Here’s Where Minecraft Is Installed on Your PC

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Have you ever wanted to mod Minecraft only to find out that you can’t seem to find the folder where Minecraft is installed and contains all the folders needed for you to mod it? Have you ever taken a screenshot, and wanted to share it with your friends or with the world, only to run into the same problem? Where is Minecraft installed on your PC?

  • Article Breakdown:
  • Minecraft is installed in the roaming folder on your PC. The roaming folder is located in the %appdata% folder and isn’t visible to people with standard Windows settings.
  • Although it will hardly ever be the case, it might happen that the .minecraft folder isn’t in the roaming folder.

How do I find out where Minecraft is installed?

To access the folder where Minecraft is installed, you simply have to right-click on your Minecraft launcher and click on Open File Location. From there it will be obvious that Minecraft is installed in the %appdata% folder under .minecraft. You can search for it in the search bar of your file explorer. If Minecraft isn’t installed in the %appdata% folder. Clicking on the launcher to open the file location should reveal where it is installed in your case. Just take a look at the file path once you’ve opened the file location.

Searching for the %appdata% folder in your Windows search bar will result in you finding and opening the folder, but if you track down the file path and search for the folder manually, you won’t be able to find it. The folder was introduced when Windows Vista came out and it continues to be a feature on both Windows 10 and 11 PCs.

The %appdata% folder contains custom settings and all information that certain applications on your computer need to operate properly. Minecraft is a game that’s installed in the %appdata% folder by default. Some applications might ask you for permission first. It used to be that all information was stored in the Program Files x86 and Program Files but getting some of that info into the %appdata% folder makes everything look and feel a bit more organized.

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Where is Minecraft Windows 10 Edition Installed

The pathing to find the folder where Minecraft Windows 10 Edition is installed is slightly different than Java but is overall, located in the same folder as Minecraft Java, with a few extra steps. To reveal the file location of your Bedrock Edition Minecraft, follow these steps:

  1. Go to the search bar of your file explorer and type in %localappdata% or go to the search bar on your Windows Home menu and type it in the search bar located in the taskbar.
  2. Locate the folder under the name Packages and click on it to access it.
  3. In the Packages folder, you’ll find that there are loads of files available starting with Microsoft. You’ll have to search for Microsoft.MinecraftUWP file. It has some other numbers and letters after the UWP but this is irrelevant to your search of the folder
  4. Open the file and you’ve accessed all the folders and files that your Minecraft Windows 10 Edition contains.
  5. To access the shaderpacks folder and others, you’ll have to go to LocalState
  6. After you’re in the LocalState folder go to the Games folder
  7. In the games folder, you’ll be able to see everything that you usually see in the .minecraft folder of Java Edition

Why is the %appdata% folder invisible?

The %appdata% folder and some others are invisible by default to make a user’s experience with Microsoft more friendly. Accessing these invisible folders and messing around with the settings can permanently cause damage to your computer if you don’t know what you’re doing. On the other hand, it reveals a world of possibilities.

Take for example the Windows taskbar. On Windows 10, It’s relatively small but once you download Windows 11, it kind of bites you in the eye due to how big it is. With normal settings, you can’t really change the size of the taskbar, but if you access one of the hidden folders, it’s easy to change it. I suggest keeping these folders invisible at all times. You can always make them visible if need be when you decide to play around with your PC.

Can you change the location of the installed Minecraft?

You can change the location of your Minecraft directory and installed files but it’s not as simple as moving the file to another folder and playing the game. To do so safely and without being unable to play the game, follow these steps:

  1. Move the .minecraft folder where you want it to be. The folder will be located in the %appdata% > Roaming folder.
  2. Open your Minecraft launcher and enter the Installations tab
  3. Click on your Minecraft profile
  4. Click on Browse located under Game Directory
  5. Select the .minecraft from the folder you moved it to

A word of note, you won’t actually change the location of your entire .minecraft folder using this method. You’ll only change the location of the data (logs, worlds resource packs) for the specific version.

What can you do in the .minecraft folder?

The .minecraft folder for Java Edition contains many essential folders that help improve the player’s experience with the game. Specifically, I’m referring to modding, changing textures, resource packs, plug-ins, and anything else imaginable. In total, the folder has 17 folders and some files. The most crucial ones are:

All of the listed folders minus the screenshots folder will assist you in modifying your world. Within the same folder, you can find the uninstall button but I don’t know who would want to do that.

To download mods and resource packs, you’ll want to refer to any of your preferred websites, download the mods or whatever it is you need, and transfer them to the corresponding folder. Then it’s just a matter of opening up your game and clicking on the mods to actually implement them into your game.

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It might seem like modding Minecraft is a lot of trouble, but on the contrary, it’s as simple as it gets. It used to be that you had to manually place the code into the game’s code but nowadays, anyone can mod Minecraft and enjoy it.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!

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Petra Pralica has been a content writer for over three years and is based in Zagreb, Croatia. She studied economics in high school and went to college to get her English language and literature degree but decided against proceeding with her studies after three years since an opportunity arose for her to work as a content writer full-time. Petra’s interests span wide, which is clear from her content writing history. She spent around a year and a half writing content about animals and animal products for Petovly, making sure to educate people about the responsibilities that come with pet ownership, especially when it comes to non-traditional pets like parrots, rats, and ferrets. Then she went on to write about all things related to kitchens. After that affair ended, she educated herself on advertising through social media and search engines. Still, she decided to postpone a career change for the future since she got the opportunity to write about another one of her passions: movies and series. She enjoys an occasional Hollywood blockbuster, but what matters most to her is if she can connect with the characters and how well the technical aspects of the movie or a show are executed. It’s all about how the movie or a show makes her feel. She was and still is a die-hard Doctor Who fangirl, and she can’t escape her love for the Star Wars movie franchise either. As of late, she’s been rewatching old Marvel and DC movies to better prepare for the upcoming movies being released. She isn’t all that into sci-fi, but if you put the fantasy genre in front of her where she can dream about alternate worlds for months to come, she’ll eat that right up and binge-watch it.
Petra is a technical writer that loves to mix facts with fiction through deep statistical analysis. It would seem like the two can’t mix and match, but she has found a way to give the readers the best of both worlds. She will vigorously analyze every piece of information available, connect the dots, and come up with her theory about anything that might have left readers wondering in the past. It’ll be hard to disprove her theories, but if you succeed, she’ll gladly take the loss and continue learning about all the universes she learned about through watching her favorite series and movies.

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