Minecraft Wiki:Style guide/Features

All articles about general in-game features should use the following layout. Only the introduction and navigation sections are strictly required. Every other section has its own specific rules for whether it should be included.

The introduction section of an article is the section before the first heading. It should be capable of standing alone as a concise overview of the article, briefly describing its most important points. The article's subject should be mentioned at the earliest natural point in the prose within the first sentence, and should appear in boldface. Only the first instance should be in boldface. For example:

A pickaxe is one of the most commonly used tools in the game, being required to mine all ores and many other types of blocks.

This is an optional section to describe any canonical in-universe facts that provide the player with background information to enhance the gaming experience. Lore should be verifiable from official sources. Information in the lore section may include, but is not limited to:

• A relevant quotation from an official source using the format {{Quote|quotation text|quotation author}}.
• Distinctive appearance attributes that are not immediately obvious.
• Backstory information about the article subject, cited to official sources.

Official sources include YouTube videos from the Minecraft channel, official novels, and official video games.

Comments on X/Twitter, Discord, and forum discussions should generally not be considered sources of lore. If the comment is from a Mojang employee, it might be included in the trivia section. Such comments should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to determine whether to cite them. On the other hand, articles or videos dedicated to the subject on X/Twitter, Minecraft.net, or Nintendo Switch can be considered as sources of lore, but should also be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Do not include spoilers, tutorial advice, technical feature history, or any information that is verifiable only from fan communities or other unofficial sources. Also do not engage in editorializing, interpretations, or synthesizing conclusions that aren't stated in the official sources.

For blocks and items, this section is called "Obtaining" and contains information on how the block or item is generated (including in chests), crafted, dropped by mobs, etc. For blocks, this section should also start with information on breaking the block, which includes the fastest or required tool, if any, and what the block drops, noting tools or enchantments that affect the blocks dropped.

Specifically, the following order of subheadings (headings using ===) should be followed:

1. Breaking
   • On block pages, this section should contain the block's {{breaking row}} and any loot the block drops.
   • On both block and item pages, this section should include other ways to get the item through block drops. For example, the dirt page should say that dirt drops from grass blocks.
2. Natural generation: Places the block or item naturally generates in the world, including in structures, but not including in loot chests. If the item generates as chest loot, that information goes in Chest loot. Below the description of the natural generation of the blocks, the template {{block distribution}} should be used when appropriate.
3. Mob loot: If the item is dropped by a mob. Use the {{Drop sources}} template.
4. Chest loot: Use the {{LootChestItem}} template.
5. Some gameplay features an item as a result of a process. Examples:
   • "this section" refers to the "Obtaining" section
   • Crafting for most items.
     • Whether they require the 3x3 crafting grid or can be crafted using 2x2 crafting, they go in this section.
     • If the item requires itself in the crafting recipe, it goes in a different subheading (e.g., "Repairing" or "Cloning"), and goes in Usage instead of Obtaining.
   • Smelting for cooked foods and ingots.
   • Stonecutting for slabs, stairs, and blocks made in the stonecutter.
   • Composting for bone meal, because it can be made by composting other items.
   • Enchanting for enchanted book, because it is a separate item from book.
   • Trading for items sold by villagers
   • Fishing for items obtained from that mechanic
   • And so on.
   • Remember, each of these should be its own subsection of Obtaining. Do not make Stonecutting a subsection of Crafting, even though both features can produce the same items. Make Stonecutting a separate subsection instead.
6. Post-generation: Ways the block or item can come to exist in the world after the initial world generation. This includes crop growth, blocks forming from liquid, and more.
7. Renewability: Whether or not the block or item can be obtained in a renewable fashion, especially if not apparent from the previous sections. For example, this section should mention if all of the item's crafting ingredients are renewable, which would otherwise require looking through all of its ingredients' pages. It can also discuss the practicality of the renewable obtaining methods.

For structures, there can be up to two sections where the Obtaining section goes: Creation, and Generation. Creation contains information on how to build the structure if the structure contains a use upon building (such as Nether portals), and Generation contains information on how the structure is generated by the game. Creation and Generation are not subsections of Obtaining. They are their own sections.

While this section should generally contain only information on how the article's topic is obtained in Survival, it may also state information on how Creative mode or commands can be used to obtain the block, item, or entity if one of the following is met:

• The block or item cannot be obtained in creative or with commands, or the mob cannot be spawned with a spawn egg. In this case, the exception may be stated.
  • This does not apply to non-mob entities.
• The block, item, or entity cannot be obtained or spawned in Survival. In this case, the section may state if it can be obtained or spawned in Creative or using commands.

Breeding does not go in this section. It goes in behavior.

If there are multiple ways to obtain the block or item or spawn the mob, these should be listed as subsections of this section (as explained above). Standard sections include:

• Natural generation: Describes any way the features generates in the world or in a chest.
• Crafting: Anything the block or item can be crafted from.
• Mob loot: Which mobs drop the block or item, and the chances / conditions for those drops.
• Generated loot: Where the item can block or item can be found as generated loot.

This takes the place of Obtaining for articles on mobs, and contains information on any ways the mob spawns. This includes information on the natural spawn cycle and spawners that generate naturally.

