Java Edition 26w14a

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 "title": "Minecraft 26w14a",
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 "field": "''(link to Java Edition article, displayed as Java Edition)''",
 "label": "(link to Edition article, displayed as Edition)"
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 {
 "field": "Herdcraft Update",
 "label": "Official name"
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 {
 "field": "April 1, 2026",
 "label": "Release date"
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 {
 "field": "(link to Snapshot article, displayed as Snapshot)",
 "label": "(link to Version types article, displayed as Type)"
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 {
 "field": "[https://piston-data.mojang.com/v1/objects/49040e0696c6ade6606645f0065f7aed34ce53d0/client.jar Client] ([https://piston-meta.mojang.com/v1/packages/9b2672f791fd413098736acfb1fb7d9ae454473b/26w14a.json .json])<br />[https://piston-data.mojang.com/v1/objects/71feef42484d36d0eeba98ffb06f8bb845cbe0fc/server.jar Server]",
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 "field": " <span style=\"font-size:smaller\"><abbr title=\"decimal\">dec</abbr>: </span>1073742129<br /> <span style=\"font-size:smaller\"><abbr title=\"hexadecimal\">hex</abbr>: </span>40000131",
 "label": "(link to Protocol version article, displayed as Protocol version)"
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 {
 "field": "5000",
 "label": "(link to Data version article, displayed as Data version)"
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 {
 "field": "84.0",
 "label": "<span style=\"white-space: normal;\">(link to Pack format#List of pack formats article, displayed as Resource pack format)</span>"
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 {
 "field": "101.1",
 "label": "<span style=\"white-space: normal;\">(link to Pack format#List of pack formats article, displayed as Data pack format)</span>"
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 {
 "field": "<span class=\"plainlinks\">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_version_history#Java_SE_25_.28LTS.29 Java SE 25]</span>",
 "label": "<span style=\"white-space: normal;\">Minimum Java version</span>"
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 "field": "Unspecified(link to Category:Pending al_version article, displayed as Category:Pending al_version)",
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 "invimages": [],
 "footer": "<table style=\"margin: auto; word-break: break-word;\">\n<tr style=\"background: inherit;\">\n<td style=\"padding: 0.4em\" rowspan=\"2\">[[Java Edition 25w14craftmine|<span style=\"margin-right:-0.35em\">◄</span>◄  25w14craftmine]]</td>\n<td rowspan=\"2\" style=\"padding: 0.4em\">'''26w14a'''</td>\n<td style=\"padding: 0.4em\" rowspan=\"2\"></td>\n</tr>\n<tr style=\"background: inherit;\">\n</tr>\n</table>"
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26w14a, supposedly the first and only snapshot for the "Herdcraft Update", is an April Fools' Day joke snapshot released on April 1, 2026.^[1] Similar to 22w13oneBlockAtATime, it disables many inventory features. Instead, the player can command "living blocks" using various tools in their hotbar. The blocks act as mobs, meaning they can be hurt, moved, and attacked.

This snapshot is a fork of 26.1.1.

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Copper trap

• A full block with the same texture as copper bars.
• Has an item form that stacks up to 64 (observable by luring them into a container).
• Does not appear in the Creative inventory. It can however be obtained in Creative mode using the /item command.
• Has all oxidization stages and waxed variants.
• Appears when 8 copper bars are close together.

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Iron trap

• A full block with the same texture as iron bars.
• Has an item form that stacks up to 64 (observable by luring them into a container).
• Does not appear in the Creative inventory. It can however be obtained in Creative mode using the /item command.
• Appears when 8 iron bars are close together.

