MCFunction++ streamlines professional datapack workflows with a unified IDE for authoring, validation, and release-ready packaging.
MCFunction++ is built for developers who want a faster, more reliable Minecraft datapack workflow.
- New datapack creators who need an approachable IDE with useful feedback while learning commands and structure.
- Experienced datapack developers who want stronger editing, validation, and packaging workflows for larger projects.
- Teams and collaborators who need a consistent toolchain for building and shipping datapacks across environments.
- Creators who want flexibility: a desktop app for full local workflows and a web app for lightweight access.
- A unified environment for authoring, validating, and packaging datapacks.
- Desktop and web experiences built on a shared core workflow.
- Release-ready Windows installer distribution with auto-update support.
MCFunction++ now requires Java at runtime for automatic Minecraft data preparation.
- Java must be installed and available in your system
PATH. - If Java is missing or too old, Minecraft version preparation will fail in-app.
- Installing a modern Java runtime (recommended: Java 25+) is strongly suggested.
- Install Java and ensure
javais available inPATH. - Install the Windows desktop app from the latest GitHub release, or run it from source.
- Open or create a datapack workspace.
- Author datapack files, use validation feedback, and package for release.
- Receive update checks once per app launch when using packaged desktop builds.
- Open the latest release in
Portyl-Studios/MCFunctionPlusPlus. - Download the Windows installer file matching
mcfunctionplusplus-setup-<version>.exe. - Run the installer and choose your installation directory.
- Launch MCFunction++ after installation.
For normal installation, you only need the mcfunctionplusplus-setup-<version>.exe file.
Desktop auto-updates use electron-builder + electron-updater with GitHub Releases.
- Provider repo:
Portyl-Studios/MCFunctionPlusPlus - Windows update channel: NSIS artifacts +
latest.yml - Update check behavior: exactly once per app launch (no background polling until restart)
This behavior is implemented in the Electron main process and only runs in packaged builds.
Windows packaging is configured for NSIS installer only (no portable target). Installer behavior allows users to choose install directory.
-
Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/Portyl-Studios/MCFunctionPlusPlus.git cd MCFunctionPlusPlus -
Install dependencies:
npm install
Start the development server with hot module replacement:
npm run devThis will launch Vite's dev server with hot reload enabled. Edit files in src/renderer/ and see changes instantly.
Launch the Electron application:
npm startOr build and run in one command:
npm run electronCompile TypeScript and build the React application:
npm run buildThis will:
- Compile TypeScript files from
src/main/toout/main/ - Bundle the React application from
src/renderer/toout/renderer/
Create a distributable executable for Windows:
npm run dist:winThis will create an NSIS installer in the release/ folder.
Other platforms:
- macOS:
npm run dist:mac(DMG and ZIP) - Linux:
npm run dist:linux(AppImage and DEB) - All platforms:
npm run dist
Required app icon files:
- Windows:
assets/icon.ico(256x256 or multi-size ICO) - macOS:
assets/icon.icns(512x512@2x recommended) - Linux:
assets/icon.png(512x512 recommended)
Required NSIS installer art files:
- Installer header:
assets/installer-header.bmp(150x57) - Installer sidebar:
assets/installer-sidebar.bmp(164x314)
You can generate icon formats from a single PNG using:
- https://www.icoconverter.com/
- https://cloudconvert.com/png-to-icns
- https://www.img2go.com/convert-to-icon
The .github/workflows/desktop-release-pipeline.yml workflow automates version bumping and release publishing on pushes to main:
- Trigger: Pushes to
mainby a non-bot actor - Version: Reads
major.minorfrompackage.json; auto-computes patch from existing tags (vMAJOR.MINOR.*), ignoring user-provided patch - Bump: Commits version bump to
package.jsonif version changes, with[skip ci]to prevent re-triggering - Tag & Release: Creates tag
vX.Y.Zand GitHub Release - Assets: Builds and publishes NSIS artifacts (
.exe,.exe.blockmap,latest.yml) if any are missing - Safeguard: Skips publish if all required assets exist for the target tag
Add [skip ci] to your commit message to prevent the workflow from running:
git commit -m "docs: update README [skip ci]"
git pushBefore pushing to main, set package.json version to the major/minor line you want, using patch 0 (example: 2.4.0). The pipeline creates v2.4.0 for the first release in that series, then v2.4.1, v2.4.2, etc. on subsequent pushes.
Web deployment is on the roadmap. It will only be implemented once the main application is fully featured.
Minecraft command/schema data is now prepared automatically by the desktop app.
- On startup (and when the selected datapack Minecraft version changes), MCFunction++ checks a local cache first.
- If the requested version is missing, the app downloads the official
server.jarmetadata source, runs report generation, and builds the required cache files automatically. - Cached data is stored under the app user data directory in
Minecraft Data Cache/<mc_version>. - Progress and errors are surfaced in-app during bootstrap/refresh.
Use this only for manual verification, debugging, or if you want to inspect raw Mojang report output yourself.
- Download the target
server.jarfrom Minecraft Server Downloads. - Run
java -DbundlerMainClass=net.minecraft.data.Main -jar server.jar --reports. - Inspect output in
generated/reports/.
Note: MCFunction++ no longer requires you to manually place generated reports into resources/minecraft/<mc_version> for normal usage.
GPLv3 (General Public License) Any derived works must also be open-source and licensed under GPLv3.
Support the project by contributing!