1.20

Minecraft 1.20, Trails & Tales, focused on customisation and storytelling, adding archaeology, armor trims, the cherry grove, and the sniffer mob. It was released on June 7, 2023 as one of the game's numbered feature updates.

At its heart, 1.20 is self-expression, archaeology, and uncovering the past. The standout addition is archaeology with brushes and sherds, armor trims, camels, and cherry blossoms. Brought back the sniffer, an ancient mob revived after winning the 2022 mob vote.

This page breaks 1.20 down into 12 headline features, 4 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 Trails & Tales update is archaeology with brushes and sherds, armor trims, camels, and cherry blossoms.

In full, 1.20 adds archaeology system with Brush and Suspicious Sand/Gravel, Decorated Pots from pottery sherds, Cherry Grove biome with Cherry Blossom trees, Armor Trims for cosmetic armor customization, sniffer mob (won mob vote) with Torchflower and Pitcher Plant, camels with two-player riding, Bamboo Wood set and Bamboo Raft, and Hanging Signs, with several further additions listed on the right. Together these are what make Trails & Tales worth updating to, and each appears in the Major Features list on this page.

Beyond new content, 1.20 reworks how parts of the game behave. The notable changes include sign text editing without breaking, signs can be waxed with Honeycomb, Smithing Table reworked for Armor Trims, and new advancements added. Adjustments of this kind reshape day-to-day play for existing worlds as much as new ones.

On the bug-fixing side, 1.20 resolves fixed archaeology-related bugs and fixed many sniffer pathfinding issues. Fixes like these remove long-standing frustrations without altering how the game is meant to be played.

To play Minecraft 1.20 on Java Edition, open the official Minecraft Launcher, select the Java Edition tab, and use the version dropdown beside the Play button to choose 1.20. As a full release it appears in the standard release list by default.

Before updating an existing world to 1.20, it is good practice to copy the save folder first. Worlds from 1.19.4 upgrade in place, but newly generated chunks will use 1.20's world generation while older chunks keep their original terrain.