Customization plays a huge role in the Minecraft experience. Ask any Minecraft player; they’ll probably agree. The vanilla game is incredibly fun as is, but the freedom players have to mess around with the world with little to no limitations is what has most of them coming back.
We’ve covered Minecraft mods and Minecraft servers. In this article, we’ll take a look at something a little simpler (but no less fun) to pull off: Minecraft Color Codes.
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
What Are Minecraft Color Codes/Formatting Codes?
Minecraft players can customize the format of certain textual elements using Minecraft Color Codes and Minecraft Formatting Codes.
The former, for instance, can be used to change the color of in-game texts. It can also be used to assign colors to different teams or change the color of dyed leather armor.
These color codes can also be used to create colored signs or add color to server messages.
The latter can be used to format in-game texts, like making announcements bold or italic.
Helpful Links:
- Blog Article: Minecraft Adventure Mode
- Blog Article: Minecraft Potions
How do I Use Minecraft Color Codes?
You can change the color of Minecraft texts by using the Section Sign (§) followed by a Hex Digit. This hex digit is the color code, and each digit is assigned a specific color.
For instance, the code §0 would result in the color black.
Code §6, on the other hand, would result in the color gold.
Take Note: text formatting and text color formatting may lie within the same vein of visual modification, but the game sees them as separate.
In the Java Edition of Minecraft, a color code used after a formatting code disables the formatting code beyond the color code point. To help you visualize this using text, writing the codes in this order:
Format Text font: Arial, color: green, size: 12pt, bold | Color Text: black
… would cancel out the text formatting after the color indicator. In other words, the text would not be bolded and sized 12.
So when using a color code along with formatting code, always type the color code first. Again, in textual visualization, that would look something like:
Color Text: green | Format Text font: Arial, size: 12pt, bold
You don’t have to worry about this if you’re using the Bedrock Edition of Minecraft, though. In Bedrock, formatting codes will still persist even if typed after a color code.
Colored Text for Minecraft Signs
Creating a sign with colored text in Minecraft is pretty easy! If you’re running the Bedrock Edition, all you have to do is:
- Place a sign on the ground
- Type the “§” sign, followed by the corresponding number for the color you want. This is the color code
Don’t worry: the “§” won’t show on the sign once you exit.
Colored Text for Minecraft Server Messages
You can also change the color of your Minecraft Server’s Message of the Day (MOTD) by inserting a color code before the message. It’s as easy as changing the color in Minecraft. Only the codes are different.
To change the color, access your Server Properties or Server Files how you would normally access them.
Before the message, insert the appropriate color code.
Ex. u00A76 “Welcome Back to the Server”!
Save your changes, close your server, and then restart it. If done correctly, you should see the new MOTD in the correct color – which, in our example, should be gold.
Here’s a quick list of Minecraft Color Codes for the Minecraft Server’s MOTD:
u00A70 – BLACK
u00A71 – DARK BLUE
u00A72 – DARK GREEN
u00A73 – DARK AQUA
u00A74 – DARK RED
u00A75 – DARK PURPLE
u00A76 – GOLD
u00A77 – GRAY
u00A78 – DARK GRAY
u00A79 – INDIGO
u00A7a – GREEN
u00A7b – AQUA
u00A7c – RED
u00A7d – PINK
u00A7e – YELLOW
u00A7f – WHITE
Minecraft Formatting Codes to Know
There are actually fewer formatting codes than color codes in Minecraft, which makes them quite easy to remember. This article will still be focused on color codes, but here are some Minecraft formatting codes that may be useful to know:
- §l = bold text
- §m = strikethrough text
- §o = italicize text
- §n = underline text
Minecraft Color Codes
Here is a full list of codes, listed according to Chat Code number (0-9) or letter (alphabetized; a-g).
| Color | Code | Foreground Color Hex | Background Color Hex |
| Black (black) | §0 | 000000 | 000000 |
| Dark Blue (dark_blue) | §1 | 0000AA | 00002A |
| Dark Green (dark_green) | §2 | 00AA00 | 002A00 |
| Dark Aqua (dark_aqua) | §3 | 00AAAA | 002A2A |
| Dark Red (dark_red) | §4 | AA0000 | 2A0000 |
| Dark Purple (dark_purple) | §5 | AA00AA | 2A002A |
| Gold (gold) | §6 | FFAA00 | 2A2A00 | 402A00 |
| Gray (gray) | §7 | AAAAAA | 2A2A2A |
| Dark Gray (dark_gray) | §8 | 555555 | 151515 |
| Blue (blue) | §9 | 5555FF | 15153F |
| Green (green) | §a | 55FF55 | 153F15 |
| Aqua (aqua) | §b | 55FFFF | 153F3F |
| Red (red) | §c | FF5555 | 3F1515 |
| Light Purple (light_purple) | §d | FF55FF | FF55FF |
| Yellow (yellow) | §e | FFFF55 | FFFF55 |
| White (white) | §f | FFFFFF | FFFFFF |
| Minecoin Gold (minecoin_gold) | §g | DDD605 | DDD605 |
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Using Minecraft Color Codes
Minecraft will only recognize the color codes as such if the digit is preceded by the “§” symbol. It’s an unusual symbol, to be sure, and not one that can easily be found on a standard keyboard. Here’s how to type it out:
- On a Windows US/UK English Keyboard: Alt + NUMPAD2, NUMPAD1
- On a Windows ANSI Keyboard (or any other keyboard): Alt + NUMPAD0, NUMPAD1, NUMPAD6, NUMPAD7
- On a Mac US English Keyboard: ⌥ Option + 6 | ⌥ Option + 5 (for US Extended)
- On a MAC Keyboard (any other type of keyboard): ⌥ Option + 00a7
- On a Linux with Compose Key activated: Compose, s, o
If you wish to copy-paste the character, you can do so on Bedrock Edition using the standard commands (ctrl + v for Windows and cmd + v for Mac). However, do take note that some Minecraft text boxes cannot be pasted into (such as chat windows, command blocks, world names, etc.).
Helpful Articles:
- Blog Article: Minecraft Texture Packs
- Blog Article: Minecraft Forge
Why Use Minecraft Color Codes
Minecraft Color Codes and Minecraft Formatting Codes are just a few more ways Minecraft allows its players to customize their games. Changing text may not directly impact gameplay by imposing advantages (or disadvantages, even). However, it can make people enjoy the game even more.
As we’ve stated in the beginning, customization and modification have always played a huge role in the Minecraft experience. In fact, there’s a pretty large market for Minecraft mods (although we use that term loosely, as most Minecraft mods are free).
Conclusion
Learning color codes is just another way for players to spice up their game. If taken in the context of coding for kids, it’s even a viable introduction to hexadecimal codes and coloring for programming with HTML or CSS later on.
Let’s cover the key topics we went over:
Table of Contents
-
- What Are Minecraft Color Codes/Formatting Codes?
- How do I Use Minecraft Color Codes?
- Colored Text for Minecraft Signs
- Colored Text for Minecraft Server Messages
- Minecraft Formatting Codes to Know
- Minecraft Color Codes
- Using Minecraft Color Codes
- Why Use Minecraft Color Codes
- Conclusion
If you want more related Minecraft articles you can check a list of resources below:
- Blog Article: 12 Surprising Things Your Child Can Learn From Minecraft
- Blog Article: What are Minecraft Mods? A Quick Guide for Parents
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