1.12

Minecraft 1.12, the World of Color Update, added concrete and glazed terracotta in all sixteen dye colours and replaced achievements with the advancements system. It was released on June 7, 2017 as one of the game's numbered feature updates.

At its heart, 1.12 is colour, decoration, and a friendlier crafting experience. The standout addition is concrete and glazed terracotta in 16 colours, plus parrots and advancements. Also introduced the recipe book to help new players discover crafting recipes.

This page breaks 1.12 down into 9 headline features, 3 notable gameplay or technical changes and 2 documented fixes, and a plain-language summary of why the update matters. Java Edition is the original PC version of Minecraft, available on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

The most talked-about part of the World of Color Update update is concrete and glazed terracotta in 16 colours, plus parrots and advancements.

In full, 1.12 adds concrete and Concrete Powder in 16 colors, Glazed Terracotta in 16 patterns, parrots, illusioners (unused Illager mob), advancements system replacing achievements, Knowledge Book item, Recipe Book for crafting, and narrator for accessibility, with several further additions listed on the right. Together these are what make World of Color Update worth updating to, and each appears in the Major Features list on this page.

Beyond new content, 1.12 reworks how parts of the game behave. The notable changes include renamed many items for consistency, crafting helper / recipe book added, and iron nuggets added. Adjustments of this kind reshape day-to-day play for existing worlds as much as new ones.

On the bug-fixing side, 1.12 resolves fixed numerous achievement/advancement bugs and fixed various rendering issues. Several of these are performance-focused, so the update can feel smoother even where nothing visible changed.

To play Minecraft 1.12 on Java Edition, open the official Minecraft Launcher, select the Java Edition tab, and use the version dropdown beside the Play button to choose 1.12. As a full release it appears in the standard release list by default.

Before updating an existing world to 1.12, it is good practice to copy the save folder first. Worlds from 1.11 upgrade in place, but newly generated chunks will use 1.12's world generation while older chunks keep their original terrain.