Generate & and § codes, hex gradients and MiniMessage tags, with a live preview and a copyable table
This tool builds Minecraft: Java Edition color and formatting sequences. The classic codes use the & character (in the editor) or § (on the server) followed by a code, 0 to f for the 16 colors and l, o, n, m, k for bold, italic, underline, strikethrough and obfuscated. One important game detail: setting a color resets the active formatting, so the color code must come before the style code (for example, &6&l, not &l&6). From version 1.16 onward the game also accepts RGB hex colors. The Codes tab generates all three outputs at once, & (editor), § (server) and MiniMessage tags (like <red> and <bold>, used by plugins built on the Adventure library), and the full table of the 16 colors and 6 formats can be copied at once with the button above the palette. The Gradient tab interpolates between two or more colors and generates the per-character code, with output as &#rrggbb, the vanilla §x format or a MiniMessage tag. The preview faithfully reproduces how the text looks in chat, on signs, in books and in the MOTD.
Each code starts with & (easy to type) or § (used internally by the game) followed by a character: 0–9 and a–f pick one of the 16 colors, while l, o, n, m and k apply bold, italic, underline, strikethrough and obfuscated. The r code resets everything. For example, &c paints red (#FF5555), &6 gold (#FFAA00) and &a green (#55FF55).
In Minecraft, a color code clears the active formatting. So for gold, bold text, write &6&l, color first, style second. If you flip it to &l&6, the bold is cancelled the moment the color kicks in. The tool generates the same sequence in both spellings (& and §), so you copy whichever your destination accepts.
Example 1, server status: writing &6&lServer &r&7[&aOnline&7] gives you "Server" in bold gold, a reset, gray brackets and "Online" in green in the middle. The &r between the parts keeps the bold from continuing into the brackets.
Example 2, gradient: with the text "SUNSET" and the colors #FF8800 and #AA00AA, the MiniMessage output is <gradient:#ff8800:#aa00aa>SUNSET</gradient>. In the &#hex format, each letter gets its own code, like &#ff8800S&#e0..U… and so on, so the color varies character by character.
RGB hex colors (the basis for gradients) exist in Java Edition from 1.16 onward. On earlier versions, only the 16 classic colors are available. On servers, plugins using &#rrggbb or MiniMessage tags also need to support hex; the §x format is what the game uses internally, handy in datapacks and commands.
Pick the output format to match the destination: &#hex for Bungeecord/IridiumColor-style plugins, §x (vanilla) for chat and datapacks, and MiniMessage for plugins built on the Adventure library. The preview shows the result before you paste it into any of them.
Paste the code into your HTML and the tool shows up on your page, without J-Kit's navigation and ads. It still runs in the browser of whoever visits your site.
<iframe
src="https://jkit.tools/embed/en-US/minecraft-color-codes"
width="100%"
height="600"
style="border:0"
loading="lazy"
title="Minecraft Color Codes"
></iframe>These references help contextualize formulas, standards, APIs and limitations used on this page. They do not replace professional validation when a result has legal, financial, medical or operational impact.
They are the same code, only the character changes. The & is the easiest to type and is accepted by many plugins and config files; the § (section sign) is the character Minecraft uses internally and that you paste into places like server.properties. The tool generates both at once, so you just copy whichever your destination accepts.
&6&lHard&r&eCraft &7| &aWelcome!§6§lHard§r§eCraft §7| §aWelcome!<gold><bold>Hard</bold></gold><yellow>Craft </yellow><gray>| </gray><green>Welcome!</green>Everything is processed locally in your browser; no text is sent to servers.