How to Activate Add-ons in a Bedrock World: Behavior Packs, Resource Packs and Experiments

Importing an add-on only puts it in your library. Minecraft Bedrock never adds packs to a world by itself, so the next step is switching them on for the world where you want to use them. It takes a minute, and once you know where the buttons are you will never forget it.

Behavior pack vs. resource pack

Most add-ons come in two halves:

• The behavior pack holds the rules: what an item does, how a mob acts, what a block drops, recipes, scripts.
• The resource pack holds what you see and hear: textures, models, animations, sounds, item names.

An add-on needs both to work properly. A behavior pack without its resource pack gives you invisible or purple-and-black things; a resource pack alone changes looks but adds nothing new. Pure texture packs are the exception: they are just a resource pack.

Turning packs on in a new world

1. Tap Play, then Create New, then Create New World.
2. In the settings menu on the left, scroll down until you see Behavior Packs. On phones the menu can be long, so keep scrolling.
3. Open it and switch to the Available list. Tap the add-on, then tap Activate.
4. If the add-on has a matching resource pack, Minecraft usually tells you it will be added too. Accept.
5. Open Resource Packs and check that the add-on's resource pack is in the Active list. If it isn't, activate it the same way.
6. Set up the rest of the world as usual and tap Create.

Adding packs to a world you already have

1. Tap Play and find your world in the list.
2. Tap the pencil icon next to it to open its settings.
3. Activate the packs under Behavior Packs and Resource Packs, exactly as above.
4. Go back and load the world.

Before you do this on a world you care about, make a copy. In the same settings screen, scroll to the bottom and use Copy World. Add-ons can add blocks and mobs that stay in the world even after you remove the pack, and a backup costs nothing.

One more thing to know: a world with behavior packs doesn't earn achievements. Resource packs alone don't affect achievements.

Pack order matters

When several resource packs are active, the one higher in the Active list wins if two of them change the same texture. If your new sword still looks vanilla, another texture pack above it might be overriding it. Use the arrows next to a pack to move it up.

What experiments are, and when you need them

Experiments are toggles for features that Mojang is still working on. Some add-ons use them, for example ones built on scripting APIs marked as beta, or on new custom content that hasn't been made stable yet.

To turn them on:

1. Open the world's settings (new world or the pencil icon).
2. Find the Experiments section in the world settings. Depending on your version it is its own entry in the menu or near the bottom of the game settings.
3. Turn on only the toggles the add-on asks for, such as Beta APIs or Upcoming Creator Features. Confirm the warning.

A few honest warnings, because people find these out the hard way:

• Once you play a world with an experiment on, the world stays marked as experimental. You can't make it a normal world again, so copy it first.
• Experimental features can change or disappear in any update, which can break the add-on or the world.
• Experiments are only needed if the add-on says so. Turning on every toggle "just in case" adds risk and fixes nothing.

Add-ons you make in the GodCraft app are built on stable features, so in normal use you just activate the packs and play. If a creator's add-on does need a toggle, it belongs in the post description, and it's fair to ask in the comments if it isn't there.

Realms and multiplayer

For a Realm, open the Realm's settings and activate the packs there; players who join download them automatically. For a world shared over LAN or with friends, the host's packs are sent to everyone when they join, as long as the host activated them on the world.

Common problems

The add-on isn't in the Available list

The import didn't finish, or it failed. Check Settings > Storage. If it's not listed there, import it again.

Items show as purple and black squares

The resource pack is missing or inactive. Activate it, and make sure the version you imported matches the behavior pack.

I can't find the new items

Look in the creative inventory (use search), or use the /give command if the creator listed one. Commands need cheats turned on for that world.

Mobs never spawn

If the world is on Peaceful, hostile mobs won't appear at all. Switch the difficulty and try again, or use a spawn egg.