How to install Minecraft texture packs
Published on 8 October 2026
In Minecraft, a texture pack is now called a resource pack. On Java, you put the .zip file in the pack folder and turn it on under Options and Resource Packs. On Bedrock, you open a .mcpack and turn it on for all your worlds or for one world.
Below you’ll find how that works per edition, how to choose the order and what to do when a pack says Incompatible. Checked for Java 26.3 and Bedrock 26.52.
Texture pack or resource pack?
They’re the same thing. In Java 1.6.1, resource packs replaced texture packs. A resource pack changes more than textures: sounds, models, fonts and texts too. It doesn’t change the rules of the game: for that you need mods, data packs or, on Bedrock, add-ons.
Installing a texture pack on Java
- Download the pack. A resource pack for Java is a .zip file; there’s no need to unpack it. Pick the version of the pack that matches your Minecraft version.
- Open the pack folder. Start Minecraft and go to Options, then Resource Packs. Choose Open Pack Folder.
- Put the file in it. Copy the .zip into that folder. You can also drag the .zip onto the Resource Packs window. Minecraft then asks: Do you want to add the following packs to Minecraft?
- Turn the pack on. Your pack is now listed under Available. Choose it so it moves to Selected, and click Done. Minecraft reloads the textures.
You can also open the folder without the game. By default it is:
- Windows:
%APPDATA%\.minecraft\ resourcepacks - macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/ minecraft/ resourcepacks - Linux:
~/.minecraft/resourcepacks
Choosing the order
You can turn on several packs at once. Minecraft loads the Selected list from bottom to top: the pack at the top wins. If a second pack only changes the sky, for example, put it above your main pack.
What does Incompatible mean?
If a pack says Incompatible, with (Made for an older version of Minecraft) or (Made for a newer version of Minecraft), it was made for a different version. If you turn it on anyway, Minecraft asks: Are you sure you want to load this pack? The pack may not work correctly then. Better to look for a version of the pack for your Minecraft version.
Installing a texture pack on Bedrock
On Bedrock, a pack is usually a .mcpack. On Windows, double-click it; on a phone or tablet, tap it and open it with Minecraft. Minecraft imports the pack. Then you choose where it applies:
- For all your worlds: go to Settings, then Global Resources. Choose the pack under My Packs and choose Activate. These resources are just for you: no one else sees them.
- For one world: choose Edit World on the world and go to Resource Packs. Choose the pack and Activate. Anyone who joins that world is offered the pack to download.
The in-game Marketplace has texture packs too. You turn those on under Global Resources as well.
Building with friends? On your own Minecraft server you play whenever you like, in your own world. Plans start at €4.95 per month. See the Minecraft plans.
Where do you find texture packs?
For Java, you’ll find resource packs on CurseForge and Modrinth. How the two compare is in CurseForge vs Modrinth. Only download a .zip for Java or a .mcpack for Bedrock. An .exe or .jar is not a texture pack: skip it.
Looking for nicer light, water and shadows? That’s what shaders do, and you install them differently: see how to install Minecraft shaders. Want everyone on your server to get the same pack? You set that up through server.properties, and on Bedrock as in mods and add-ons for Minecraft Bedrock.
