Recipes (Crafting, Smelting, Brewing)

All recipe files belong in `BP/recipes/`. Subfolders are allowed and strongly recommended once your pack grows past a dozen items. The filename itself does not matter to the game engine, as long as the `identifier` inside the `description` block is unique across all loaded packs.

Every recipe file starts with a `format_version` and a root object named after the exact recipe type. Bedrock separates recipes into distinct schema types depending on the crafting logic required, while the `tags` array inside the recipe dictates which physical block (such as a crafting table, furnace, or stonecutter) actually hosts the recipe.

A `minecraft:recipe_shaped` file maps single-character symbols to item identifiers and arranges them in a `pattern` array. The `pattern` can be up to 3 strings long, with each string up to 3 characters wide. Spaces in the pattern represent empty slots in the crafting grid. All strings in a single pattern must have the exact same character length.

Beginning in format version 1.20.10, recipes require an `unlock` array so the recipe book knows when to reveal the recipe to the player. You can unlock a recipe when the player picks up a specific item, or by passing a context string like `PlayerInWater`.

{
  "format_version": "1.20.10",
  "minecraft:recipe_shaped": {
    "description": {
      "identifier": "my_pack:emerald_sword"
    },
    "tags": [
      "crafting_table"
    ],
    "pattern": [
      "E",
      "E",
      "S"
    ],
    "key": {
      "E": {
        "item": "minecraft:emerald"
      },
      "S": {
        "item": "minecraft:stick"
      }
    },
    "unlock": [
      {
        "item": "minecraft:emerald"
      }
    ],
    "result": {
      "item": "my_pack:emerald_sword",
      "count": 1
    }
  }
}

Use `minecraft:recipe_shapeless` when the arrangement of items in the grid does not matter. Instead of a pattern and key, you provide an `ingredients` array. You can list up to nine individual items, or use the `count` property on an ingredient object to require multiple copies of the same item.

Stonecutter recipes also use the `minecraft:recipe_shapeless` schema. By changing the tag from `crafting_table` to `stonecutter` and providing a single ingredient, the recipe will appear in the stonecutter interface instead of the crafting grid.

{
  "format_version": "1.20.10",
  "minecraft:recipe_shapeless": {
    "description": {
      "identifier": "my_pack:flint_from_gravel"
    },
    "tags": [
      "crafting_table"
    ],
    "ingredients": [
      {
        "item": "minecraft:gravel",
        "count": 2
      }
    ],
    "unlock": [
      {
        "item": "minecraft:gravel"
      }
    ],
    "result": {
      "item": "minecraft:flint",
      "count": 1
    }
  }
}

Smelting and cooking use `minecraft:recipe_furnace`. They take a single `input` item and produce a single `output` item. You cannot specify output counts or custom cook times in a standard furnace recipe; the speed and fuel cost are strictly governed by the block hosting the recipe.

To make a single recipe work across standard furnaces, blast furnaces, or smokers, list all the relevant station strings inside the `tags` array.

{
  "format_version": "1.20.10",
  "minecraft:recipe_furnace": {
    "description": {
      "identifier": "my_pack:smelt_rotten_flesh"
    },
    "tags": [
      "furnace",
      "smoker",
      "campfire",
      "soul_campfire"
    ],
    "input": "minecraft:rotten_flesh",
    "output": "minecraft:leather"
  }
}

The `tags` array is the bridge between your recipe file and the block that executes it. If you create a custom crafting bench using the `minecraft:crafting_table` block component, you define a custom tag in that component and then put that exact same string into the `tags` array of your recipes.

When matching ingredients or defining results for vanilla items that still use auxiliary data values (such as potions or dyes in certain contexts), you can append `:data` to the identifier string (like `minecraft:potion:4`) or add a `"data": 0` integer property inside the item object. For modern items and blocks, always prefer their flattened identifier over numerical data values.

Applies to Bedrock Edition 1.20.10 and newer. No experimental toggles are required for standard recipes or custom crafting tags. Note that format_version 1.20.10 and above strictly enforce the 'unlock' requirement for shaped and shapeless crafting recipes.

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