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{{see also|Minecraft Wiki:Projects/Redirect cleanup}}
 
{{see also|Minecraft Wiki:Projects/Redirect cleanup}}
   
Redirects are exempt from the normal notability, but must redirect to an article that fits the notability guidelines. If a redirect leads to another wiki, it must use {{t|soft redirect}}. If a redirect leads from one category to another category, it must use {{t|category redirect}}. Redirects can be created if they fit one of the following:
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Redirects are exempt from the normal notability, but must redirect to an article that fits the notability guidelines. If a redirect leads to another wiki, it must use {{t|soft redirect}}. Redirects can be created if they fit one of the following:
 
* Alternative spelling of the title, such as "[[Armour]]" for "[[Armor]]".
 
* Alternative spelling of the title, such as "[[Armour]]" for "[[Armor]]".
 
** Incorrect spelling, typos, and irregular formatting are not allowed.
 
** Incorrect spelling, typos, and irregular formatting are not allowed.
 
* Alternative or shortened name, provided the name is common usage, such as "[[Duck]]" for "[[Chicken]]". Previous in game names are also allowed, such as "[[Workbench]]" for "[[Crafting Table]]".
 
* Alternative or shortened name, provided the name is common usage, such as "[[Duck]]" for "[[Chicken]]". Previous in game names are also allowed, such as "[[Workbench]]" for "[[Crafting Table]]".
 
** This includes first names or handles for Mojang Studios employees, such as "[[Nathan]]" or "[[Dinnerbone]]" to "[[Nathan Adams]]".
 
** This includes first names or handles for Mojang Studios employees, such as "[[Nathan]]" or "[[Dinnerbone]]" to "[[Nathan Adams]]".
* This also includes names from alternative English language packs, with the exception of joke languages such as "Pirate Speak" and "Lolcat".
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* This also includes names from alternative English language packs, with the exception of joke languages such as "Pirate Speak" and "LOLCAT".
 
* Previous article title, including if the article was moved to another wiki.
 
* Previous article title, including if the article was moved to another wiki.
 
** An exception is if the previous title was not commonly used.
 
** An exception is if the previous title was not commonly used.
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== Article titles ==
 
== Article titles ==
  +
{{shortcut|MCW:TITLE}}
 
 
Article titles should generally be in the singular form, except in-game features with plural names (e.g. Boots).
 
Article titles should generally be in the singular form, except in-game features with plural names (e.g. Boots).
   
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** If the feature does not have an in game name, it should follow the same format as other articles of the same type. For example, the mob [[Spider Jockey]].
 
** If the feature does not have an in game name, it should follow the same format as other articles of the same type. For example, the mob [[Spider Jockey]].
 
** If the article is about multiple things in the game, the title should equally represent all the titles. For example, an article about wooden and iron doors would be called [[Door]].
 
** If the article is about multiple things in the game, the title should equally represent all the titles. For example, an article about wooden and iron doors would be called [[Door]].
  +
** If the feature has different names in ''Java'' and bedrock editions, the ''Java Edition'' name should be used.
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** If a feature has no display name in any edition, it should follow the ID.
  +
*** If it has no display name in ''Java'' nor bedrock edition, the ''Java Edition'' ID should be the article name.
  +
*** If it has no display name in either ''Java'' or bedrock edition, the name in the edition that does have the display name should be the article name.
 
* Articles about people should contain the first and last names, rather than their ''Minecraft'' or Twitter handle.
 
* Articles about people should contain the first and last names, rather than their ''Minecraft'' or Twitter handle.
 
* Versions of Java Edition should be prefixed with Java Edition (e.g. Java Edition 1.8).
 
* Versions of Java Edition should be prefixed with Java Edition (e.g. Java Edition 1.8).
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To emphasize points, ''italics'' should be used, not '''bold''' or ALL CAPS.
 
To emphasize points, ''italics'' should be used, not '''bold''' or ALL CAPS.
   
Tutorial information should only be within tutorial articles, which includes navigational features of blocks or textures. Tutorials may be linked from other articles if relevant though.
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Tutorial information should only be within tutorial articles, which includes navigational features of blocks or textures. Tutorials may be linked from other articles if relevant though.
 