Added action items, all of these items share these properties:

• These items do not appear in the creative inventory.
• When the player dies:
  • These items do not drop (other items do if they are somehow in the inventory and the keep_inventory game rule is set to false).
  • If the keep_inventory game rule is set to false, they are restored to the inventory in their original order if the player somehow loses or rearranges them.
  • If the keep_inventory game rule is set to true, the inventory is not modified.
• Dropping these items doesn't summon anything.
  • The item still disappears from the inventory, but nothing appears in its place.
  • Other items, in turn, summon a living block of the item or, in some cases like a default spawn eggs, an associated entity.
  • However, this item can still be summoned as a living block in other situations, such as via the /give command or by breaking a container.
• These items cannot be removed using the hotbar shortcut key.
  • For example, if punch is in slot 1, opening a chest and clicking the number 1 will do nothing. Other items can still be moved this way.
    • However, the reverse works. If the punch is outside slot 1 and slot 1 doesn't contain any action items, then clicking on 1 in the punch moves it to slot 1.
  • This, along with the items not being in the inventory upon death, makes it difficult to remove them from the hotbar in survival mode, and it was probably intentional to make it impossible to remove these items from the inventory, consequently preventing the player from using other items.
    • However, it is possible to remove them from the inventory by interacting with a shelf or item frame.
    • It is also possible to remove the item by opening the inventory while mounted on a mob with an inventory, such as horses and llamas, and then simply dropping them. Although to take these animals the player needs to have an empty hand, this is possible by selecting the ninth slot or mounting a mob that has already been taken, such as skeleton horses from traps.
    • Using a shelf with a hopper, a living block container plus a hotbar shortcut key, or a flower pot, it's possible to place other items in the hotbar, after removals.

👁 Invicon Punch.png: Sprite image for Punch in Minecraft
Punch

• Used to mine and attack (as most other action items prevent this).

👁 Invicon Follow Me.png: Sprite image for Follow Me in Minecraft
Follow Me

• Use to select living blocks, which begin glowing.
• Hit to leash selected blocks to the player.
  • If no blocks are explicitly selected, will use the current group from the Group / Ungroup tool.

👁 Invicon Move.png: Sprite image for Move in Minecraft
Move

• Same selection functionality.
• Hit to command blocks to move to the targeted location.

👁 Invicon Attack / Mine.png: Sprite image for Attack / Mine in Minecraft
Attack / Mine

• Same selection functionality.
• Hit to command blocks to attack mobs, including other players.
• Hit to command living tools to mine (regular) blocks.

👁 Invicon Craft.png: Sprite image for Craft in Minecraft
Craft

• Use to create a 2×2 crafting grid (entity), requires enough flat space.

👁 Invicon Build.png: Sprite image for Build in Minecraft
Build

• Same selection functionality as Follow Me.
• Hit to command blocks to move to the target location, and then turn back into regular non-living blocks.
  • Living items and some living blocks will not respond to this command.

👁 Invicon Group / Ungroup.png: Sprite image for Group / Ungroup in Minecraft
Group / Ungroup

• Use to cycle group None → Red → Blue → Lime → Yellow → Purple → Aqua → All → Repeat. Hold shift to cycle in reverse order.
• Hit to add living blocks to the selected group.
• Selected group affects which blocks are commanded by other tools if no blocks are explicitly selected first.
  • When "None", no blocks are selected.
  • When "All", all blocks that are part of a group are selected.
  • When a command is issued to a group that doesn't have any members that are within loaded chunks (or "None" is selected), the actionbar shows the message "Selected group contains no blocks in the area".
• Living blocks that are members of a group glow in the corresponding color.
• In multiplayer, each player has their own set of groups.
  • Blocks that are members of a player's group appear to glow gray to other players.
  • Blocks that are members of one player's group cannot be commanded by another player (blocks that are not part of a group may be commanded by anyone).
    • Other players may still interact with them in other ways, such as attacking them, opening containers, crafting, etc.

👁 Invicon Highlight.png: Sprite image for Highlight in Minecraft
Highlight

• Hold it to make all living blocks glow.

