Minecraft commands list: gamemode creative, night vision, keepInventory and mobGriefing

The commands in this article use Minecraft Java Edition syntax, including namespaced item and structure names. For Bedrock Edition, compare against Microsoft Learn’s Popular Commands. Java Edition renamed its game rules to lowercase names with underscores in 1.21.11, and the old names now fail with “Incorrect argument for command”. Java 1.21.10 and earlier and Bedrock Edition still use the old names, so this article lists both names for every game rule. The full mapping is in Minecraft gamerule old and new names. Before you run a command, turn cheats on or have operator permissions on the server, as described in Command permissions. You can check the parameters your current version supports with /help <command name> and Tab completion.

Common commands

The table above uses the syntax from Java 1.21.11 and later. If another version gives an error, use the syntax in the table below instead. Java Edition shows its version number in the bottom-left corner of the main menu.

Finding a village used different syntax before Java 1.19. Java 1.18.2 uses /locate #village, and Java 1.18.1 uses /locate village.

After you send a command, the chat should show the result. Commands that change the time, the weather or your inventory should also show the matching change in the game. If you see “Unknown or incomplete command. See below for error” or “Incorrect argument for command”, check the edition, the version and the spelling first.

Some commands can use a target selector to choose who they affect:

Switch between Creative and Survival with /gamemode

Use /gamemode followed by the mode you want. In a singleplayer world, turn on “Allow Commands” when you create the world. For a world that already exists, open “World Options…” from the Game Menu. If the menu doesn’t have that option, use “Open to LAN” instead. On a server, you need operator permissions. The steps and screenshots are in Command permissions.

Bedrock Edition also accepts the full names, as well as abbreviations and numbers. For example, /gamemode c or /gamemode 1 switches to Creative, and /gamemode s or /gamemode 0 switches to Survival. Spectator mode only works with spectator. Java Edition accepts only the full names since 1.13.

Difficulty, time and weather

Change the game difficulty:

Change the time and the weather:

Game rules

The tables below list the new and old commands side by side. For old names in existing worlds, command blocks and data packs, see Minecraft gamerule old and new names.

Keep inventory, mob griefing and fire spread

Time, weather and sleeping

When you idle with a Carpet Mod fake player, an awake fake player counts as an online player, so other players can’t skip the night by sleeping. The fix is in Carpet Mod fake player commands.

Respawn radius, fall damage, raids, PvP and recipes

Items and effects

Give a player an item:

Give a player an effect:

Night vision command

For night vision, use /effect give @p minecraft:night_vision 60. It gives the nearest player 60 seconds of night vision, and the screen brightens right away when you mine, explore caves or dive. The three parameters after the effect are the duration in seconds, the amplifier and whether to hide particles. Change the duration to infinite and the effect never ends on its own. The amplifier doesn’t change how bright night vision is, and true hides the particles on your character. Java 1.19.3 and earlier don’t have infinite and answer with “Expected integer”, so write the duration as 1000000 there.

To remove only night vision, use /effect clear @p night_vision. /effect clear @p also clears every other effect.

On Bedrock Edition, /effect doesn’t take give. Write /effect @p night_vision 60, and clear an effect with /effect @p clear. Permanent night vision on Bedrock Edition is /effect @s night_vision infinite 255 true, and on success the chat shows “Gave Night Vision * 255 to for an infinite duration”. According to the Minecraft Wiki’s effect command page, Bedrock Edition only has infinite from 1.21.40. Older versions also need the duration written as 1000000.

Experience and finding a village

Set a player’s experience:

On Bedrock Edition, /xp can only add experience. Levels are /xp 999L @p and points are /xp 999 @p, and there is no add, set or query.

/locate prints the coordinates of the nearest structure in chat, and you can then use /tp to teleport there. The coordinates can land inside terrain, and a Survival player stuck in a block suffocates.

Java Edition villages come in five structures: plains, desert, savanna, snowy and taiga. Use #minecraft:village to search all of them at once, or name one of them, such as minecraft:village_plains. Bedrock Edition uses /locate structure village. The names for strongholds, Ancient Cities, biomes and Nether structures, for both Java Edition and Bedrock Edition, are in the locate command guide for strongholds, ancient cities and biomes.

Server management commands

When you type a command in the server window, leave out the /. Players need it when they type in the game. These are the commands you use most after you set up a server:

Summary

Whether a command worked shows in the chat reply and in the game state. When you get a syntax error, first work out whether you are on Java Edition or Bedrock Edition, then fix the command with /help and Tab completion for your current version.

Ted Liou

Software engineer writing about Unity and AI development. Available for consulting.