How Do I Update My Addons for the minecraft:tags Breaking Change in Bedrock 1.26.20?
Quick Answer: In Bedrock 1.26.20+, tags can no longer exist as top-level entries in the components array. They must be moved inside the `minecraft:tags` component as an array of strings in `namespace:tag_name` format (without the `tag:` prefix). Update all entity, block, and item JSON files accordingly.
Details: Minecraft Bedrock 1.26.20 introduced a breaking change to how tags are defined in addon JSON files. This affects behavior packs (entities, items) and resource packs (blocks). **Old Format (Pre-1.26.20) — NO LONGER WORKS:** “`json { “format_version”: “1.21.0”, “minecraft:item”: { “description”: { “identifier”: “my:custom_item”, “tags”: [“minecraft:is_sword”, “custom:my_tag”] }, “components”: { “tag:minecraft:is_sword”: {}, “tag:custom:my_tag”: {} } } } “` **New Format (1.26.20+) — REQUIRED:** “`json { “format_version”: “1.26.20”, “minecraft:item”: { “description”: { “identifier”: “my:custom_item” }, “components”: { “minecraft:tags”: [ “minecraft:is_sword”, “custom:my_tag” ] } } } “` **Key Changes:** 1. Tags moved from `description.tags` and top-level `components` into `components.minecraft:tags` 2. Format changed from object keys to string array 3. `tag:` prefix removed — use `namespace:tag_name` directly 4. `format_version` should be updated to `1.26.20` or higher **Files to Update:** – Entity behavior files (`behavior_pack/entities/*.json`) – Item behavior files (`behavior_pack/items/*.json`) – Block behavior files (`behavior_pack/blocks/*.json`) – Any custom component files using tags **Migration Checklist:** – [ ] Find all `tag:` prefixed entries in components – [ ] Move tags to `minecraft:tags` array – [ ] Remove `tag:` prefix from tag names – [ ] Update `format_version` to `1.26.20` – [ ] Test in-game on 1.26.20+
Last updated: 2026-07-17