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Living block

• Created any time an item would normally appear.
• Can collide with other mobs.
  • Hitbox matches the shape of the block if it is a block (but doesn't rotate with the visual tumbling animation).
  • Other items use a small cube.
  • The player and other mobs can stand on living blocks (but not living items), similar to boats. Special block contact properties are not retained (e.g. the slipperiness of ice).
• Can be damaged and die.
  • Max health depends on the hardness of the block. Defaults to 10 health (5 hearts) for non-block items.
  • Heal gradually over time.
  • Blocks display health using the block breaking animation.
  • Won't take knockback from most damage, but can take knockback from explosions, lightning strikes, or if the player obtains a regular item with the knockback enchantment (through Creative mode).
• If struck by lightning, it becomes a shroomlight.
• Depending on which block or item it is, it may have special properties.

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Crafting grid

• Created with the "Craft" tool (2×2) or by living blocks that are crafting tables or crafters (3×3).

👁 Invicon Stick.png: Sprite image for Stick in Minecraft
Hovering item

• Created by using the crafting grid.
• Hitting or using it completes the crafting process, converting it into living blocks.

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Living block command

• Created by tools Follow Me, Move, Attack / Mine, and Build to show an icon.
• Used as a target by living blocks.

Splashes
This version has unique splashes:

Advancements

Added the "HerdCraft" tab:

Structures

• Nine by Nine
  • Created by combining 272 living cobblestone, 16 living glass, and 4 living torches (see above)
  • Has variants for copper and soul torches

Some properties of living blocks are defined by block tags. Although living blocks are not technically blocks, they are associated with items which in turn can be associated with blocks. Living blocks that are not associated with a block are, by default, treated as if the block were air.

builds_into_house

Living blocks in this tag can be combined with a door to form a house. By default, it contains a variety of common terrain blocks and building blocks.

living_block_takes_fall_damage

Living blocks in this tag can takes fall damage. By default, it contains all glass and glass panes.

cow_food

Living blocks in this tag can be used to tempt cows and mooshrooms.

pig_food

Living blocks in this tag can be used to tempt pigs.

sheep_food

Living blocks in this tag can be used to tempt sheep.

chicken_food

Living blocks in this tag can be used to tempt chicken.

horse_food

Living blocks in this tag can be used to tempt donkeys, horses and mules

llama_tempt_items

Living blocks in this tag can be used to tempt llamas and trader llamas.

zombie_horse_food

Living blocks in this tag can be used to tempt zombie horses.

panda_food

Living blocks in this tag can be used to tempt pandas.

turtle_food

Living blocks in this tag can be used to tempt turtles.

strider_tempt_items

Living blocks in this tag can be used to tempt striders.

cat_food

Living blocks in this tag can be used to tempt cats.

rabbit_food

Living blocks in this tag can be used to tempt rabbits.

block_placers

Living blocks of items in this tag are treated as items and not blocks. Only items that already have an associated block can be treated as blocks; therefore, adding items that are not associated with blocks has no effect.