For blocks and items, this section contains information on what can be done with them. This includes using the article subject as a crafting or smelting ingredient, as food, or for trading, or exploiting special properties of a block, like using a button to create a redstone pulse.

For mobs, this section is called Drops and contains information on what the mob drops upon death.

For structures, this section is called Structure and details the composition of the structure.

Like the Obtaining section, this section should be divided into subsections if appropriate. Standard subsections for blocks and items include:

• Crafting ingredient: if the block or item is used in a crafting recipe. Crafting usage should be added using {{crafting usage}}. Recipes should be entered manually (using {{crafting}}) only if {{crafting usage}} doesn't display the correct recipes.
• Smelting ingredient: if the block or item is used in a smelting recipe.
• Brewing ingredient: if the block or item is used in a brewing recipe.

Structures can have the standard section of Loot, which details possible contents of chests found in the structure.

Headings should not be prefixed with an "As a". For example, Food should be used, not As a food.

Filling this section with tips on architecture and interior design should generally be avoided.

For mobs, this section contains information on how they act toward the player and other mobs. It also contains information on how other mobs react toward this mob.

This section may have a subsection about how the mob behaves in combat.

Any other sections go here, between Behavior and Sounds.

A table containing all sounds associated with this object. They should be organized using the {{Sound table}} template; see Bee § Sounds and Piston § Sounds for some good examples.

This section contains any achievements related to the article subject. Achievement sections should be transcluded using {{load achievements}} (e.g. {{load achievements|Leader Of The Pack}}). Achievements should be entered manually (using {{achievements}}) only if {{load achievements}} does not display the correct achievement(s).

This section contains any advancements related to the article subject. Advancement sections should be transcluded using {{load advancements}} (e.g. {{load advancements|Isn't It Iron Pick}}). Advancements should be entered manually (using {{advancements}}) only if {{load advancements}} does not display the correct advancements(s).

This section is reserved for videos uploaded by the Minecraft Wiki account or community approved videos and series. All videos are subject to the Video Policy.

History sections should use {{HistoryTable}} with {{HistoryLine}}. To provide accuracy, changes made in snapshots should retain the exact version of the change even when the update is released (e.g., 12w08a in addition to 1.2). This can be done using the {{{dev}}} parameter of {{HistoryLine}} (e.g., {{HistoryLine||1.6|dev=13w16a|Added horses.}}).

History sections should not contain non-notable bugs and bug fixes, as those belong on the tracker. Generally, a change that is reverted after a single version is subject to removal as a bug unless a source is provided that it is intended. An exception is if the bug has existed in at least one major release version and notably contradicts something on the article.

The history section should be split up into multiple different sections, each describing one aspect of the history. For example, there may be separate sections for each edition, separate sections for data history, and separate sections for texture/model history. An example layout could look like this:

== History ==
(information about the feature being announced, prototypes, or other historical information from before implementation in the game)

=== ''Java Edition'' ===
(general Java Edition history)

=== ''Bedrock Edition'' ===
(general Bedrock Edition history)

=== Legacy Console Edition ===
(general Legacy Console Edition history, if applicable)

=== Texture history (or model history) ===
(history section describing how the feature's texture or models changed)

The Issues section should contain only {{Issue list}}. Nothing else goes in this section.

Trivia sections should be in bullet point form.

Additions to trivia must meet the following guidelines:

• Trivia should not be obvious to players and should be information that readers are not likely to know but would be interested in.
• Trivia should contain only information about the feature that does not fit anywhere else in any article. If the trivia is relevant to another section, consider incorporating it into that section before considering it for removal.
  • Notably, history- and lore-related trivia should be merged into a History or Lore section if possible; e.g. "The original piston texture had an iron band running over the head. This was later removed, leaving only iron brackets around the corners and edges."
    • Exceptions to this include history not specifically related to the feature's development in Minecraft, such as Jeb's interest in a suggestion for Nether gold ore.
• Trivia should consist of only verifiable facts, and contain no speculation, rumor, opinion, or personal commentary.
• Trivia should state how a characteristic of a block, item, mob, or other game element is surprising or unique, but not essential to the feature's function.
• Things that should not be in trivia include, but are not limited to:
  • listing other game elements that share a certain characteristic
  • listing items that do not share a certain characteristic
  • stating that a game element is the first to have a certain characteristic
• Trivia related to the feature's in-game name when using translations is not allowed, as translations are not created by Mojang, making them unofficial.

If relevant, this section may have a subsection called Publicity containing information on the article topic in merchandise and other media.

Use the gallery tag to add a gallery of images.

<gallery>
Filename.png|File description
Anotherfile.jpg|Another description
</gallery>

The "See also" section should contain links to other articles that have not been mentioned anywhere else in the article and are of a relevant topic.

If any footnotes were added on the page, {{notelist}} should be placed in this section to have the footnotes appear here.

If any citations or references were added on the page, {{reflist}} should be placed in this section to have the references appear here.

This section should contain relevant links to external sites, such as minecraft.net articles.

Navbox templates such as {{Navbox entities}} should be placed under a separate "Navigation" heading. This allows them to consistently display under the same section heading instead of in whichever section otherwise ends up being the last, which differs from page to page. This is particularly helpful for allowing mobile readers to easily access navboxes, where sections are collapsed by default. Notice that even this page's navbox is in its Navigation section.