Blocks as Items: Inventory Behaviour and Block Placers

When Minecraft loads a block definition from your behaviour pack, it registers both the placed block and an item sharing the exact same identifier. You do not need to create a file in your `BP/items/` folder just to make a custom block holdable or placeable. If your block is named `wiki:cobbled_shale`, running `/give @s wiki:cobbled_shale` gives you the automatically generated block item.

By default, this automatic item renders in the player's hand and inventory slot as a miniature 3D version of the block itself. It pulls its textures and model directly from whatever you configured in the block definition (`minecraft:material_instances` and `minecraft:geometry`) or `RP/blocks.json`. Its maximum stack size is locked to 64, and it cannot be given item-only components like food values or durability bars directly inside the block file.

In modern Bedrock format versions, a custom block will not appear in the Creative inventory Tabs unless you explicitly assign it a `menu_category` inside the `description` object of your block JSON. You can assign it to one of the main tabs, and optionally nest it inside an expandable item group alongside similar vanilla blocks.

If you want a utility or technical block (like a custom structure void or a multi-block helper part) to be obtainable only via commands, set `is_hidden_in_commands` to true or set the `category` to `none`.

{
  "format_version": "1.20.80",
  "minecraft:block": {
    "description": {
      "identifier": "wiki:cobbled_shale",
      "menu_category": {
        "category": "construction",
        "group": "itemGroup.name.stone",
        "is_hidden_in_commands": false
      }
    },
    "components": {
      "minecraft:destructible_by_mining": {
        "seconds_to_destroy": 2.0
      },
      "minecraft:geometry": "minecraft:geometry.full_block",
      "minecraft:material_instances": {
        "*": {
          "texture": "cobbled_shale",
          "render_method": "opaque"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Even when held as an item in your hotbar, a block uses the `tile.` prefix for its localization key rather than the `item.` prefix. To give `wiki:cobbled_shale` a proper display name, you must add `tile.wiki:cobbled_shale.name=Cobbled Shale` to your resource pack's `RP/texts/en_US.lang` file.

When broken in Survival mode, a custom block drops its own automatic block item by default unless you override this behaviour with the `minecraft:loot` component. If your block represents an ore that should drop a raw mineral item, or a crop that drops seeds, point `minecraft:loot` to a loot table path relative to the behaviour pack root.

tile.wiki:cobbled_shale.name=Cobbled Shale
tile.wiki:tomato_crop.name=Tomato Plant
item.wiki:tomato_seeds=Tomato Seeds

Sometimes a miniature 3D model looks wrong in the inventory. Vanilla Minecraft does not show a 3D wheat model or a 3D cake mesh in your hotbar; instead, it uses a separate 2D item (wheat seeds, or the flat cake icon) that places the block when used on a surface. You should take this approach for crops, doors, campfires, or any block that needs custom item components like `minecraft:max_stack_size` or `minecraft:glint`.

To build this setup, hide the actual block from the creative menu by setting its `category` to `none`. Then, create a separate item in `BP/items/` with its own unique identifier and attach the `minecraft:block_placer` component. This component links the 2D item to your custom block and optionally restricts which blocks it can be placed against.

{
  "format_version": "1.20.80",
  "minecraft:item": {
    "description": {
      "identifier": "wiki:tomato_seeds",
      "menu_category": {
        "category": "nature",
        "group": "itemGroup.name.seed"
      }
    },
    "components": {
      "minecraft:icon": "tomato_seeds",
      "minecraft:block_placer": {
        "block": "wiki:tomato_crop",
        "use_on": [
          "minecraft:farmland"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Inside `minecraft:block_placer`, there is an optional boolean field available in newer format versions called `replace_block_item`. If you give your custom item the exact same identifier as your custom block (for example, both the block file and the item file use `wiki:silver_door`) and set `replace_block_item` to `true`, your item definition completely overwrites the block's automatic item.

This is useful because you only have to manage a single identifier across your loot tables, recipes, and commands. However, both the block and the item must share identical namespaces and names, and you must define the `minecraft:icon` component on the item so the game knows what 2D texture to draw in the UI instead of the 3D block mesh.

Applies to Bedrock Edition 1.20.80 and newer. No experimental toggles are required for `menu_category`, `minecraft:block_placer`, or standard block items.

Read out of the game itself, so the ids match the version you are building for.