Inventory

• Opening the inventory in any mode except Creative mode only shows crafting recipes.
  • Selecting a crafting recipe will fill it into a nearby 2x2 crafting grid entity.
  • An "i" icon appears above the recipes. When clicked, it opens the advancements.
• The inventory can be opened as normal in Creative mode.
  • The hotbar will appear empty except on the "Survival Inventory" tab, which accurately shows the inventory contents (by default the 8 special tools added with this update).
  • This functions completely normally, including allowing the special tools to be moved, removed and/or replaced.
  • Other items work normally when moved into the hotbar this way.
  • In Creative mode, loading the 9th saved hotbar does not work, perhaps because the key bind for the 9th hotbar slot is disabled, but the other 8 do work; however, see Issues below.
• The inventory can be opened when mounted on a mob with an internal inventory.
  • The mob's inventory renders normally; the bottom part of the player's inventory does not render and remains invisible, although the items are still visible. The ninth slot in the hotbar is rendered.
  • Unlike the creative inventory, when the player holds an item with the mouse it is automatically dropped, and they cannot organize items with the mouse.
  • It's possible to drop action items, which are then deleted, freeing up space in one of the first 8 slots of the hotbar.
  • Using the hotbar shortcut buttons, it's possible to remove items from hotbar and place them in the player's internal inventory, and vice versa.
    • However, it's not possible to move items to a slot that already has an action item in that way, but it is possible to move action items to a slot that doesn't have an action item. This way it is possible to move the action items to slot 9, which is empty by default, and re-register the action items, also freeing up a space without having to drop an action item.
    • Non-action items can be moved from the hotbar to the internal inventory, and items from the internal inventory can be moved to a hotbar slot that does not contain action items.
• The ninth hotbar slot is invisible and cannot be accessed by controls (e.g., mouse roll or number 9)
  • It is still possible to select using the middle button on an entity (such as a boat, minecart, mob, end crystal).
    • If in Creative mode, slot 9 is empty and slots 1 to 8 are occupied with different items of the entity, slot 9 will be selected.
    • If slot 9 is the first to contain the item corresponding to the entity (in the case of mobs, the spawn egg), it will be selected.
    • Selecting a block will have no effect, as instead of adding it to the inventory it summons the corresponding living block (in Creative mode) or does nothing in Survival mode.
• Living crafting tables and crafters can be used to create 3x3 crafting grids.
  • Interacting will open the recipe list, including recipes that require a 3x3 grid.
  • Selecting a recipe will fill it into the grid.
  • For crafting tables, the ingredients must be commanded into place with the Move tool. Once this is done, a hovering item entity appears showing the result of the recipe, and punching it completes the recipe (converting the hovering item into living blocks).
  • For living crafters but not crafting tables, other living blocks nearby will automatically start to position themselves to complete the recipe. Once all are positioned correctly, the recipe will be completed automatically as well. Recipes can still be done manually as with crafting tables.

General

• The off hand key bind has been removed.
• Using pick block on a block in Creative mode will clone the block toward the player.

Recipe unlocking

• All recipe unlocks that previously required an inventory update have changed and now require summoning a living block of the same item.
  • Note that adding items to the inventory, Creative mode, or using /item for example, does not unlock recipes.
• The chest recipe is unlocked by summoning a plank. Previously, it was unlocked by having ten slots occupied in the inventory.

Interactable blocks

• Interactable blocks with menus have been modified to prevent access to the internal inventory. However, some of these blocks have replaced their interaction with block behavior such as living blocks.
  • Furnaces, blast furnaces, smokers, barrels, chests, trapped chests, copper chests, crafters, and shulker boxes have their interaction completely removed.
    • It is still possible, for example, to use honeycomb and axes on copper chests, as this behavior is controlled by the item and not the block.
  • Anvils, beacons, brewing stands, cartography tables, dispensers, droppers, enchanting tables, grindstones, hoppers, lecterns, looms, smithing tables, and stonecutters no longer open their menus.
    • It's still possible to interact by increasing specific stats, activating the advancement triggers, and moving the hand.
  • The crafting table's menu now only shows the recipe book.
  • When interacting with ender chests, the game still tries to create a menu based on the player, but it fails to do so, making it seem as if there is no menu​^{[more information needed]}.
    • It is still possible to access players' ender chest slots by /item.

Chest

• The blast resistance has changed to 6.0, previously it was 2.5.
  • The trapped chest's blast resistance has remained at 2.5.

• Using a boat now won't fail if the hitbox intersects with a block or entity, making it easier to place.
  • This is the behavior of using the item as a living block that was maintained for the normal item.
• Bows and fishing rods no longer have durability and can be stacked up to 64.

Stronghold

• End portal rooms no longer contain end portal frames.
• Instead, the silverfish spawner is replaced with one that spawns living end portal frames.
  • The spawner functions until it contains living 12 end portal frames around it. However, it is possible to move the end portal frames far away or place them in a container, causing the spawner to continue functioning.

/give

• Now spawns living blocks instead of putting items in the player's inventory.

/loot

• /loot spawn ... spawns living blocks instead of items.
• /loot give ..., /loot insert ..., and /loot replace ... still add items to the inventory.
  • Block containers can still receive items even if they can't be accessed via the menu, with /loot insert ... and /loot replace block .... It's still possible to access them by breaking them, using commands, etc.
  • Living container blocks cannot receive items with /loot command, because the container does not belong to the entity itself but its contained item stack.

