Minecraft UUID: Everything You Need to Know
UUIDs play a crucial role in Minecraft's player identification system. Since Minecraft migrated from using usernames to UUIDs in 2014, these unique identifiers have become essential for server administrators, plugin developers, and map makers.
How Minecraft Uses UUIDs
Minecraft employs UUIDs in several important ways:
- Player Identification: Each player account is assigned a permanent UUID that doesn't change even if the player changes their username
- Entity Tracking: Entities in the game world can be referenced by UUID in commands
- Data Storage: Player data files are named after the player's UUID
- Command Syntax: Many commands accept UUIDs as parameters, such as
/data
,/execute
, and/teleport
- Scoreboard Operations: UUIDs can be used in advanced scoreboard targeting
Minecraft UUID Formats
Minecraft uses two primary UUID formats:
- Standard Format: 36 characters with hyphens (e.g., 069a79f4-44e9-4726-a5be-fca90e38aaf5)
- Dashless Format: 32 characters without hyphens (e.g., 069a79f444e94726a5befca90e38aaf5)
Different contexts in Minecraft may require different formats. For example, player data files use the dashless format, while some commands require the standard format.
Practical Applications of Minecraft UUIDs
Understanding and working with Minecraft UUIDs is essential for:
- Server Administration: Managing player permissions, bans, and whitelists
- Plugin Development: Creating plugins that track player data across name changes
- Command Blocks: Building advanced command block systems that target specific entities
- Map Making: Creating custom adventure maps with scripted events
- Data Packs: Developing data packs that modify game behavior
Minecraft UUID Lookup API
Mojang provides a public API that allows developers to look up player UUIDs by username. This API has some limitations:
- Rate limited to 600 requests per 10 minutes
- Only returns information for Minecraft: Java Edition accounts
- Returns the most current username for a UUID, not historical names
- Does not provide information for accounts that have never logged in
Our lookup tool uses this API to simplify the process of finding player UUIDs.
Common Minecraft UUID Tasks
These are common tasks that server administrators and developers need to perform with Minecraft UUIDs:
- Looking up a player's UUID from their username (useful for permissions, bans, etc.)
- Converting between UUID formats (dashless for file operations, standard for some commands)
- Generating random UUIDs for custom entities, testing, or development
- Validating UUIDs to ensure they are correctly formatted
Our suite of Minecraft UUID makes these tasks simple, with no need to write code or use complex commands.