Indev level file format

This is a resurrection of the original page at http://www.minecraft.net/docs/levelformat.jsp.

Level File Format
Minecraft levels uses a custom tagged binary format I've chosen to call Named Binary Tag (or NBT for short). To be able to load and save Minecraft levels in a future proof way, please implement support for NBT. You can read the specification here (includes an example of how to parse the format).

Minecraft level files have the file extension mclevel, and Internet media type ("MIME type") application/x-minecraft-level

Here's the layout of a minecraft level NBT file: (Download sample file) (dead)

TAG_Compound "MinecraftLevel" {  TAG_Compound "Environment" {     TAG_Short "SurroundingGroundHeight"// Height of surrounding ground (in blocks) TAG_Byte "SurroundingGroundType"  // Block ID of surrounding ground TAG_Short "SurroundingWaterHeight" // Height of surrounding water (in blocks) TAG_Byte "SurroundingWaterType"   // Block ID of surrounding water TAG_Short "CloudHeight"           // Height of the cloud layer (in blocks) TAG_Int "CloudColor"              // Hexadecimal value for the color of the clouds TAG_Int "SkyColor"                // Hexadecimal value for the color of the sky TAG_Int "FogColor"                // Hexadecimal value for the color of the fog TAG_Byte "SkyBrightness"          // The brightness of the sky, from 0 to 100 }  TAG_List "Entities" {     TAG_Compound {        // One of these per entity on the map. // These can change a lot, and are undocumented. // Feel free to play around with them, though. // The most interesting one might be the one with ID "LocalPlayer", which contains the player inventory }  }   TAG_Compound "Map" {     // To access a specific block from either byte array, use the following algorithm: // Index = x + (y * Depth + z) * Width

TAG_Short "Width"                 // Width of the level (along X)       TAG_Short "Height"                 // Height of the level (along Y)       TAG_Short "Length"                 // Length of the level (along Z)       TAG_Byte_Array "Blocks"             // An array of Length*Height*Width bytes specifying the block types TAG_Byte_Array "Data"             // An array of Length*Height*Width bytes with data for each blocks TAG_List "Spawn"                  // Default spawn position {        TAG_Short x  // These values are multiplied by 32 before being saved TAG_Short y // That means that the actual values are x/32.0, y/32.0, z/32.0 TAG_Short z     } }  TAG_Compound "About" {     TAG_String "Name"                  // Level name TAG_String "Author"               // Name of the player who made the level TAG_Long "CreatedOn"              // Timestamp when the level was first created } }

And here are the currently implemented block ids: 0: Air 1: Rock 2: Grass 3: Dirt 4: Cobblestone 5: Wood 6: Sapling 7: Adminium 8: Water 9: Stationary water 10: Lava 11: Stationary lava 12: Sand 13: Gravel 14: Gold ore 15: Iron ore 16: Coal ore 17: Tree trunk 18: Leaves 19: Sponge 20: Glass 21 through 36: Cloth tiles of various colors 37: Flower 38: Rose 39: Red mushroom 40: Brown mushroom 41: Gold 42: Iron (honestly!) 43: Double stone slab 44: Single stone slab 45: Red brick tile 46: TNT 47: Bookshelf 48: Moss covered cobblestone 49: Obsidian 50: Torch 51: Fire 52: Infinite water source