Creative

**Creative mode** is one of the main game modes in *Minecraft*. Creative mode strips away the survival aspects of *Minecraft* and allows players to easily create and destroy structures and mechanisms with the inclusion of an infinite use of blocks and flying. It also changes some of the background music.

## Gameplay

In Creative mode, players have no visible health or hunger bar to hamper their building since they are invincible (though it is still possible to eat). Creative mode allows players to destroy all blocks instantly (including normally indestructible blocks such as bedrock, end portal frames, etc.), provided they are not holding a sword, trident or debug stick‌[*JE only*]. However, these blocks are not dropped and must be obtained from the Creative inventory, or by using pick block on the block.

When continuously holding destroy to break blocks in Creative mode, there is a 6 game tick (0.3 second) cooldown between each block broken. This is distinct from instant mining in Survival mode, where one block can be broken every game tick (0.05 second). This cooldown can be bypassed by rapidly clicking the destroy button, allowing blocks to be broken as quickly as the player clicks.

Creative mode gives players the ability to fly. To activate flying, double tap the jump key. Use the jump key to go up and the sneak key to go down and the movement keys (the default is `WASD`) to move. The player can disable flying in mid-air by double-tapping jump again, causing them to drop to the ground. Touching the ground when flying disables flying in *Java Edition*, but not in *Bedrock Edition*. Getting into a minecart, or bed does not disable flying. However, getting into a boat or riding a mob such a a pig, llama, horse, donkey, mule, skeleton horse, strider, trader llama or camel will disable flying.

Players in Creative mode are unable to receive damage from the vast majority of sources. In *Java Edition*, going too far into the void still kills the player; however, in *Bedrock Edition*, the player is also immune to this (they are stopped by an invisible barrier that exists in all three dimensions). The player can fly around in the void provided they do not descend more than 64 blocks below the bottom of the dimension. The void, the `/kill` and `/damage` commands and external editors are the only way to die in Creative mode.‌[*Java Edition only*] Creative players in *Bedrock Edition* are completely invulnerable, just like in Spectator mode.[*verify*]

Mobs still spawn as they do in other game modes, unless the difficulty is Peaceful or when the game rule `doMobSpawning` is set to `false`, but all are passive toward the players (even if they stare at the player in strange ways). If the player enters the End while in Creative mode, the ender dragon still attempts to attack the player, but cannot cause any harm.‌[*Java Edition only*] Zombies summoned by others calling for backup attempt to attack the player, but they still cause no harm, and they stop attacking after several seconds. The player can still ignite creepers with a flint and steel or fire charge.

Once a world is created, if cheats are enabled, the game mode can be manually changed to Creative (or other game modes) with either the `/gamemode` command, specifically by typing `/gamemode creative`, or the gamemode switcher (`F3` + `F4`). In multiplayer, players can be individually changed between game modes with the `/gamemode` command available to operators. This means that individual players can play Creative mode (at the operator's discretion) on a Survival map, or vice-versa. The default game mode for new players can also be changed with the `/defaultgamemode` command.

If it is possible for the game to determine that a block was broken by the player, it does not drop (exceptions being shulker boxes and beehives if they have non-default NBT data). If the game cannot unambiguously determine how a block broke, the block drops. Mobs killed by the player in Creative still drop items, but most other entities do not. Containers also drop their contents when broken. A notable exception to the no drops rule is the minecart, which, if renamed, drops itself as an item.

In *Bedrock Edition*, creating a new flat world is always opened in Creative mode. Opening a new Creative world or opening an existing world in Creative permanently disables achievements, trophies, and leaderboard updates for that particular game, but has no other effects on gameplay. In other words, achievements, trophies, and leaderboard updates work only in games that have always been in Survival.

Players in Creative have a longer reach for placing, destroying, and attacking than in Survival.

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## Creative inventory

**This section 's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information.**

Please update this section to reflect recent updates or newly available information.

**Reason:** Java and Bedrock in 1.16 inventory changes.

**This section is a work in progress.**

Please help in the expansion or creation of this article by expanding or improving it. The talk page may contain suggestions.

In Creative, the normal inventory screen is replaced by the item selection screen, which contains almost all blocks and items (with some exceptions) in a tabbed interface. Some items and blocks are available only in Creative mode, such as spawn eggs. Likewise, some blocks can be used only in Creative, such as command blocks and structure blocks.