Mod information should not be contained on articles not about mods. Mods should also not be linked from articles not about mods.
 
   
 
=== Keeping articles concise and up to date ===
 
=== Keeping articles concise and up to date ===
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<div style="border:1px solid black; padding: 10px;">
 
<div style="border:1px solid black; padding: 10px;">
'''Wood''' <span style="background:pink;">(previously known as '''log''')</span> is a type of block <span style="background:pink;">first seen in ''Minecraft'' 0.0.14a</span> They have a skin resembling bark on the four side faces, and a crosscut face on top and bottom. <span style="background:pink;">Only the normal oak logs are available in chunks generated before the Beta 1.2 update and all previous versions, while pine and birch generate in newer chunks</span>. Wood is greatly abundant in naturally-generated maps, as it is used as the foundation for trees. Wood can be chopped by hand, but using an axe is faster. Wood is also flammable.
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'''Wood''' <span style="background:pink;">(previously known as '''log''')</span> is a type of block <span style="background:pink;">first seen in ''Minecraft'' 0.0.14a</span>. They have a skin resembling bark on the four side faces, and a crosscut face on top and bottom. <span style="background:pink;">Only the normal oak logs are available in chunks generated before the Beta 1.2 update and all previous versions, while pine and birch generate in newer chunks</span>. Wood is greatly abundant in naturally-generated maps, as it is used as the foundation for trees. Wood can be chopped by hand, but using an axe is faster. Wood is also flammable.
   
Of the current wood types, birch is the rarest type. <span style="background:yellow;">They are often used to make plants, trees and wooden cabins.</span> <span style="background:pink;">In Survival Test, wood blocks drop 3–5 wooden planks when mined. In Indev, Infdev, Alpha, and Beta, mining a wood block drops a wood block instead</span>. <span style="background:yellow;">This allows the use of wood as a building material and is craftable into planks</span>.
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Of the <span style="background:yellow;">current</span> wood types, birch is the rarest type. <span style="background:yellow;">They are often used to make plants, trees and wooden cabins.</span> <span style="background:pink;">In Survival Test, wood blocks drop 3–5 wooden planks when mined. In Indev, Infdev, Alpha, and Beta, mining a wood block drops a wood block instead</span>. <span style="background:yellow;">This allows the use of wood as a building material and is craftable into planks</span>.
   
 
<span style="background:yellow;">Wood's only crafting use is to be made into four wooden planks</span>. In addition, wood can be burnt in a furnace to make charcoal as a substitute for coal.
 
<span style="background:yellow;">Wood's only crafting use is to be made into four wooden planks</span>. In addition, wood can be burnt in a furnace to make charcoal as a substitute for coal.
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Follow sentence style capitalization, not title style, so only the first letter of the heading and proper nouns are capitalized.
 
Follow sentence style capitalization, not title style, so only the first letter of the heading and proper nouns are capitalized.
   
Headings should not have links in them; links should be placed underneath, such as in a "Main article:" template.
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Headings should not have links or templates in them; links should be placed underneath, such as in a {{tl|Main}} template.
   
There should be one space between sections as well as one space between the equal signs and the section name for ease of editing. If any "main article" links or thumb images are used, place them immediately under the section heading, and then a space after those before the section content.
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Although not required, having one space between sections and one space between the equal signs and the section name makes for ease of editing.
   
  +
Place any hatnotes and images immediately under the section heading, and then a space after those before the section content.
Do not add blank sections unless it is required according to the style guide.
 
  +
 
Do not add blank sections unless tagged with {{t|empty section}} to request prompt expansion.
   
 
For information on which sections should be in which order, see the [[#Article layout|Article layout]] section of this style guide.
 
