Why Are the Iron Golem and Snow Golem Models Missing from Bedrock Samples?
Quick Answer: Iron Golem and Snow Golem are hardcoded entities in Minecraft Bedrock Edition — their models, animations, and render controllers are built into the game engine rather than defined in JSON files. The Bedrock Samples repository only includes entities that use the data-driven entity system.
Details: GitHub issues #11 and #26 report that `resource_pack/entity/iron_golem.entity.json` and `snow_golem.entity.json` are either missing or incomplete. This is because these entities use the legacy hardcoded rendering pipeline. Their geometries, animations, and render controllers are compiled into the game binary, not exposed as JSON files. The `iron_golem.entity.json` that exists in samples is a minimal placeholder.
Details: For addon creators: You cannot modify the Iron Golem or Snow Golem models via resource packs in the same way as data-driven entities. To customize their appearance, you must use a resource pack with a custom `entity` folder that overrides the hardcoded geometries — but this requires knowing the internal geometry names (e.g., `geometry.iron_golem.v1.8`). The recommended approach is to create a new custom entity with your desired model rather than trying to override hardcoded entities.
{
"format_version": "1.10.0",
"minecraft:client_entity": {
"description": {
"identifier": "minecraft:iron_golem",
"materials": { "default": "entity_alphatest" },
"textures": { "default": "textures/entity/iron_golem" },
"geometry": { "default": "geometry.iron_golem.v1.8" },
"scripts": { "animate": [ "controller.animation.iron_golem.v1.8" ] },
"animations": { "controller.animation.iron_golem.v1.8": "controller.animation.iron_golem.v1.8" },
"render_controllers": [ "controller.render.iron_golem" ]
}
}
}Last updated: 2026-07-18
