How to use gradient text in Minecraft
- Type your text and pick two to five colors, or start from a preset. Use Reverse to flip the direction.
- Choose a blend mode. OkLab is a good default for two very different colors.
- Choose the output format your server or plugin supports (see the table below).
- Check the preview, copy the code and paste it into chat, a nickname command, a plugin config or a command block.
Your colors and blend mode are saved in the page address, so you can bookmark a gradient or send the link to a friend. Saved presets stay in your browser on this device.
Which format works where
Minecraft itself only reads hex colors inside text components (the JSON or SNBT text used by commands). Everything else on this list is a shorthand that a plugin converts for you, so the right choice depends on your server software.
| Format | Example | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| &#RRGGBB | &#ff5f6dH&#ffc371i | EssentialsX nicknames and chat, many chat and MOTD plugins |
| &x format | &x&f&f&5&f&6&dH | Plugins that use the Spigot/Bungee hex format |
| §x format | §x§f§f§5§f§6§dH | The same format with the section sign, for configs that skip the & conversion |
| <#RRGGBB> | <#ff5f6d>H<#ffc371>i | Plugins that list this tag style, such as DecentHolograms. It is also valid MiniMessage. |
| {#RRGGBB} | {#ff5f6d}H{#ffc371}i | Plugins that list the curly bracket style, such as DecentHolograms |
| MiniMessage | <gradient:#ff5f6d:#ffc371>Hi</gradient> | Paper and plugins built on the Adventure library. The shortest option. |
| /tellraw | /tellraw @a [{"text":"H","color":"#ff5f6d"}] | Vanilla servers, single player, command blocks and data packs |
| Custom | [COLOR=#ff5f6d]H[/COLOR] | Anything else: write your own template with placeholders |
Hex colors need Java Edition 1.16 or newer. Bedrock Edition only supports the classic color codes, so gradients will not display there. See all of them on the Minecraft color codes page.
Blend modes: Linear RGB, OkLab and HSL
A gradient only stores the colors you pick. Every letter in between gets a color that is calculated from the two nearest stops, and the blend mode decides how.
- Linear RGB mixes the red, green and blue numbers directly. It matches what MiniMessage's
<gradient>tag does, but opposite colors such as red and cyan pass through a dull gray in the middle. - OkLab blends in a perceptual color space, so brightness changes evenly and the middle of the gradient stays clean. It usually looks best for two very different colors.
- HSL moves around the color wheel by the shortest way. Red to blue passes through magenta, and yellow to blue passes through green, which gives a rainbow-like look.
With MiniMessage selected, OkLab and HSL are written as one <#RRGGBB> tag per letter, because the gradient tag can only blend in RGB.
Custom templates
If your plugin uses a format that is not listed, choose Custom template. The template is repeated for every letter (spaces stay plain to save characters). For example, &#$r$g$b$f$c rebuilds the standard &#RRGGBB format, <color:#$r$g$b>$c gives MiniMessage color tags, and &x&$1&$2&$3&$4&$5&$6$f$c rebuilds the &x format. Change the $f prefix to § if your config needs section signs for bold and italic.
Decoding gradient text
Found a gradient you like in a config file or on another site? Open Decode existing gradient text under the tool and paste it in. The decoder strips the codes to get the plain text, reads the color of every letter and then looks for the smallest number of evenly spaced stops, in any of the three blend modes, that recreates those colors. Bold, italic, underline and strikethrough are picked up too. If the text was not made as one smooth gradient, you get the closest approximation with up to five colors.
Tips for good-looking gradients
- Two colors that are close on the color wheel (orange to pink, cyan to blue) look smooth in any mode. For opposites, switch to OkLab.
- Short text such as a rank or nickname looks best with 2 colors; longer messages and MOTDs can use 3 or more.
- Bold text makes gradients easier to read, especially with light colors on a bright background.
- Watch the character count: each colored letter adds 8 to 14 characters of code, and a chat message can hold 256.
- Commands typed in chat have the same 256 character limit, so long /tellraw commands belong in a command block or a data pack function.
- Check the scoreboard and server list previews. Dark colors that look fine in chat can disappear on a dark sidebar.