Formatting codes

A book showing the possible formatting options with the character that performs them

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 almost any in-game text input such as book and quills and the chat. In Java Edition, section signs may only be used in text outside gameplay, such as resource packs and world titles.

Usage

Text can be formatted using the section sign (§) followed by a character. A § symbol followed by a character in the message tells the client to switch colors while displaying text.

Java Edition

Formatting codes can be used in server.properties, pack.mcmeta, splashes.txt, language files, world titles, commands such as /tellraw and /title in data packs, and server names.

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 XY. 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 §r§f in an anvil to rename an item as non-italic.

Bedrock Edition

Formatting codes can be used in any text input, but will only be displayed in JSON UI. Additionally, Realm names and player names disallow formatting codes. This practically limits formatting codes to the following uses:

• Book and quill text, name, and author.
• Chat messages, including those sent by commands like /msg.
• Signs and hanging signs, without requiring dyes.
• Anvils and cartography tables to rename items. Nameplates from name tags or other means also display formatting.
• Text in resource packs displayed in-game, like language files, splashes, loading tips, and credits.
• Pack names, descriptions, and settings strings.
• Commands that can display text, like /title but also /scoreboard.
• Technically world names and server names, but these are rarely displayed in JSON UI.

Formatting codes persist after a color code. Usage in party chat censors the entire message.

Color codes

Hex digit to color mapping. Use "§" followed by the corresponding color letter/number; e.g. "§e" gives yellow.

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

Java Edition

Code	Name	Foreground color				Background color				Equivalent ANSI escape code
		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	63	42	0	#3F2A00	\e[0;33m
§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

Bedrock Edition

Code	Name	Foreground color				Background color				Equivalent ANSI escape code	Notes
		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	64	42	0	#402A00	\e[0;33m
§7	gray	197	197	197	#C5C5C5	49	49	49	#313131	\e[0;37m
§8	dark_gray	84	84	84	#545454	21	21	21	#151515	\e[0;90m
§9	blue	68	127	255	#447FFF	17	32	64	#112040	\e[0;94m
§a	green	84	255	84	#54FF54	21	64	21	#154015	\e[0;92m
§b	aqua	84	255	255	#54FFFF	21	64	64	#154040	\e[0;96m
§c	red	255	84	84	#FF5454	64	21	21	#401515	\e[0;91m
§d	light_purple	255	84	255	#FF54FF	64	21	64	#401540	\e[0;95m
§e	yellow	255	255	84	#FFFF54	64	64	21	#404015	\e[0;93m
§f	white	255	255	255	#FFFFFF	64	64	64	#404040	\e[0;97m
§g	minecoin_gold	239	206	22	#EFCE16	60	51	5	#3C3305	—	Unavailable on Playstation.
§h	material_quartz	217	204	184	#D9CCB8	54	51	46	#36332E	—
§i	material_iron	169	180	183	#A9B4B7	42	45	46	#2A2D2E	—
§j	material_netherite	143	114	125	#8F727D	36	28	31	#241C1F	—
§m	material_redstone	238	34	44	#EE222C	59	8	11	#3B080B	—
§n	material_copper	200	115	99	#C87363	50	29	25	#321D19	—
§p	material_gold	255	191	30	#FFBF1E	64	48	7	#403007	—
§q	material_emerald	19	160	69	#13A045	5	40	17	#052811	—
§s	material_diamond	95	236	255	#5FECFF	24	59	64	#183B40	—
§t	material_lapis	87	123	155	#577BFF	22	31	64	#161F40	—
§u	material_amethyst	182	108	221	#B66CDD	45	27	55	#2D1B37	—
§v	material_resin	255	106	0	#FF6A00	64	26	0	#401A00	—
§w	party_blue	139	179	255	#8BB3FF	35	45	64	#232D40	—

Formatting codes

Code	Name	Equivalent ANSI escape code	Version
§k	obfuscated	—
§l	bold	\e[1m
§m	strikethrough	\e[9m	‌[JE only]
§n	underlined	\e[4m	‌[JE only]
§o	italic	\e[3m
§r	reset	\e[0m

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

§r resets the styles of following characters; e.g., §nXXX§rYYY displays as XXXYYY, which can be used to remove the default italics formatting when renaming an item in an anvil.‌^{[Bedrock Edition only]}

Typing

• To enter "§" on Windows with most US/UK English keyboards type ⌥ Alt + NUMPAD2NUMPAD1 (alt code on cp437) or ⌥ Alt + NUMPAD7NUMPAD8NUMPAD9. For any other keyboard, the Windows ANSI version ⌥ Alt + NUMPAD0NUMPAD1NUMPAD6NUMPAD7 often works.
• If EnableHexNumpad is enabled in the Windows registry, ⌥ Alt + NUMPAD+ANUMPAD7 (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 + 00a7.
• On Linux with the compose key activated, type ⎄ Composeso. The symbol can also be typed by using Unicode shortcuts: ⎈ Control + ⇧ Shift + ua7⏎ Return (or ⎆ Numpad Enter).
• 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 since 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.
• For Nintendo Switch:
  • In the bottom left corner of the keyboard is a language button. Tapping it or pressing on it will open a list of keyboard languages. Scroll down to the bottom and select the "Symbol" keyboard. The "§" character is located on page 2.