For information on which sections should be in which order, see the [[#Article layout|Article layout]] section of this style guide.
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The Minecraft Wiki is an international community. That is a good thing in general, but it makes a problem for numeric abbreviations of dates, such as "12/10/11": while most countries abbreviate dates as day/month/year, some Asian countries use year/month/day, and the US uses month/day/year. So the above date could represent any of three different dates. To avoid this problem, most dates should be written in "Month&nbsp;DD, YYYY" format, ''e.g.'' "December&nbsp;10, 2011". Do not use superscripts or suffixes such as "April 23<sup>rd</sup>" or "4th of May". If a numeric or terse date is needed (such as in a table), then use YYYY-MM-DD, always with 2 digits for month and day (''e.g.'', 2011-12-10 or 2012-05-04). Besides being the [[wikipedia:ISO 8601|ISO standard]], dates in this format will naturally sort properly, say if the table column is later made sortable.
 
The Minecraft Wiki is an international community. That is a good thing in general, but it makes a problem for numeric abbreviations of dates, such as "12/10/11": while most countries abbreviate dates as day/month/year, some Asian countries use year/month/day, and the US uses month/day/year. So the above date could represent any of three different dates. To avoid this problem, most dates should be written in "Month&nbsp;DD, YYYY" format, ''e.g.'' "December&nbsp;10, 2011". Do not use superscripts or suffixes such as "April 23<sup>rd</sup>" or "4th of May". If a numeric or terse date is needed (such as in a table), then use YYYY-MM-DD, always with 2 digits for month and day (''e.g.'', 2011-12-10 or 2012-05-04). Besides being the [[wikipedia:ISO 8601|ISO standard]], dates in this format will naturally sort properly, say if the table column is later made sortable.
  +
  +
Try to avoid seasons for dates such as "Summer 2021" or "Fall 2022". On Earth, the seasons are switched depending on which hemisphere you live in (e.g. summer in the Northern Hemisphere is winter in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa). Instead use phrases like "Mid-2021" or "Late 2022".
   
 
=== Commands ===
 
=== Commands ===
 
In-game commands should be in a specific format for ease of understanding. Literal keywords that must be typed in chat do not have any brackets for formatting applied (e.g., <code>/data merge</code>). Variables must be inside angle brackets and should be italic (e.g., <code><''target''></code>). Optional content must be inside square brackets, but these brackets should not replace any angle brackets (e.g., <code>[<''scale''>]</code> is an optional variable whereas <code>[scale]</code> is an optional keyword). A list of valid keywords should be placed in parentheses with each option separated by a pipe (e.g., <code>(eyes|feet)</code>. In the example <code>/advancement (grant|revoke) <''targets''> only <''advancement''> [<criterion>]</code>, <code>/advancement</code> and <code>only</code> are literals to be typed exactly as-is in chat, <code>(grant|revoke)</code> is a list of choices for literal text where either <code>grant</code> or <code>revoke</code> must be typed in chat, <code><''targets''></code> and <code><''advancement''></code> are required variables which must be replaced with valid values, and <code>[<''criterion''>]</code> is an optional variable which must be replaced with a valid value.
{{needs update|section=15}}
 
In-game commands should be in a specific format for ease of understanding. Literal keywords that must be typed in chat do not have any brackets for formatting applied (e.g., <code>/data merge</code>). Variables must be inside angle brackets and should be italic (e.g., <code><''target''></code>). Optional content must be inside square brackets, but these brackets should not replace any angle brackets (e.g., <code>[<''scale''>]</code> is an optional variable whereas <code>[scale]</code> is an optional keyword). A list of valid keywords should be placed in parentheses with each option separated by a pipe (e.g., <code>(eyes|feet)</code>. In the example <code>/advancement (grant|revoke) <''targets''> only <''advancement''> [<criterion>]</code>, <code>/advancement</code> and <code>only</code> are literals to be typed exactly as-is in chat, <code>(grant|revoke)</code> is a list of choices for literal text where either <code>grant</code> or <code>revoke</code> must be typed in chat, <code><''targets''></code> and <code><''advancement''></code> are compulsary variables which must be replaced with valid values, and <code>[<''criterion''>]</code> is an optional variable which must be replaced with a valid value.
 
