Minecraft Color Codes & Formatting (§ Codes)
Complete reference for Minecraft section sign (§0–§u) color codes and text formatting styles, including all 11 Bedrock-exclusive material colors, live chat preview, and multi-format exporters.
Standard Minecraft Colors (§0 – §f):
Bedrock Edition Material Colors (§g – §u):
Text Formatting & Styles:
Formatting Precedence & Section Sign Derivations
§) is encoded as two bytes in UTF-8: 0xC2 0xA7. On Windows keyboards with numeric keypads, hold Alt and type 0167. On macOS, press Option + 6.
§0–§f) is parsed by the Minecraft text renderer, it automatically clears all active style flags (bold, italic, underline). Therefore, always apply color BEFORE styling:
$$\text{Correct: } \text{§c§lBold Red} \quad \Longleftrightarrow \quad \text{Incorrect: } \text{§l§cBold is Cancelled}$$
5 Critical Minecraft Color Code Traps
1. Precedence Inversion: Color Cancels Formatting
Applying a style code before a color code (e.g. §l§cText) cancels the bold style because the color code resets internal font flags. The golden rule is always COLOR FIRST, STYLE SECOND (e.g. §c§lText).
2. Section Sign (§) Stripping in Chat & Anvils
Typing raw § into ordinary survival chat or anvil item renaming is stripped by the game client as an anti-spoofing security measure. Colored item names must be applied via commands (/give with lore NBT), command blocks, or server plugins.
3. Bedrock-Exclusive Colors Rendering As Garbage on Java
Bedrock Edition includes 11 material colors (§g through §u like Netherite and Amethyst). These codes are not supported in vanilla Java Edition and will display as missing glyphs or unformatted white text on Java and Geyser cross-play servers.
4. Forgetting the §r Reset Code on Multi-Tier Menus
When formatting custom item lore, NPC dialogs, or scoreboard titles, omitting §r before normal text bleeds preceding colors and styles into subsequent words, creating messy visual output across client interfaces.
5. Obfuscated Text (§k) Performance Spikes
The §k obfuscated code forces the client renderer to generate new pseudorandom font characters on every single animation frame. Excessive use on multi-line floating text entities causes measurable FPS drops on mobile devices and low-end PCs.