A texture atlas, also known as a spritesheet, is an arrangement of game sprites on a single image file, used by the game to store and access associated sprites more efficiently than with individual files. Minecraft uses both procedurally-generated and predefined texture atlases for different purposes.
Procedurally-generated texture atlases[]
Block and item textures are combined into the same atlas, minecraft_textures_atlas_blocks.png_0.png. This texture atlas is generated via F3 + S and is saved into a folder titled “debug” in .minecraft's screenshots folder.
All other textures are also available in their own respective texture atlases in said .minecraft/screenshots/debug folder. For example, the particle atlas is minecraft_textures_atlas_particles.png_0.png, while the chest atlas is minecraft_textures_atlas_chest.png_0.png, minecraft_textures_atlas_decorated_pot.png_0.png.
Trivia[]
There is a file in .minecraft/screenshots/debug called minecraft_missingno.png, titled as a reference to the infamous missingno pokemon in the original Pokemon Red & Blue game.
Each texture – i.e. minecraft_textures_atlas_blocks.png_0.png – has an accompanying _1, _2, _3, and _4 texture (such as minecraft_textures_atlas_blocks.png_4.png), each texture starting at _1 being at progressively lower downscaled resolutions (_0, the original, is 1024x512 pixels, whilst _4 is only 64x32 pixels). It is currently unknown for what purpose this definitely serves, but it is hypothesized that it is for mipmap distance rendering as to lower the load on the CPU, GPU, and/or RAM, improving performance especially on lower-spec machines.
Predefined texture atlases[]
Current[]
bars.png[]
bars.png is used for storing boss bar textures and their overlays. As of Java Edition 1.16.4, this file is still in use.
The file was compressed in 15w49a, 1.11-pre1 and 19w41a.
| Java Edition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.9 | 15w31a |  | |||
icons.png[]
icons.png is used for storing the textures of certain UI elements.
As of Java Edition 1.17, this file is still used in the game.
inventory.png[]
This file is only loosely defined as a texture atlas due to the small amount of auxiliary sprites surrounding the main inventory box. Nonetheless, it has a notable history of housing several status effect textures.
kz.png[]
kz.png is used for storing the textures of paintings.
map_icons.png[]
This file is used for static icons on maps. Interestingly, it has many unused icons which have existed for many years.
| Java Edition Beta | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.6 | Test Build 3 |  Added mapicons.png. | |||
| 1.8 | Pre-release |  Updated mapicons.png. | |||
| Java Edition | |||||
| 1.6.1 | 13w24a | Renamed mapicons.png to map_icons.png. | |||
| 1.11 | 16w39a |  Updated map_icons.png. | |||
| 1.13 | 18w10a |  Updated map_icons.png. | |||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
| v0.14.0 | build 1 | Added map_icons.png. | |||
| Pocket Edition | |||||
| 1.1.0 | alpha 1.1.0.0 | Updated map_icons.png. | |||
| alpha 1.1.0.5 |  Updated map_icons.png. | ||||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||
| 1.4.0 | beta 1.2.14.2 |  Updated map_icons.png. | |||
| 1.5.0 | beta 1.5.0.7 |  Updated map_icons.png. | |||
| beta 1.5.0.10 |  Updated map_icons.png. | ||||
| Upcoming Bedrock Edition | |||||
| 1.20.40 | beta 1.20.40.20 |  Updated map_icons.png. | |||
particles.png[]
particles.png is used for storing the textures of most particles. Two other atlases, explosion.png and sweep.png, were used for respectively storing explosion and sweeping attack particles.[Java Edition only]
widgets.png[]
widgets.png (previously known as gui.png) is used for defining several types of menu buttons and icons. The file is still in use as of Java Edition 1.16.4.
Removed[]
items.png[]
items.png was used for storing the textures of items. It has been replaced with minecraft_textures_atlas_blocks.png_0.png in newer versions such as 1.19 (accessible via F3 + S and saved in the screenshots folder).
terrain.png[]
terrain.png was used for storing the textures of blocks. It has also been replaced with minecraft_textures_atlas_blocks.png_0.png in newer versions such as 1.19 (accessible via F3 + S).
History[]
Specific changes to texture files are documented in each texture file's dedicated section or page.
Additions[]
| Java Edition pre-Classic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rd-131655 | Added terrain.png. | ||||
| Java Edition Classic | |||||
| 0.0.20a_01 | Added gui.png. | ||||
| 0.26 SURVIVAL TEST | Added particles.png. | ||||
| Java Edition Indev | |||||
| 0.31 | 20091231-2 | Added items.png. | |||
| Minecraft Indev | 20100223 | Added kz.png. | |||
| Java Edition Beta | |||||
| 1.6 | Test Build 3 | Added mapicons.png. | |||
| 1.8 | Pre-release | Added explosion.png. | |||
| Java Edition | |||||
| 1.0.0 | Beta 1.9 Prerelease 2 | inventory.png now contains an atlas of effect icons. | |||
| 1.9 | 15w31a | Added bars.png. | |||
| 15w34c | Added sweep.png. | ||||
| 1.20 | 23w18a | minecraft_textures_atlas_blocks.png_0.png has been added (in this version or a previous version), accessible via F3 + S, which allows players to save all textures currently loaded in their game in a convenient texture atlas. | |||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
| v0.1.0 | Added terrain.png, items.png, particles.png and gui_blocks.png. | ||||
| v0.8.0 | build 2 | Added terrain_atlas.tga and items_opaque.tga. | |||
Removals[]
| Java Edition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 | 13w02a | terrain.png and items.png have been split up into their constituent textures. A procedurally generated and manually saved texture atlas is still available, however: minecraft_textures_atlas_blocks.png_0.png, accessible via F3 + S in 1.19 and above. | |||
| 1.14 | 19w06a | particles.png, explosion.png and sweep.png have been split up into their constituent textures. | |||
| 19w07a | paintings_kristoffer_zetterstrand.png has been split up into its constituent textures. | ||||
| 19w08a | inventory.png has been partially split up to remove the status effect textures, which are now split into individual textures, leaving only the actual inventory textures. | ||||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
| v0.8.0 | build 2 | terrain.png, items.png and gui_blocks.png have been replaced with other atlases. | |||
| v0.15.0 | build 1 | terrain_atlas.tga and items_opaque.tga are no longer used. | |||
See also[]
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