   
 
== Files ==
 
== Files ==
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[[it:Minecraft Wiki:Guida di stile]]
 
[[it:Minecraft Wiki:Guida di stile]]
 
[[ja:Minecraft Wiki:スタイルガイド]]
 
[[ja:Minecraft Wiki:スタイルガイド]]
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[[ko:Minecraft Wiki:스타일 가이드]]
 
[[nl:Minecraft Wiki:Schrijfwijzer]]
 
[[nl:Minecraft Wiki:Schrijfwijzer]]
 
[[pt:Minecraft Wiki:Guia de estilo]]
 
[[pt:Minecraft Wiki:Guia de estilo]]

Revision as of 17:52, 12 January 2021

Shortcuts

This article aims to provide a comprehensive style guide for all Minecraft Wiki articles to follow. There are often disputes over which style rule or formatting to use so an official style guide helps resolve these disputes and reach a consensus.

Although Wikipedia already provides a more general style guide, a more specific one is necessary for Minecraft-specific guidelines. As such, only guidelines pertaining to the Minecraft Wiki and its basic formatting rules are included here. If any contradiction arises, this page always has precedence over its subpages and the Wikipedia style guide.

Notability

Articles are only allowed in the main namespace if they fit the following criteria. Articles which do not fit the criteria may be deleted without notice.

General
  1. Articles must contain enough information to warrant a full page. If they do not have enough content, they should be merged with other similar articles.
  2. Articles must pertain directly to Minecraft in some way.
  3. Articles about people are only allowed if the person in question is a developer of Minecraft and/or either a part of or closely related to Mojang Studios.
  4. Features that are not currently in the game should only be in the version's mentioned features article.
    1. This excludes features which have been removed or features from development versions, which may be noted on articles affected by the feature and the relevant version article(s).
  5. Articles about versions of Minecraft may be created for released editions, of which separate articles should be created for each development version.
    1. Future version articles may be created, provided there is a significant source of the unreleased version's existence. Sources include development versions or multiple sources of features for the next update. Future development version articles may not be created. Additionally, future versions should be added as a sub-section of Planned versions.
Community
  1. Gameplay strategies, guides, how-to's, etc., should be subpages of Tutorials.
    1. Pages containing a list of miscellaneous builds the user can make are not to be considered a tutorial. They are to be kept in the userspace. This includes user-created activities and challenges.
  2. Minigames are only allowed to be added if Mojang Studios claims to have played them.
  3. Articles about client or server mods, or third-party programs and map editors, are not allowed to be created on the wiki.
    1. Such articles are better reserved to the Feed the Beast Wiki, a wiki focused on documenting modded content.
    2. While many pages regarding mods can currently still be found on the wiki (mostly as subpages of Mods and Programs and editors), these are kept for predominantly legacy purposes, and are currently being exported to the FTB Wiki for better management.
  4. Articles regarding custom servers should not be created.
    1. Such articles are better geared towards the Minecraft Servers wiki, as it is designed for documenting such info.
Wiki rules
 4.  Parody, comedic, nonsense, hoax, and speculation articles, or any other article that could mislead players are not allowed to be created.
 5.  Articles created for the purpose of advertising specific servers or other products are not allowed.
 6.  Articles about fan communities are not allowed due to advertising issues.

Articles in the "User:" namespace are exempt from the notability guidelines. They can be used for anything, provided they follow the other wiki rules. However, it is still strongly recommended that they are kept clean as to not clog up maintenance categories, as such userpages may be eligible for blanking upon inactivity of the user.

Redirects

Redirects are exempt from the normal notability, but must redirect to an article that fits the notability guidelines. If a redirect leads to another wiki, it must use {{soft redirect}}. Redirects can be created if they fit one of the following:

  • Alternative spelling of the title, such as "Armour" for "Armor".
    • Incorrect spelling, typos, and irregular formatting are not allowed.
  • Alternative or shortened name, provided the name is common usage, such as "Duck" for "Chicken". Previous in game names are also allowed, such as "Workbench" for "Crafting Table".
  • This also includes names from alternative English language packs, with the exception of joke languages such as "Pirate Speak" and "LOLCAT".
  • Previous article title, including if the article was moved to another wiki.
    • An exception is if the previous title was not commonly used.
  • Alternative capitalization or form, including changing the title to plural case.
  • A part of a merged or multi-topic article, such as a potion or a mentioned feature.
  • Redirects from mainspace to the Minecraft Earth and Minecraft Dungeons namespaces.

