Install and manage datapacks

Datapacks change your world using nothing but vanilla Minecraft — custom recipes, new loot, tweaked world generation, custom functions — and, crucially, players install nothing on their end. That makes them the friendliest way to add content to a survival server. This guide covers the panel's Datapacks page, where the files actually go, and how to switch them on, list them, and remove them without leaving junk behind.

Where datapacks live (and why it matters)

A datapack belongs to one specific world. It lives in that world's folder, under <world>/datapacks — so a pack installed to your survival world does nothing for a second world on the same server. This single fact explains every "why didn't it work" further down: install to the world your server actually loads (the one your level-name points at). More on worlds: Manage your worlds.

Install from the Datapacks page

Open the Datapacks page from your server menu. It searches Modrinth, the community's datapack index.

1. Pick the target world. There's a world selector at the top — it defaults to your Primary world. If your server has more than one world, choose the right one here first. This is the step people skip.
2. Search for a datapack by name, or browse. Filter by sort order, category, or game version to match your server.
3. Install. The panel downloads the pack straight into <world>/datapacks for you. You'll see a confirmation naming the world it installed to.

💡 Tip: No world in the dropdown, or the wrong one selected, and the install has nowhere to go — the page will ask you to pick a world first. Generate or upload a world on the Worlds page if you don't have one yet.

Install one the panel doesn't list

Got a .zip from elsewhere (a friend, a creator's site)? Install it by hand:

1. In the File Manager, open your world folder, then its datapacks folder (create datapacks if it isn't there).
2. Upload the .zip as-is — don't unzip it. A datapack is a zip containing a pack.mcmeta and a data/ folder; the server reads the zip directly.

Switch it on: /reload vs restart

Minecraft only notices a new datapack when it (re)loads packs. Two ways:

• /reload in the Console — reloads datapacks live, no downtime. Great for a quick recipe or loot tweak.
• A full restart — the surest option, and the right one for datapacks that touch world generation, which only applies to newly generated chunks and can't be hot-reloaded.

🎯 Good to know: /reload re-runs datapacks and reloads some plugin data, but it is not a fix-all — a misbehaving plugin can dislike it. When something looks half-applied after a /reload, restart and check again before assuming the pack is broken.

Check what's active any time with /datapack list in the console — it prints the enabled and available packs. /datapack enable "<name>" and /datapack disable "<name>" turn a specific one on or off without deleting it.

Uninstall a datapack

To remove one for good:

1. Disable it first if it's active: /datapack disable "file/<name>.zip" in the console.
2. In the File Manager, delete its .zip from <world>/datapacks.
3. /reload (or restart) so the server drops it.

Removing a datapack stops its rules going forward, but it does not undo what it already did — blocks it generated or items it created stay in the world. That's normal; datapacks change the world, they don't sandbox it.

Verify it works

Run /datapack list — your pack should appear under the enabled list. Then check its effect in-game: try the new recipe, look for the new loot, or explore fresh chunks for worldgen packs. If it's a function pack, its functions show up under /function tab-completion.

Troubleshooting

• Installed but nothing happened — you installed to the wrong world, or didn't /reload. Confirm with /datapack list on the world your level-name loads.
• Worldgen pack only works in some places — world generation only applies to newly generated chunks. Explore to fresh terrain, or start a new world for a full effect.
• /datapack list shows it "available" but not "enabled" — enable it: /datapack enable "<name>".
• Pack won't load / console warns about pack format — the datapack's pack format doesn't match your Minecraft version. Grab a build made for your version, or update the server in the Version Changer.
• You unzipped it by mistake — re-upload the original .zip; the server expects the zip (or a single folder containing pack.mcmeta), not its loose contents scattered in datapacks.

Next steps

• Manage your worlds — datapacks live inside a world; this is how worlds work
• Server-side resource packs — the visual counterpart, pushed to players
• Make your server yours — the rest of the server's settings
• Datapacks are pure vanilla — the format, folder layout, and every function command are documented on the community reference at minecraft.wiki.