Latest Documentation

This documentation was written and tested with Minecraft 1.20.4. It should work for all versions 1.16.5+ unless otherwise stated.

Tips Mod

The Tips mod adds small tips to the bottom left of various loading screens. The mod can be highly configured and is intended to be a tool to customize your game instance.

Configuration Files

This mod can be configured by editing the tips.json file. This file is automatically generated in your config folder the first time you run the game with the mod installed. You will need to restart the game in order for changes to be applied. You can learn how to find your config folder here.

Config Options

• defaultCycleTime - The amount of time in milliseconds before swapping to a different tip. One second equals 1000 milliseconds. The default time is 5 seconds.
• ignoredNamespaces - A list of tip namespaces that will be disabled. All tips bundled with the mod use the tipsmod namespace, adding that here will disable all bundled tips. You can learn more about namespaces here.
• ignoredTips - A list of tips that should be disabled. You must use the full ID of the tip including the namespace. For example tipsmod:smoke_bees.
• ignoredScreens - A list of screens that the mod should not display tips on. Screen names depend on the mod loader and version you are using, a full list of supported values is printed to the log when you run the game. Only in 1.20.4+

Adding Tips

Tip entries are defined using files in a resource pack. Mod packs can use a mod like Open Loader to automatically load and enable the resource pack. If you are making a mod instead you can just include the files with your mod resources. Tip files are loaded from the assets/your_pack/tips folder. An example resource pack can be found here. You can also find every builtin tip here

Tip Files

Each tip entry is written as its own JSON file. A JSON file is a plain text file that organizes data into a reliable structure. You can edit these files using notepad or any other text editor that you're comfortable with.

Tip files have two properties.

• title - The title of the tip. Defining a title is optional. If no title is specified the default yellow title will be used.
• tip - The body of the tip. This is a mandatory property.

Both of these properties use Minecraft's Raw JSON Text Format which is the same format used by commands in game. Please note that some advanced features like click events, hover events, and entity selectors will not work. This is because tips are displayed in a different game context. You should stick to formatting options like color, bold, italic, font, etc.

Basic Tip Example

{
  "tip": {
    "text": "This is an example tip."
  }
}

Styled Tip Example

{
  "tip": {
    "text": "This tip is green and bold.",
    "bold": true,
    "color": "green"
  }
}

Translated Tip

Using translatable tips is highly recommended as it allows players from multiple regions to enjoy your tips. This is especially true if you are making a mod or a modpack that might be used by a lot of people. The text will be loaded from the correct language file in assets/your_id/lang. NOTE: If a localized tip does not have a valid language entry it will not be displayed!

{
  "tip": {
    "translate": "your_id.tip.the_tip_id"
  }
}

Styled Tip and Title

{
  "title": {
    "text": "Custom Title",
    "bold": true,
    "color": "green"
  },
  "tip": {
    "text": "This tip is an example tip.",
    "bold": true,
    "color": "red"
  }
}

Debugging Tips

If your tip is not loading you can go through the following steps to help debug.

1. Make sure your JSON file is using a valid format. Websites like JSONLint have a simple tool to validate simple errors in how your file is structured.
2. Use the config to disable all other tips.
3. If your tip uses the translate feature make sure you provide a localization in your lang file.
4. Look in your latest.log file for load errors, they will mention tips.
5. Make sure your tip is actually being loaded. The resource pack should be in your resource pack list and enabled!

Additional Info

Namespaced IDs

Minecraft uses a namespaced ID system to organize game data. If you've seen an ID like minecraft:dirt you've already seen a namespaced ID! A namespaced ID has two parts that are separated using a colon (:). The first half is the namespace, this tells you where the data came from. The second half is the path which tells you what the entry is for. Here are a few examples to help break it down.

• minecraft:dirt - An entry called dirt that is added by minecraft.
• tipsmod:smoke_bees - An entry called smoke_bees that is added by tipsmod.
• create:zinc_ingot - An entry called zinc_ingot that is added by create.

Finding Your Config Folder

The config folder is located in the profile folder for your game. The profile folder is also where the mods and resourcepacks folder is located. The config folder is automatically created when you load the game with mods installed, you do NOT create the folder yourself. If you don't see the folder you're looking in the wrong place. You should not be opening any JAR files, the config is not in there!

If you still can't find it, the following is a round about approach that will take you to the right folder.

1. Launch Minecraft with all of your mods installed. Wait until you're at the title screen.
2. Click the Options button, select Resource Packs... and then click Open Pack Folder.
3. This should open a file explorer in your resourcepacks folder. It's fine if it's empty.
4. Go to the parent folder. This is often done by clicking an up arrow button near the folder name.
5. The parent folder is the the profile folder for your game. You should see a config folder along with logs, mods, and saves.
6. Click on the config folder. That's what you're looking for.

If you do not see the config folder at step 5 you have made a mistake. Verify the following and try again.

1. Make sure you're launching the right game profile. If you launched vanilla there will not be any mods loaded.
2. Make sure the mods are actually installed.