Redirects in the user namespace may lead anywhere, except to an article that does not exist or another redirect.

Article titles

Shortcut

Article titles should generally be in the singular form, except in-game features with plural names (e.g. Boots).

Articles should follow a general naming format based on the type.

  • Articles about blocks, items, and entities in-game should use the in game name capitalized as it appears in game.
    • If the feature does not have an in game name, it should follow the same format as other articles of the same type. For example, the mob Spider Jockey.
    • If the article is about multiple things in the game, the title should equally represent all the titles. For example, an article about wooden and iron doors would be called Door.
    • If the feature has different names in Java and bedrock editions, the Java Edition name should be used.
    • If a feature has no display name in any edition, it should follow the ID.
      • If it has no display name in Java nor bedrock edition, the Java Edition ID should be the article name.
      • If it has no display name in either Java or bedrock edition, the name in the edition that does have the display name should be the article name.
  • Articles about people should contain the first and last names, rather than their Minecraft or Twitter handle.
  • Versions of Java Edition should be prefixed with Java Edition (e.g. Java Edition 1.8).
  • Pocket Edition versions should be prefixed with the words "Pocket Edition". For example, the update "Alpha 0.9.0" would be titled "Pocket Edition Alpha 0.9.0"
    • Pocket Edition Alpha development builds should first contain the parent version title, then the lowercase word "build" followed by the build number. For example, build 2 for "0.9.0" would be titled "Pocket Edition Alpha 0.9.0 build 2"
      • As these page titles are not completely true to the in-game version names, this naming specification is currently under discussion.
    • Pocket Edition development builds should first contain the lowercase word "alpha" followed by the version number. For example, "1.1.0.1" would be titled "Pocket Edition alpha 1.1.0.1"
  • Bedrock Edition versions should be prefixed with the words "Bedrock Edition". For example, the update "1.2.1" would be titled "Bedrock Edition 1.2.1"
    • Bedrock Edition development builds should first contain the lowercase word "beta" followed by the version number. For example, "1.2.0.9" would be titled "Bedrock Edition beta 1.2.0.9"
  • Other versions should be prefixed with the edition. For example, the update "1.0.27" for Education Edition would be titled "Education Edition 1.0.27"
  • If the article's type is unlisted, it should use the most relevant title in sentence case, not title case, unless it is a proper noun.

Writing

As this wiki's purpose is to document facts, you should always avoid speculative and unsourced information. Generally speaking, information does not require sources if they can directly be seen in-game or are otherwise obvious. Other information however, such as quotes from Mojang Studios employees and information that is not widely known, must be sourced with a proper reference. The {{citation needed}} template should be placed after any information that requires a source. Do not add content to an article if you cannot find a proper source.

Articles in the main namespace should always be written in the third-person perspective and without terms referential to the reader. The exception to this is tutorial pages, where in most cases "you" is the most appropriate pronoun to use when referring to the player. Try not to use abbreviations of words either. For instance, sentences like "You shouldn't come close to creepers because they'll explode and kill you." should be written as "The player should not come close to creepers as they will explode, potentially killing them."

To emphasize points, italics should be used, not bold or ALL CAPS.

Tutorial information should only be within tutorial articles, which includes navigational features of blocks or textures. Tutorials may be linked from other articles if relevant though.

Keeping articles concise and up to date

Shortcut

In short, articles should only contain information that is up to date, i.e., implemented in the latest full version of the game. Anything that is outdated should be moved to the History section of the article. When something changes, note the change in the History section and remove the outdated information from other sections of the article. It is unnecessary to mention when a particular feature was implemented; this is once again reserved for the History section of the article. Sentences such as "Trading, which was implemented in 1.3.1, is a feature that allows players to exchange emeralds (previously rubies) for other items." should be written as "Trading is a feature that allows players to exchange emeralds for other items."

Here's an example of how to not write a good article. It uses a previous version of the Log article, which at the time was called Wood. This is the full introduction. Highlighted in yellow is the redundant information, and in pink the history information.

