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Tom Stone
Written By
Tom Stone
Published
12/6/18

Scripting API now in public beta!

Play around with Minecraft’s insides!

Update: The version of the script API referenced in this post is no longer available in Minecraft Bedrock Edition.  For a look at updated script capabilities in Minecraft Bedrock Edition, please visit https://docs.microsoft.com/minecraft/creator/scriptapi/.


Ever wish Minecraft had turn-based combat? Or that you could play chess in Minecraft? Or that I would stop opening these articles with rhetorical questions and just get to the point for once? All these things are possible, and so much more, now that scripting API is available in the Minecraft public beta!

But what is scripting API (Application Programming Interface)? Essentially, it's the art of tweaking a game’s insides – writing new commands into Minecraft's texty innards to modify the game. The Minecraft Script Engine uses the JavaScript language. Scripts can be written and bundled with Behaviour Packs to listen and respond to game events, get (and modify) data in components that entities have, and affect different parts of the game.

Let's look at some of the cool stuff players have already done with it!

The video directly above shows working chess in Minecraft! This is the excellent result of some scripting API shennaingans from Steven Blom and you can see more of his work on his Twitter

Those geniuses on the all-powerful Minecraft Wiki have loads of reference guides and sample packs here. They also have an excellent guide that explains Scripting in Minecraft better than I ever could (sadly, I'm too foolish to figure out scripting, modding or even how you turn on Creative mode. That’s why I'm not allowed within fifty feet of the real Minecraft developers and instead have to write nonsense for this lovely site which is totally fine).

Minecraft: Java Edition players have been modding the game since forever, and this is our first step to creating a similar setup for Minecraft players on other platforms! Currently, it's only a feature that Minecraft beta players on Windows 10 can access (and you can learn more about how to sign up for that beta by clicking this line of green text).

An example of a Turn-Based RPG Combat System using the Minecraft Script Engine!
And here's an example of gameplay in the Mob Arena Minigame that is made with scripting. The minigame spawns waves of enemies for the player to fight and tracks the player's score for each one defeated!

Today it can be used to mod UI elements, animations and entities, but this is just the beginning – we 'll be rolling out more and more capabilities as we go on!

Let us know what you think and what you want to see next on our Feedback Site (where you can also see a few bug fixes that are helpful for beta players on Xbox One and Android too). We can't wait to see what you come up with!

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