Main article: Creative inventory

### *Java Edition*

In *Java Edition*, there are 13 tabs that are ordered from top-left to bottom right as:

* Building Blocks
* Colored Blocks
* Natural Blocks
* Functional Blocks
* Redstone Blocks
* Saved hotbars
* Search items
* Tools & Utilities
* Combat
* Food & Drinks
* Crafting
* Ingredients
* Spawn Eggs
* Survival inventory

### Bedrock Edition

In Bedrock Edition, there are five tabs, which are:

* Construction
* Equipment
* Items
* Nature
* All

There is also a view tab, which can be toggled to:

* Creative inventory only
* Creative and Survival inventory
* Survival inventory only

### General info

Some items behave differently in Creative mode. Items do not disappear or lose durability when used. For example, putting an item in an item frame or on an armor stand does not cause it to disappear from the player's hand. Instead, the item is duplicated. It is the same for putting on armor by right-clicking it from the player's hotbar. Also, empty buckets simply make liquids disappear.

In *Java Edition*, there is a "destroy item" button, where items can be dragged to and deleted. `⇧ Shift` + clicking on the button clears the entire inventory, including the hotbar, off-hand slot, and armor slots.

Item entities can be picked up by the player, but if the hotbar is already full, the items go into the Survival inventory.

### Java-only Creative inventory exclusives

**This section is missing information about - List may be incomplete, and it may be a good idea to restructure this list into a table like in the unavailable section if parity issues are found.**

Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.

Several blocks can be found in the Creative inventory that are not normally available as items through vanilla Survival gameplay (excluding bedrock, chorus plant, end portal frames, farmland, spawn egg, dirt path, and the infested blocks as of the 1.17 snapshots):

* Bedrock
* Budding Amethyst
* Chorus Plant
* Dirt Path
* End Portal Frame
* Farmland
* Frogspawn
* Spawn Egg
* Infested Cobblestone
* Infested Chiseled Stone Bricks
* Infested Cracked Stone Bricks
* Infested Mossy Stone Bricks
* Infested Stone
* Infested Stone Bricks
* Infested Deepslate
* Player Head
* Potion of Luck
* Splash Potion of Luck
* Lingering Potion of Luck
* Arrow of Luck
* Reinforced Deepslate
* Tall Seagrass

1. ↑ Several methods for obtaining this as an item existed - see Tutorials/Obtaining discontinued blocks and items for more information.
2. ↑ Can be obtained using explosions in Beta 1.9 Pre release 3 - see Tutorials/Obtaining discontinued blocks and items for more information.
3. ↑ Can be obtained using Silk Touch in Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4 - see Tutorials/Obtaining discontinued blocks and items for more information.

### Pick block

The player can obtain items using pick block. Unlike Survival, the block selected appears in the player's hotbar even if the block is not already in the hotbar or in the Survival inventory. If it is in the inventory, then the block moves out of its former slot and replaces the block/item in the active hotbar slot, with the size of the stack preserved. If the hotbar is full then the selected block replaces the block/item in the active slot.

Most blocks give the player a copy of themselves when using pick block. Using it on an item frame gives the player the item held inside, or the item frame itself if no item is held. Using it on a mob gives the player a spawn egg of that mob. Using it on a mob head gives the mob type that it is; using it on custom heads gives only the mob type that was used in the command, but without the custom skin.

If the player holds `Ctrl` and presses pick block, in addition to obtaining the item, it also preserves the block's NBT tags, allowing the player to place an identical copy of the block; this allows the player to duplicate items inside of chests, dispensers, and so on, and also duplicates the text on signs.

### Unavailable blocks and items

There are several blocks and a couple of items that do not appear in the Creative inventory. They can be obtained with the `/give` command and can be manually placed using `/setblock` command, using the IDs provided in the table below. Additionally, using pick block on these blocks also gives them, except where noted. Technical blocks, such as portals and off-state redstone torches, do not have corresponding inventory items at all in *Java Edition* and cannot be obtained without external help in *Bedrock Edition*, and thus cannot be legitimately obtained.

1. ↑ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h Only if cheats are enabled and the "Operator Items Tab" option is turned on.
2. ↑ Only through the "bundle" experimental data pack.

#### Platform specific exclusive features

Some blocks and items are obtainable in Creative on one platform, but not the other. The full list blocks and items only obtainable in the Java Edition Creative Inventory can be found here. Bedrock Edition exclusive Creative Inventory blocks and items can be found here.

## Representation in `level.dat`

Main article: level.dat

Creative mode is represented as `1` in `GameType` in the `level.dat` file; to manually change the `GameType`, the file must first be opened with an external NBT editor.

Note: Singleplayer worlds do not use this field to save the game mode the player is currently in.

## History

This section is about general and miscellaneous changes to Creative such as abilities. For changes about Creative inventory controls/functions, see Inventory § History. For changes about the layout/availability of blocks/items inside the Creative inventory, see Inventory/Creative inventory changes.