark_purple	170	0	170	#AA00AA	42	0	42	#2A002A	\e[0;35m
  §6	gold	255	170	0	#FFAA00	42	42	0	#2A2A00	\e[0;33m	‌ [ JE only ]
  						64	42	0	#402A00		‌ [ BE only ]
  §7	gray	170	170	170	#AAAAAA	42	42	42	#2A2A2A	\e[0;37m
  §8	dark_gray	85	85	85	#555555	21	21	21	#151515	\e[0;90m
  §9	blue	85	85	255	#5555FF	21	21	63	#15153F	\e[0;94m
  §a	green	85	255	85	#55FF55	21	63	21	#153F15	\e[0;92m
  §b	aqua	85	255	255	#55FFFF	21	63	63	#153F3F	\e[0;96m
  §c	red	255	85	85	#FF5555	63	21	21	#3F1515	\e[0;91m
  §d	light_purple	255	85	255	#FF55FF	63	21	63	#3F153F	\e[0;95m
  §e	yellow	255	255	85	#FFFF55	63	63	21	#3F3F15	\e[0;93m
  §f	white	255	255	255	#FFFFFF	63	63	63	#3F3F3F	\e[0;97m
  §g	minecoin_gold	221	214	5	#DDD605	55	53	1	#373501	—	‌ [ BE only ]
  §h	material_quartz	227	212	209	#E3D4D1	56	53	52	#383534	—	‌ [ BE only ]
  §i	material_iron	206	202	202	#CECACA	51	50	50	#333232	—	‌ [ BE only ]
  §j	material_netherite	68	58	59	#443A3B	17	14	14	#110E0E	—	‌ [ BE only ]
  §m	material_redstone	151	22	7	#971607	37	5	1	#250501	—	‌ [ BE only ]
  §n	material_copper	180	104	77	#B4684D	45	26	19	#2D1A13	—	‌ [ BE only ]
  §p	material_gold	222	177	45	#DEB12D	55	44	11	#372C0B	—	‌ [ BE only ]
  §q	material_emerald	17	160	54	#47A036	4	40	13	#04280D	—	‌ [ BE only ]
  §s	material_diamond	44	186	168	#2CBAA8	11	46	42	#0B2E2A	—	‌ [ BE only ]
  §t	material_lapis	33	73	123	#21497B	8	18	30	#08121E	—	‌ [ BE only ]
  §u	material_amethyst	154	92	198	#9A5CC6	38	23	49	#261731	—	‌ [ BE only ]

  Formatting codes [ ]

  Code	Name	Equivalent ANSI escape code	Compatible with Bedrock	Compatible with Java
  §k	obfuscated/MTS*	\e[8m	Yes	Yes
  §l	bold	\e[1m	Yes	Yes
  §m	strikethrough	\e[9m	No [1]	Yes
  §n	underline	\e[4m	No [1]	Yes
  §o	italic	\e[3m	Yes	Yes
  §r	reset	\e[0m	Yes	Yes
  §r§f	reset + add a color	\e[0m	Yes	N/A

  The random characters placed after §k are always the same width as the original characters. For example, any random character cycled through where the letter "m" would be wide characters while any random character in the spot of an "i" would be narrow characters.

  *MTS: Magical Text Source; used in minecraft source code (this.magictextsrc)

  §r resets the styles of following characters; e.g., §nXXX§rYYY displays as XXXYYY .

  Typing [ ]

  • To enter "§" on Windows with most US/UK English keyboards type Alt + NUMPAD2 NUMPAD1 (alt code on cp437) or Alt + NUMPAD7 NUMPAD8 NUMPAD9 . For any other keyboard, the Windows ANSI version Alt + NUMPAD0 NUMPAD1 NUMPAD6 NUMPAD7 often works.
  • If EnableHexNumpad is enabled in the Windows registry, Alt + NUMPAD+ A NUMPAD7 (using the main keyboard for "A") works for any language due to it being Unicode.
  • On a Mac with a US keyboard, type ⌥ Option + 6 (or ⌥ Option + 5 for US Extended). For any other keyboard, type ⌥ Option + 0 0 a 7 .
  • On Linux with the compose key activated, type Compose s o . The symbol can also be typed by using Unicode shortcuts: Ctrl + ⇧ Shift + u 0 0 a 7 .
  • To enter "§" on a Nintendo Switch, select languages (globe icon), scroll to the bottom to find the "Symbols" language, and then select Page 2 to find the symbol to the right in the bottom line.
  • For various Android keyboards:
    • Google Keyboard (GBoard): The "§" is in the More Symbols section the symbols. To access it, press the Numbers and Symbols button (?123), then press the More Symbols button (=\ <). Note that on previous versions of GBoard, it was behind the Paragraph Symbol "¶" in the same position, but they were recently swapped so that now "¶" is behind "§".
    • Samsung Keyboard: The "§" is under the "s" key. To access, hold down on the "s" and then slide over to the "§" mark.
  • For iOS:
    • On the iPad the "§" is under the percent sign. To access, tap the number/symbol button and then swipe down on the percent sign.
    • On the iPhone the "§" is under the ampersand "&". To access, tap the number/symbol button then hold down the ampersand key and slide over to the "§" mark.
  • For Xbox:
    • On the Xbox One the "§" is under the paragraph mark "¶". To access, use , hold down while on ¶ until other options pop up. Move the cursor over to the "§" mark and use to select.
    • One can also highlight the S key on the standard alphanumeric keyboard, then press and hold to reveal several "alternate" characters, including "§". This method also works on the Windows 10 version.

