Datapacks

A datapack allows you to change the default or add new game behavior. Datapacks are a Vanilla feature, so they can be used on all platforms, including modded ones.

However, if possible, it is recommended to use a plugin or mod instead of a datapack. The Paper Tweaks plugin is a great replacement for VanillaTweaks datapacks.

Installation

The datapack can be installed by uploading the datapack to /mainWorld/datapacks/. The main world is the world set in server.properties at level-name (world by default). After uploading the datapack, just restart the server. You can check if the datapack is running by executing the datapack list command.

If the server version is lower than 1.13, datapacks cannot be used as they were added to the game in this version.

When installing a datapack, make sure you are downloading a datapack version compatible with the server version!

Often the datapack is a .zip file that needs to be extracted (= unzipped). In this case, the downloaded file probably has a name like Some_Datapack_UNZIP_ME.zip). After unzipping, you will then have extracted folder in the /datapacks/ directory. After that you can delete the .zip file. However, a datapack can also be a .zip file, so only extract when instruction to do so is given.