Minecraft color codes
All 16 Minecraft colour codes with their chat codes, MOTD codes and hex values, plus the formatting codes. Click any value to copy it. Works in chat, signs, books, server MOTD and commands.
Quick start: type § followed by a code before your text — e.g. §cHello shows red text. Use & in most plugin configs and \u00A7 in server.properties.
Formatting codes
| Code | Effect | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| §l | Bold | Bold text |
| §o | Italic | Italic text |
| §n | Underline | Underlined text |
| §m | Strikethrough | Crossed-out text |
| §k | Obfuscated | Randomly changing characters |
| §r | Reset | Clears all colour and formatting |
How Minecraft color codes work
Minecraft uses the section sign (§) followed by a single character to colour or format text. A colour code such as §1 (dark blue) switches the colour of everything after it until another code appears. There are 16 colours, mapped to the hex digits 0–9 and a–f.
One catch worth knowing: in Java Edition, if you put a colour code after a formatting code, the formatting resets. So always apply the colour first, then the format — and reapply the format if you change colour mid-line.
Where you can use them
Signs, books, anvils (item and map names), the server MOTD, world titles and commands like /tellraw and /title. Since Java 1.16 you can also use full hex colours in JSON text commands, e.g. {"text":"Hi","color":"#FF6600"} — giving you all 16 million colours, not just these 16. Build a custom hex with the colour picker.
Typing the § symbol
On Windows hold Alt and type 0167 on the numpad. On Mac press Option + 6. Many plugins (like Essentials) accept & as an easier substitute and convert it to § automatically.