Formatting codes

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

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 entered into signs, world names, renaming items and in the chat. In Java Edition, section signs may be used in server.properties, pack.mcmeta, world titles, and server names. External programs can be used to insert it in other locations.

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, 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 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.

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

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 coloring of text for various purposes.

Code	Name	Foreground color				Background color
		R	G	B	Hex	R	G	B	Hex
§0	black	0	0	0	000000	0	0	0	000000
§1	dark_blue	0	0	170	0000AA	0	0	42	00002A
§2	dark_green	0	170	0	00AA00	0	42	0	002A00
§3	dark_aqua	0	170	170	00AAAA	0	42	42	002A2A
§4	dark_red	170	0	0	AA0000	42	0	0	2A0000
§5	dark_purple	170	0	170	AA00AA	42	0	42	2A002A
§6	gold	255	170	0	FFAA00	42	42	0	2A2A00
§7	gray	170	170	170	AAAAAA	42	42	42	2A2A2A
§8	dark_gray	85	85	85	555555	21	21	21	151515
§9	blue	85	85	255	5555FF	21	21	63	15153F
§a	green	85	255	85	55FF55	21	63	21	153F15
§b	aqua	85	255	255	55FFFF	21	63	63	153F3F
§c	red	255	85	85	FF5555	66	21	21	3F1515
§d	light_purple	255	85	255	FF55FF	63	21	63	3F153F
§e	yellow	255	255	85	FFFF55	63	63	21	3F3F15
§f	white	255	255	255	FFFFFF	63	63	63	3F3F3F

Formatting codes

Code	Name	Compatible with Bedrock	Compatible with Java
§k	Obfuscated	Yes	Yes
§l	Bold	Yes	Yes
§m	Strikethrough	No	Yes
§n	Underline	No	Yes
§o	Italic	Yes	Yes
§r	Reset	Yes	Yes

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.

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

Typing

See also: Wikipedia:Unicode input

• To enter "§" on Windows with most US/UK English keyboards type Alt+NUMPAD2NUMPAD1 (alt code on cp437). 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: Ctrl+⇧ Shift+u00a7.

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

Alternatively in Java Edition, the character can be copied from this page (§), and Ctrl+V (Windows) or ⌘ Cmd+V (macOS) can be pressed to paste the character into a book. Note that pasting does not work on everything (e.g. chat, command blocks, world names).

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

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

§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
§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
§n	Underline	\u00A7n
§o	Italic	\u00A7o
§r	Reset	\u00A7r
\n	Extra line	\n

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 ({display:{Name:'{translate:"item.example.test"}'}), it will still show up 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, 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 will allow them to use 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:

History

Obfuscated format §k has changed 3 times in Java Edition after being introduced in Beta 1.8. Below is an image of how the obfuscated text of 1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz~!@#$%^&*()-=_+{}[] looks in 4 different versions:

Trivia

• The 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.