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MineDnD Validator

A small desktop app to check a datapack file before you load it in game. Type or open a JSON file on the left: the problems the game would hit show under it, and the right side previews the file the way players will see it (an item's tooltip, a recipe's crafting grid, an achievement's toast…). Windows, macOS and Linux; English and Italian (switch with the EN/IT button, top right).

Install

Download the file for your system from the repository's Releases page. They're added to a release separately, so if the newest one doesn't have them yet, take them from an earlier release:

System File Notes
Windows MineDnD-Validator-<version>-windows-setup.exe Installer (Start menu shortcut, uninstaller)
Windows MineDnD-Validator-<version>-windows-portable.exe No install: run it from anywhere (e.g. a USB stick)
macOS MineDnD-Validator-<version>-macos.dmg Universal: Apple Silicon and Intel. Drag it to Applications, or to any folder or USB stick and run it from there
Linux MineDnD-Validator-<version>-linux-x86_64.AppImage Any distribution, no install: chmod +x it, then run it from anywhere
Linux MineDnD-Validator-<version>-linux-amd64.deb Debian, Ubuntu, Mint: sudo apt install ./MineDnD-Validator-…deb

The builds aren't signed with a paid certificate, so the first launch shows a warning:

  • Windows: "Windows protected your PC" → More info → Run anyway.
  • macOS: "cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified" (or "is damaged") → right-click the app → Open → Open (or System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway). Only the first time.
  • Linux: AppImages need FUSE 2 on some distributions (Ubuntu 22.04+: sudo apt install libfuse2).

Using it

  • Open… (Ctrl/Cmd+O) a file, or drag one onto the window. Save (Ctrl/Cmd+S) and Save as… write it back. New starts an empty file; Example… loads a file from the Default Content datapack to start from.
  • File type is Detect by default: the type comes from where the file is in its datapack (data/<namespace>/items/… is an item, data/<namespace>/recipe/… a recipe, data/<namespace>/settings.json the world settings and so on, see Datapacks) or, for a file that isn't in a datapack yet, from its content. Pick the type by hand if it guesses wrong.
  • The problems list updates as you type. Click a problem to jump to it; the same problems are underlined in the editor.
  • When you open a file from a datapack, the app also reads that datapack's translations (data/*/lang/en_us.json and it_it.json), so translate keys show as their text in the preview.
  • For items and requirement rules, Character sets the ability scores of the player the preview is for (All sets every score at once): requirements turn green or red, and an item shows whether its bonuses would be active.

What it checks

The same rules the mod applies when it loads a datapack, so a file with no errors here loads in game:

Severity Means
Error The game rejects the file (or the entry): wrong JSON, a missing required field, a value out of range, an unknown ability, slot, component or trigger
Warning It loads, but probably not as you meant: an unknown field (with a "did you mean…?" suggestion), a field the ability type ignores, a recipe key that the pattern never uses, a rule that matches nothing
Info Worth knowing, nothing to fix

File types: items, recipes (shaped, shapeless, brewing), enchantments, requirement rules, achievements (advancements), titles, tags, world settings (settings.json, including the XP formula), translations and pack.mcmeta.

It checks one file at a time: it can't tell whether an item a recipe makes, or the parent of an achievement, exists in another file. For those, load the pack and look at the game's log (Finding mistakes).

What it previews

File Preview
Item The in-game tooltip: name in its rarity colour, enchantments, lore, attribute modifiers, requirements, the active ability (key, damage, cooldown) and stat bonus
Recipe The crafting grid with its result, or the brewing stand
Enchantment The enchanted book's tooltip, what it applies to, and a table of every level and its cost
Requirement rule What it blocks, for which items or blocks, and which scores it needs
Achievement The toast that pops up, its tooltip, and its criteria
Title The name tag above the player
World settings What you changed from the defaults, what each ability score does, and the XP each level costs
Tag, translations, pack.mcmeta Their values, the translations side by side, the pack as the pack list shows it

Troubleshooting

  • The portable Windows exe doesn't start: it needs Microsoft's WebView2 runtime, part of Windows 10 and 11 (on an old or trimmed-down system, install "WebView2 Runtime" from Microsoft, or use the installer, which adds it).
  • Open and Save do nothing: they work in the app only, not when the page is opened in a browser (npm run dev).
  • A translated name shows as its key (item.minednd.flame_sword): the file wasn't opened from inside its datapack, so the app couldn't find the translations. Open it from the datapack folder, or just ignore it: the game shows the text.