Wood (previously known as log) is a type of block first seen in Minecraft 0.0.14a. They have a skin resembling bark on the four side faces, and a crosscut face on top and bottom. Only the normal oak logs are available in chunks generated before the Beta 1.2 update and all previous versions, while pine and birch generate in newer chunks. Wood is greatly abundant in naturally-generated maps, as it is used as the foundation for trees. Wood can be chopped by hand, but using an axe is faster. Wood is also flammable.

Of the current wood types, birch is the rarest type. They are often used to make plants, trees and wooden cabins. In Survival Test, wood blocks drop 3–5 wooden planks when mined. In Indev, Infdev, Alpha, and Beta, mining a wood block drops a wood block instead. This allows the use of wood as a building material and is craftable into planks.

Wood's only crafting use is to be made into four wooden planks. In addition, wood can be burnt in a furnace to make charcoal as a substitute for coal.

As of the Minecraft Beta 1.2 update on January 13, 2011, there are now four kinds of wood. One is the normal wood (oak), another resembles the wood of silver birch trees, yet another type resembles the normal wood, but it is darker and appears in pine/conifer trees that grow in colder biomes, the fourth type is similar to the oak wood, however there are some color differences and it is tilted to one side. Wood blocks produce 4 wooden planks when crafted. Wood from different types of trees do not stack in the inventory. Planks made from different kinds of trees used to be completely identical. Birch trees have slightly duller colored leaves than regular trees, pine trees have pine needles, and jungle leaves are leafy with fruit looking shapes on them.

The fourth type of wood was introduced in snapshot 12w03a, solely occurring in jungle biomes, and comprising trees exclusive to them. The tallest trees have this type of wood in 2x2 dimensions instead of the normal 1x1.

The issue with this is that old information is scattered with new information. The introduction should state the current description of the block with the current release. History information is good, but for clarity, it should be described in the chronological order in a single place: the History section of the article.

Future

Shortcut

Content added in future updates may be added to the article in the main content, provided the features are marked using {{upcoming}} and have appeared in development versions. If the update contains major changes to the article, then the content may be noted as a subsection of a main section, or as its own section called Upcoming. Upcoming features must be noted as well in the history section using the proper upcoming header.

Upon the release of the update, all content that is now outdated must either be moved to the history section or removed, and any usage of {{upcoming}} may be removed.

Quotes

All quotes should be copied verbatim. Any additional content added within the quotation marks must be enclosed in square brackets. Terminal punctuation must only go inside the quote if it is in the original; otherwise, it must go outside. If the quote contains an error that was present in the original, add {{sic}} after that text to show readers that it is not a transcription mistake.

Spelling

Pages on the wiki should use American English unless the in-game name is British English. For instance, "colour" should be "color" and "centre" should be "center".

Capitalization

Shortcut

In-game items should be treated as common nouns and as such should not be capitalized, unless they start a new sentence. This includes fictional items, such as prismarine. Proper nouns, however, such as the Nether or the Overworld should always be capitalized.

Structures and biomes

In-game structures and biome names should not be capitalized. Examples:

Underground, there are randomly generated mineshafts.
A desert pyramid contains some rare loot.
Blazes spawn in nether fortresses.
In deep ocean biomes, monuments can generate.
A stronghold is home to an end portal.
Mobs

Any instance of a mob should be treated as a common noun, except where the mob is referred to using a proper noun. If the word "the" is used before the mob name, it should not be capitalized unless it is at the beginning of the sentence.

Examples:

One of the most feared mobs is the ghast.
A cave spider can poison its prey.
The player has been referred to as Steve.
Enchantments

Enchantment names should always be capitalized.

Example:

In order to have ice drop an item, a tool enchanted with Silk Touch should be used.
Status effects

Status effect names should be capitalized, except where they are used as an adjective.

Examples:

Magma cream is required for a potion of Fire Resistance.
Wither skeletons may inflict Wither on the player.
An invisible spider may rarely spawn.
Editions

"Snapshot" and "pre-release" should not be capitalized, except in cases where they are capitalized in the game itself, in which case they should only be capitalized within the context of the name itself. "Pre-release" should always be hyphenated. Development phases should be capitalized.