Loot tables

• Instead of controlling item drops, they now control dropped living blocks.
  • If a dropped living block is of the same block type as the broken block, it copies the block state of the broken block.
• Many loot tables have been modified:
  • Leaf litter doesn't drop anything.
  • All slabs, pink petals, sculk veins, sea pickles, wildflowers, composters, all candles, resin clumps, and glow lichen, which previously could drop multiple items in certain states, now only drop a single living block of themselves. Sculk veins only drop with Silk Touch, glow lichen only drops with shears, all the rest have no additional conditions on the loot table.
    • Note that when breaking a block with 4 candles, for example, only one living candle block is dropped. However, this block has the block state of 4 candles. If the old loot table were maintained, 4 living blocks with 4 candles would be dropped.
• Some loot tables now ignore the item count, for example minecraft:carve/pumpkin, which when interacting with shears on a pumpkin only generates one living block of pumpkin seed and not 4.
  • If minecraft:carve/pumpkin is modified to produce more than one item entry, carving a pumpkin will result in one item from each entry, regardless of the count of each entry.
  • Using the command /loot give @s loot minecraft:carve/pumpkin, for example, still works normally. The items are added to the inventory (and not as living blocks) and with the correct count.
• Added loot tables for iron traps and copper traps, which drop themselves as living blocks, without any additional conditions.

Item

• Completely removed and replaced with living blocks.

Advancements

• Removed all vanilla advancements, except recipe unlock advancements.

Splashes

• Removed all regular splashes.

26w14a is not supported due to being an April Fools' joke, and therefore issues affecting it get closed as "Invalid" in the issue tracker.

• Loading any saved hotbar in Creative mode will most likely crash the game with the error message java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: Index 8 out of bounds for length 8 due to the removal of the 9th hotbar slot.
  • It occasionally works; restarting Minecraft and reentering the world may show the new hotbar contents.
  • Saved hotbars are also shown incorrectly in their tab in the creative inventory — for each row with data, the 9th item is missing, causing all of the rows below to be shifted. Empty rows still correctly take up 9 slots.
• Summoning a living block of air or other block with no model crashes the game when attempting to animate it.
• When holding wool blocks and jumping, then killing the wool blocks (for example being blown up by a creeper), the player retains the slow falling and higher jump effect, but take normal fall damage upon landing.

• This is the first and only version to use the YYwWWn snapshot naming format since 25w46a.
  • This is the second April Fools' Day jokes version to regularly use the YYwWWn snapshot naming format (i.e., with n as a single letter). The first was 15w14a.
  • Since 2020 (20w14∞), all versions of April Fools' Day jokes version have used this format.
• Since 2019 (3D Shareware v1.34), all April Fools' Day jokes version have either added a new dimension or featured a change to the hotbar. This was the third release to have a change to the hotbar, after 3D Shareware v1.34 and 22w13oneBlockAtATime.
• This version was released on the same day as 26.1.1.
• In the official trailer, the player seems to have nine inventory slots, one empty, but in the final version there are only eight.
  • There also seems to be a pre-release texture of the Punch item.
• The ninth inventory slot can still be selected using external editors or using pick block on a mob to get their spawn egg.
  • The selected slot border will display off to the right, but the slot itself remains invisible (both the background and the held item).
  • In Creative mode, other items can be moved into this slot and will function normally.
• There seems to be unused item textures for signalling_arrow and attack_signalling_arrow.
• The main menu panorama textures are not quite in the usual location: instead of assets\minecraft\textures\gui\title\background, they are one layer deeper in assets\minecraft\textures\gui\title\background\af. af likely stands for "April Fools".
• The random toggling behavior of living levers is called AnnoyingClickClackBehavior in the code.
• The iron and copper traps are a reference to the Cage Trap in the mod SecurityCraft. The developer of the mod, bl4ckscor3, eventually joined Mojang Studios.^[5]

• 👁 Herdcraft Logo
  
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