How to Install .mcaddon and .mcpack Files on iPhone, Android and Windows

Most questions we get in comments are not about making add-ons. They are about getting a downloaded add-on into the game. The good news is that Minecraft Bedrock does almost all of the work for you: once the file reaches Minecraft, it unpacks and installs itself. The tricky part is only the "reaching Minecraft" bit, and that is different on every device.

This guide covers phones, tablets and Windows PCs. Consoles (Xbox, PlayStation, Switch) can't open add-on files at all, so on those you can only use packs from the in-game Marketplace or from a Realm that already has them.

First, know which file you have

• .mcaddon is a bundle. It usually holds a behavior pack and a resource pack together. This is what the GodCraft app exports.
• .mcpack is a single pack: either a behavior pack or a resource pack (texture packs are almost always .mcpack).
• .mcworld and .mctemplate are worlds and world templates. They import the same way, but they show up in your worlds list instead of your packs.

If your file ends in .zip, Minecraft won't recognise it. Skip to the "Common problems" section below.

iPhone and iPad

1. Download the file in Safari (or any browser). iOS saves it in the Files app, normally under On My iPhone > Downloads.
2. Open the Files app and tap the file. Because iOS can't preview an add-on, you will see a plain page with the file name.
3. Tap the Share button (the square with an arrow).
4. Pick Minecraft from the row of apps. If it isn't there, swipe the row to the end and tap More to find it.
5. Minecraft opens and shows an "Importing..." message, followed by "Successfully imported".

If you made the add-on yourself in GodCraft, you can skip the Files app: open the Workbench tab, find your add-on and tap Install. The app builds the .mcaddon and opens the share sheet straight away, where Minecraft is one of the choices. The share sheet also has Save to Files if you want a copy for later.

Android

1. Download the file. It lands in the Download folder.
2. Open your file manager (Files by Google, or the one that came with your phone) and tap the file.
3. When Android asks which app should open it, choose Minecraft. Choose "Just once" if you are not sure.
4. Minecraft starts and imports the pack.

From GodCraft on Android, the add-on row in Workbench has two buttons: Install sends the file straight to Minecraft through the share menu, and Save writes the .mcaddon to a folder you choose, which is handy if you want to send it to a friend or keep a backup.

Windows 10 and 11

1. Make sure you have Minecraft for Windows (Bedrock) installed and have opened it at least once.
2. Find the downloaded file in File Explorer and double-click it.
3. If Windows asks how to open it, pick Minecraft and tick "Always use this app" so you don't get asked again.
4. The game starts (or comes to the front) and imports the pack.

Tip: in File Explorer, turn on View > Show > File name extensions. It makes the ".zip" problem described below much easier to spot.

Where does the add-on go after importing?

Nowhere visible yet, and that confuses a lot of people. Importing only adds the packs to your game's library. To actually use them you have to switch them on for a world: open the world's settings, go to Behavior Packs and Resource Packs, and activate them. We wrote a separate guide on that, including when you need experiments.

You can check that the import worked in Settings > Storage, where imported behavior packs and resource packs are listed with their size.

Common problems

The file is a .zip

Some browsers and download managers add or swap the extension. If the pack is a single file named something.mcaddon.zip or something.zip, rename it so it ends in .mcaddon (or .mcpack for a single pack). On iPhone, long-press the file in Files and choose Rename. Don't unzip it first; rename the file as it is.

Minecraft is missing from the share sheet or the "Open with" list

This happens when the file isn't really an add-on (for example, a .zip that has to be renamed) or when Minecraft has never been opened since installing. Start Minecraft once, close it, and try again.

Minecraft opens but says "Import Failed"

The file itself has a problem, or you already have the same pack installed. Both cases are covered in our guide to "Import Failed" and "Duplicate pack" errors.

Nothing changed in my world

The packs are imported but not active. Edit the world and activate both packs. If the add-on adds new items, remember that you might need a recipe or a command to get them; GodCraft add-ons show the exact /give command in the editor of each item.

Once you have done this a couple of times it takes about ten seconds. We usually keep a test world with cheats on just for trying new add-ons, so our survival worlds stay clean.