Editions should only be capitalized when used as nouns.

Examples:

Minecraft: Java Edition officially came out of Beta on November 18, 2011
The rose, with an exclusive texture, was introduced in Pocket Edition v0.1.0 alpha.
Of all the editions of Minecraft only the Pocket and Pi Editions have blue roses.
Game modes

The name of game modes should be capitalized.

Examples:

In Hardcore mode the game acts similar to Survival mode except the difficulty is permanently set to Hard.

Section headings

Shortcut

Article main sections should start with level 2 headings (==Heading==) and increase by one for subsections. Never use level 1 headings (=Heading=), which are used for the article title.

Follow sentence style capitalization, not title style, so only the first letter of the heading and proper nouns are capitalized.

Headings should not have links or templates in them; links should be placed underneath, such as in a {{Main}} template.

Although not required, having one space between sections and one space between the equal signs and the section name makes for ease of editing.

Place any hatnotes and images immediately under the section heading, and then a space after those before the section content.

Do not add blank sections unless tagged with {{empty section}} to request prompt expansion.

For information on which sections should be in which order, see the Article layout section of this style guide.

Italics

Any instance of "Minecraft " should be in italics. Any instance of the name of a videogame should also be in italics. For instance: "Team Fortress 2".

Official Minecraft edition names used as subtitles, such as "Java Edition" and "Education Edition" should be in italics; other edition names, such as "Bedrock Edition" and "Legacy Console Edition", should not.

Additionally, if an edition name is also referring to a specific version, it should not be in italics. For instance: "Java Edition 1.16" should not be in italics, whereas "Java Edition" should.

Images

Split-arrows
It has been suggested that this section be split into its own page at MCW:Style guide/Images. [discuss]
If this split may potentially be controversial, do not split until a consensus has been reached.
Shortcut

When adding screenshots to an article, make sure the screenshots use vanilla textures and UI. Screenshots that use custom texturepacks, UI mods and other custom content are not allowed. This does not apply to articles covering mods, which are currently being phased out.

Image captions should not have periods at the end, unless the phrase is a full sentence.

Images added to articles should fit the following guidelines:

  • Images should showcase an attribute of the article's topic.
    • Images should not show unintended strange or humorous behavior, such as mobs "sitting" on stairs.
    • Images should not have the sole purpose of showcasing a bug, instead report the bug on the official tracker.
    • Images showcasing usage of specific features as part of player builds should be avoided.
  • Articles should only have one image showcasing an individual attribute of the articles content. For example, a zombie wearing armor.
  • Images should showcase the most up to date version of Minecraft available for the content.
    • Images that are outdated are subject to be removed.

Linking

For a complete guide to linking, please refer to Wikipedia's Manual of Style for links, although do note that some of the policies about linking listed there are different than many here.

The use of links is a difficult balance between providing the reader enough useful links to allow them to "wander through" articles and excessive linking which can distract them from their reading flow.

Underlinking can cause the reader to become frustrated because questions may arise about the article's contents which can only be resolved by using the search option or other sources for clarification, interrupting and distracting the reader.

Overlinking may distract the reader because links are usually colored differently causing the eye to shift focus constantly. Additionally, if the same word is linked multiple times in the same paragraph it can cause the reader to question if the links are directing them to different articles or not.

The guidelines for linking are:

  • No more than 10 percent of the words in an article are contained in links.
  • Unless it affects the sentence's wording and readability in a negative way, two links should not be next to each other in the text so that it looks like one link.
  • Links for any single term should not be excessively repeated in the same article. Excessive linking is defined as multiple use of the same term, in a line or a paragraph, which will almost certainly appear needlessly on the viewer's screen. Remember, the purpose of links is to direct the reader to a new spot at the point(s) where the reader is most likely to take a temporary detour due to needing more information.
  • Duplicating an important link distant from a previous occurrence in an article may well be appropriate. If an important term appears many times in a long article, but is only linked once at the very beginning of the article, it may actually be underlinked. Indeed, readers who jump directly to a subsection of interest must still be able to find a link. But take care in fixing such problems, the distance between duplicate links is an editor's preference, however if in doubt duplicate the term further down the article.