  When part of JSON text, the symbol can be written as \u00A7 or \u00a7 .

  Alternatively in Bedrock Edition, the character can be copied from this page ( § ) and pasted into virtually any text field by pressing Ctrl + V (Windows) or ⌘ Cmd + V (macOS). If pasting does not work it may be necessary to use the JSON format or another method.

  While in chat in Java Edition, usage of this character disconnects the user, even in 'offline' single player mode, and thus cannot be used directly in commands such as /say .

  In early Java Edition Classic versions, the character used was & instead of § . [2]

  Sample text [ ]

  The following text can be pasted into a Book and Quill (prior to 1.14) to produce what is shown in the picture:

  §nMinecraft Formatting§r §00 §11 §22 §33 §44 §55 §66 §77 §88 §99 §aa §bb §cc §dd §ee §ff §r§a §r§b §r§c, etc… §rk §kMinecraft §rl §lMinecraft §rm §mMinecraft §rn §nMinecraft §ro §oMinecraft §rr §rMinecraft

  Use in server.properties and pack.mcmeta [ ]

  In order to get an MOTD colored or formatted, \u00A7 must be used instead of § ; for example, §5 would be \u00A75 . The full list of them is listed below. Colors can be used in conjunction with formatting. The formatting must be done after the color.

  Given that pack.mcmeta files accept raw JSON text as descriptions, the usage of § can be replaced by text components with different color and style, though using § still works.

  Code	Official Name	MOTD code	Note
  §0	Black	\u00A70
  §1	Dark Blue	\u00A71
  §2	Dark Green	\u00A72
  §3	Dark Aqua	\u00A73
  §4	Dark Red	\u00A74
  §5	Dark Purple	\u00A75
  §6	Gold	\u00A76
  §7	Gray	\u00A77
  §8	Dark Gray	\u00A78
  §9	Blue	\u00A79
  §a	Green	\u00A7a
  §b	Aqua	\u00A7b
  §c	Red	\u00A7c
  §d	Light Purple	\u00A7d
  §e	Yellow	\u00A7e
  §f	White	\u00A7f
  §k	Obfuscated	\u00A7k
  §l	Bold	\u00A7l
  §m	Strikethrough	\u00A7m	‌ [ Java Edition only ]
  §n	Underline	\u00A7n	‌ [ Java Edition only ]
  §o	Italic	\u00A7o
  §r	Reset	\u00A7r
  §r and add a § and a letter (a,b,c,d,e,f,k,l,o,r) or a number (1-9) will make it different color and non-italic. (It only works on renaming items in an Anvil.	Non-Italic text when renaming items.	\u00A7§r§

  Compatibility with older versions [ ]

  Formatting codes can be used in the motd line in a server.properties file, but the section signs must be escaped as \u00A7 . If a section sign is entered directly, the server replaces it with \u00C2\u00A7 ( § ); clients display the \u00C2 character as a question mark. Delete the \u00C2 character in the MOTD if it comes with a bunch of question marks: this happens if something is not compatible.

  Use in custom language packs [ ]

  Formatting codes can be used to color names and description in language files by using § then any of the numbers/letters displayed above. This is also used in end.txt and credits.txt . An example of this is §dDiamond to make the name of a diamond appear as Diamond .

  Since Java Edition 1.16, §r can no longer be used to remove italics from custom translation tags within language files. For example, if the translation tag "item.example.test": "§rTest Item" is applied to the Name display data of a custom item ( '> ), it still appears as Test Item rather than simply Test Item . This is not true of any other formatting options.

  Use in world names [ ]

  With the use of external tools, such as NBTExplorer, world names can have custom colors and formatting codes. To modify the name, choose the LevelName tag in the world's level.dat . In this example, [ more information needed ] LevelName is set to §1R§2e§3d§4s§5t§6o§7n§8e §9C§ar§be§ca§dt§ei§fo§1n§2s .

  Additionally, the player can rename the world's folder to contain one of the codes. In the world selection menu, the specified color or effect appears.

  The player can also use a resource pack with a § already in the world name when creating a world and all the user has to do is to change or alter the color code after the § .

  In Bedrock Edition, the player is allowed to use a § inside of the world name when creating the world. This allows for using custom colors and formatting codes inside of the world name without having to modify the game.

  Use in server names [ ]

  

  With the use of a third party tool such as NBTExplorer, server names can have custom colors. To utilize this functionality, select the Name attribute in the servers.dat file inside the .minecraft directory using a third party tool. In the following example, the Name tag is set to §4§lMinecraft §6§lServer :