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 ⎈ Control + V (Windows) or ⌘ Command + 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.

Sample text

The following text can be pasted into a book and quill in Bedrock Edition to produce what is shown in the picture; strikethrough and underlined text appears colored instead.

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

Formatting code editor

This tool converts input text into plain text with formatting codes.

Note: The dice icon highlights text, which, in the real game, will appear as obfuscated text.

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.

§r cannot 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 ({display:{Name:'{translate:"item.example.test"}'}), it still appears as Test Item rather than simply Test Item. This is not true of any other formatting options.

Use in world names

Colorful name of a world (as it is visible on the world list) after applying color codes (legacy, §-based).

In Java Edition, with the help 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. For example, the LevelName tag can be set to §1R§2e§3d§4s§5t§6o§7n§8e §9C§ar§be§ca§dt§ei§fo§1n§2s to make the world name a colorful one.

Additionally, the player can rename the world's folder to contain the codes. Then, in the world selection menu, the specified colors or effects will appear.

The player can also use a resource pack with § character(s) already present in the world name, and in this case, when creating a new world, all the player has to do is to change the color codes after the § characters.

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. However, because most menu screens displaying world names use Ore UI, it is rarely visible in-game. Exceptions include the Editor and some world selection menus.

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:

History

Java Edition

Appearance of 1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz~!@#$%^&*()-=_+{}[] as obfuscated text in four different versions.

Java Edition Classic
0.0.16a_02							Added formatting codes for 16 different colors, initially using the ampersand (&) character.
Java Edition Indev
?							Formatting codes no longer function, though the game still parses them and skips rendering the formatting code itself.[is this the correct version?]
Java Edition Alpha
v1.0.10							The game now parses formatting codes using the section sign (§) instead of the ampersand (&), though this still doesn't actually color the text.
v1.0.12							Formatting codes once again function to color text.
							The available colors have undergone minor changes compared to Classic - dark colors were made slightly lighter, light colors were made slightly darker, and color 6 was changed completely from  #BFBF00 to  #FFAA00.
Java Edition
1.0			Beta 1.9 Prerelease 6				Added the obfuscated formatting code for use in the end poem.
							In addition to randomizing the characters displayed, obfuscated text in this version also randomly alternates between the blue and dark gray colors, overriding the underlying text color.
1.1			11w49a				As a result of an internal rewrite to text rendering, obfuscated text now uses the regular color of the underlying text instead of cycling colors.
1.2.4			release				Added bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough formatting codes.
1.3.1			12w17a				Added books and quills, which allow typing formatting codes without the use of external tools.
1.7.2			?				Added additional characters to the non-Unicode set supported by the game, which can now appear in obfuscated text.​[more information needed]
1.13			?				Obfuscated text now only cycles through characters in the ASCII set.​[more information needed]
			?				Obfuscated text now cycles through all Unicode characters that are the same width as the original character.
1.21.6			?				Removed the ability to type or paste section signs into books, preventing formatting codes from being used here.[is this the correct version?]
1.21.9			25w36a				Formatting codes are now stripped from code of conduct files, preventing them from being used here.

Bedrock Edition

Bedrock Edition
?							Added formatting codes. Unlike Java Edition, they can be typed/pasted into most text fields directly.
1.19			Preview 1.19.80.21				Added material_quartz, material_iron, material_netherite, material_redstone, material_copper, material_gold, material_emerald, material_diamond, material_lapis, and material_amethyst formatting codes, for use in trimming tooltips.
1.21.50			Preview 1.21.50.25				Added material_resin formatting code.
26.30			Preview 26.30.27				Added party_blue_color formatting code for party members nicknames.
26.50			Preview 26.50.24				Changed the color of the blue formatting code from  #5555FF to  #447FFF.
							Changed the colors of the material formatting codes: §h from  #E3D4D1 to  #D9CCB8 §i from  #CECACA to  #A9B4B7 §j from  #443A3B to  #8F727D §m from  #971607 to  #EE222C §n from  #B4684D to  #C87363 §p from  #DEB12D to  #FFBF1E §q from  #119F36 to  #13A045 §s from  #2CBAA8 to  #5FECFF §t from  #21497B to  #577BFF §u from  #9A5CC6 to  #B66CDD §v from  #EB7114 to  #FF6A00

Trivia

• The first 16 color codes almost exactly match, in order, the 16 colors available using a Color Graphics Adapter (CGA), as released in 1981. Only color 6 differs; the value for color 6 in Minecraft –
   #FFAA00 – differs from that made for CGA –
   #AA5500.
• Obfuscated format (§k) displays as dots in Bedrock Edition if any font except Mojangles is used.