Linking to a redirect is preferred over using a piped link except in templates and other pages that will be transcluded. When a piped link is unavoidable, it should not point to a redirect. If a redirect can be avoided using a suffix on the link, that is preferred. E.g. Using [[Creeper]]s instead of [[Creepers]] is desired.

Date formatting

The Minecraft Wiki is an international community. That is a good thing in general, but it makes a problem for numeric abbreviations of dates, such as "12/10/11": while most countries abbreviate dates as day/month/year, some Asian countries use year/month/day, and the US uses month/day/year. So the above date could represent any of three different dates. To avoid this problem, most dates should be written in "Month DD, YYYY" format, e.g. "December 10, 2011". Do not use superscripts or suffixes such as "April 23rd" or "4th of May". If a numeric or terse date is needed (such as in a table), then use YYYY-MM-DD, always with 2 digits for month and day (e.g., 2011-12-10 or 2012-05-04). Besides being the ISO standard, dates in this format will naturally sort properly, say if the table column is later made sortable.

Try to avoid seasons for dates such as "Summer 2021" or "Fall 2022". On Earth, the seasons are switched depending on which hemisphere you live in (e.g. summer in the Northern Hemisphere is winter in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa). Instead use phrases like "Mid-2021" or "Late 2022".

Commands

In-game commands should be in a specific format for ease of understanding. Literal keywords that must be typed in chat do not have any brackets for formatting applied (e.g., /data merge). Variables must be inside angle brackets and should be italic (e.g., <target>). Optional content must be inside square brackets, but these brackets should not replace any angle brackets (e.g., [<scale>] is an optional variable whereas [scale] is an optional keyword). A list of valid keywords should be placed in parentheses with each option separated by a pipe (e.g., (eyes|feet). In the example /advancement (grant|revoke) <targets> only <advancement> [<criterion>], /advancement and only are literals to be typed exactly as-is in chat, (grant|revoke) is a list of choices for literal text where either grant or revoke must be typed in chat, <targets> and <advancement> are required variables which must be replaced with valid values, and [<criterion>] is an optional variable which must be replaced with a valid value.

Files

File names should be consistent so they are easier to find. Files used in the infobox of articles should be titled with the exact name of the subject as seen ingame using en-US (when possible), and must be an isometric render. Old revisions of files should take the format of "Subject JEX BEY", where X and Y are the revision numbers for Java Edition and Bedrock Edition, respectively. This number is incremented each time the texture is updated in game (e.g., not in teaser images). "Subject" should redirect to the most recent revision. If the current textures for Java Edition and Bedrock Edition differ, "Subject" will redirect to the Java Edition texture, while "Subject BE" will redirect to the Bedrock Edition texture. Textures added in snapshots should follow this naming convention, though "Subject" should not redirect to the texture until it is included in a full release.

For example, the texture files for cobblestone would go as follows:

  • "Cobblestone JE1.png"
  • "Cobblestone JE2.png"
  • "Cobblestone JE3 BE1.png"
  • "Cobblestone JE4 BE2.png"
  • "Cobblestone JE5.png"
  • "Cobblestone JE6 BE3.png"
    • "Cobblestone.png" redirects here.

The "Subject JEX BEY" files should be used in places where the texture shouldn't change if the texture is updated, such as history sections and version guides. The "Subject" files should be used in places where the texture should always be up to date, such as infoboxes.

Article layout

Shortcut

For the sake of consistency, all articles of a specific type should follow a general layout.

  1. Hatnotes
  2. Message boxes
  3. Infoboxes
  4. Introduction with a general description
  5. Article body
  6. See also
  7. Notes and references
  8. Applicable footer navboxes
  9. DEFAULTSORT
  10. Categories
  11. Interwikis

Be smart when adding a message box: too many boxes at the top of a page or a section is not useful. If there is already one, move the ones that are not necessary for the reader lower on the page, for example in a relevant section or at the very end.

If an article does not contain a layout currently, one can be proposed on the talk page; otherwise, attempt to use a layout that follows a similar style to an existing layout. Current article layouts include: