How to Combine Resource Packs in Minecraft

Last modified on Jul 12, 2023 in General

By Nathan Young

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Overview

Customizing the way Java or Bedrock Minecraft appears in-game is a popular activity among players, as there are endless possibilities. Whether you’re wanting a futuristic or medieval feeling in your world, changing the textures allows you to do that and more. These are stored in resource packs, large documents containing blocks, items, sounds, particle effects, and more that make up Minecraft’s appearance. However, in some cases players want to combine textures or other aspects to enhance their gameplay. This process isn’t easy, as it involves accessing and switching around resource pack files. Fortunately, there is a simpler method to do this that few users know about. With this in mind, we’ve created this Apex Hosting guide to show you how to combine resource packs in Minecraft to transform the game into your ideal environment.

Resource Packs

Before tweaking resource pack files, you’ll want to understand some basic information about them. This is important, as making mistakes along the way can result in corruption. The first to keep in mind is that players can prioritize multiple packs in-game as a way to “combine” them. This isn’t perfect, as certain game aspects can sometimes not be overridden. For instance, if you’re wanting to have specific blocks from one resource to another, then using this default method tends to fail.

Due to this potential issue, there are alternatives to get everything into a single file that resolves the situation. These include an Automatic and Manual method, with both accomplishing the same task. It’s done by prioritizing the main resource pack, then replacing some of its contents with other textures. Whether they’re for two different Minecraft versions or not, the process is the same. However, it’s encouraged to use the same game type so combining them is easier. Players can easily find resource packs from this area in preparation for merging them.

Automatic Method

By far the easiest way to combine resource packs is to use an online service that does it for you. This allows both Java and Bedrock players to merge textures, with other customizable options available. Simply upload your downloaded packs, move them around according to their priorities, then begin the combination process. The following instructions below details how to successfully do this for your resources.

1. Navigate to Nera’s Pack Combiner website.
2. At the top left corner, press Upload Packs and begin selecting your desired ones.
   
3. Once you’re finished, drag and rearrange them according to their priority.
   
4. Afterward, enter the new resource pack’s name to the right-hand side.
5. Proceed to select the Minecraft version in the same area from the dropdown list.
6. Optional: Choose a custom icon for the new pack.
   
7. Continue to click Download Pack once you’ve completed everything.

Bedrock users will need to change the “version” and “min_engine_version” values to 1, 13, 0 or higher in the manifest.json file to get full support in-game. This can be done by opening the downloaded zip document, then editing it accordingly. Once this is done, rename the file type to “.mcpack” from “.zip” for compatibility. If you don’t see this at the end of its name, then change its Properties to Open With “Minecraft”. Otherwise, using the Manual Method instead will bypass this issue to get everything working. As for Java players, they don’t have to do anything else after downloading the combined resource pack.

Manual Method

Sometimes, players may want to manually sort through specific textures to make the ideal resource pack. This process is tedious, as you’re required to delete and replace files or directories until you’re satisfied with the result. Whether you’re on Bedrock or Java, doing this is relatively the same concept. It’s strongly recommended to use zipping software like WinRAR or 7zip to access your resource pack files. These are free and safe to use, as they’re industry standard programs. However, Java can have folders instead of zipped documents, making it easier to access them. Additionally, it’s encouraged to have your resource packs saved somewhere easily accessible for this process and not in their active directory for Minecraft. The following steps below will help you successfully merge textures into one resource pack.

1. Close down Minecraft and locate your desired resource packs.
2. Once found, either open them or use a zipping program to do it.
   
3. Navigate through the directories until you find files to replace.
4. Proceed to delete and replace the old ones with your new variants of them.
   
5. Do this for any other directories and/or files in the resource pack.
6. When you’re finished, close the window and try it in-game.

Directory Types

Due to the different designs of Java and Bedrock, their main directory containing the resource files are different. This can cause some confusion, especially when both editions have unique document types holding similar information. Review the details below to get a better understanding of where important textures are located for each Minecraft version.

Using Combined Resource Packs

After merging your resource packs into a single file, you’re ready to use it in-game. The process varies depending on your Minecraft edition, with Java being the simplest. Bedrock versions require a little more steps due to its design, but will still work. However, if you’re planning on using the merged textures on your server, then follow this guide to accomplish that task. Otherwise, review the subsections below that correspond to your setup so you can begin using the new combined resource pack on your client.

Java Setup

Using the in-game option to open your resource pack file location is a universal method for adding them to Minecraft. Follow the simple instructions below to start this process.

1. Launch Minecraft and head towards the Options area from the main menu.
2. From here, press the Resource Packs button to see active and available textures.
   
3. Near the bottom left corner, click on Open Pack Folder to reveal the file location.
   
4. Afterward, simply drag and drop your combined resource pack into this directory.
5. This will automatically update your list in-game, which you can begin activating.

Bedrock Setup

The Bedrock version of Minecraft has two ways to install the combined resource pack. The first is simply double-clicking the .mcpack file (once renamed) to automatically implement it in the game. This is the preferred method, but an alternative one is to manually drag the document in a specific directory. It’s a bit complicated, as you’re required to navigate through several folders with unique names. With this in mind, try the first method first since this saves you time and effort.

Alternative

The following instructions details the process to manually install the resource pack on Bedrock.

1. Close down Minecraft Bedrock Edition to ensure the success of this process.
2. Press the Windows Key + R to open the Run window.
3. Enter “appdata” in the text box, then press OK at the bottom left.
   
4. In the newly opened window, navigate to the following pathway:

   Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang\resource_packs

    

5. Once there, proceed to drag and drop the combined resource pack in the folder.
   

   Important: Remember, the file type must be .mcpack for this to work properly.

6. Launch Minecraft Bedrock Edition and head towards the Settings option in the menu.
   
7. On the left-hand side, scroll down and click the Global Resources button.
   
8. Locate your combined textures in the My Packs section, then select it.
9. Afterward, simply press Activate for the game to automatically load everything.
   

Common Issues

In cases where the resource pack isn’t loading on Bedrock, make sure you’ve successfully changed the version values in the manifest.json file to 1, 13, 0 or higher. This ensures the compatibility of your textures, as it tells the game your documents are valid. Additionally, make sure you’ve renamed the file type to “.mcpack” from “.zip” or anything else since only those are supported on Minecraft Bedrock. Otherwise, you may have mistakenly combined Java textures into the resource pack, causing the situation. Confirm you’ve only used Bedrock files for this process so everything works out.

While trying to combine resource packs on Java, make sure you’re using only that version when merging the files. In other words, don’t use Bedrock documents to replace the textures since that’ll result in failure. Additionally, using multiple game versions could cause issues. It’s strongly recommended to use only one, but it’s possible to have different kinds. Although, if the textures require Optifine and you don’t have that installed, it can trigger loading problems.

If you’ve successfully loaded the combined resource pack on Minecraft, but there are problems with the textures, then corruption could have happened. This occurs when either files are missing or different game versions are present during the merging process. Most of the time, this can be resolved by playing around with priorities in the Automatic Method. However, players using the Manual way instead will have to revert their changes and carefully redo them to test what breaks the textures. In other words, making edits to the resource pack and trying them out in-game before finishing will help you realize the error.

Useful Links

Nera’s Pack Combiner Tool
Resource Packs for Minecraft
How to Upload Resources Packs on Minecraft Servers
Minecraft Bedrock Server Hosting