FAQ
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This is a collection of some frequently asked questions about Minetest. For technical problems, refer to Troubleshooting.
General
Where can I ask questions?
In IRC and the Forum. It is recommended to search the archives, most questions were probably answered before.
How to install games, mods, maps, and texture packs?
See Installing Subgames, Installing Mods, Installing Maps, and Installing Texture Packs.
When will the next version of Minetest / Minetest Game be released?
We don't know.
How do I update Minetest?
The easiest way is just to download the newest version and move your worlds and mods to the new version. Depending on your operating system, there may exist other ways to update the game. If you are using the Git version, you can clone the repository and pull and compile every time you want to update.
What are the different games and how do I install them?
On a new installation you should have Minetest Game (this is the default game), if you don't have it, download it from GitHub. “Minimal development test” is just for developers and is not intended to be playable. You can find several other games (subgames) in the forums and in the List of Subgames. To install, them extract the pack and rename the folder to the name of the game (e.g. “minetest_game-master” becomes “minetest_game”), then copy the folder to the “games” folder. For more information about subgames, read Subgames.
How do I get the multiplayer account?
There is no globally valid multiplayer account in Minetest. For each server, you can use a different name and password. The “account” is created at first login. This way, only you can access your player and inventory on that particular server. You can always play singleplayer with no need for any username and password.
How do I get an account for the Minetest Wiki?
By requesting one at https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10473.
Terminology
What is Minetest?
Minetest is a free software game engine for voxel-based games. A detailed description can be found at Minetest.
Minetest usually comes distributed along with one rather simple sandbox-style game (or “subgame” in Minetest terms) by default: Minetest Game.
What is a mod?
See Mods.
What is a subgame?
See Subgames.
What is a texture pack?
See Texture Packs.
What is a mob?
See Mobs.
What is Minetest Game?
Minetest Game is a subgame for Minetest. It is usually distributed by default along with Minetest.
What is minetest_game?
“minetest_game” is the old (internal) name of Minetest Game. This name is sometimes still used in forum posts and chat, but this name is no longer official.
Servers
How do I set up a server?
See Setting up a server and Server.
How do I use command XYZ?
See Server commands.
Gameplay
General
What are the game controls?
See Controls.
How big is the map?
It is not infinite. As of 0.4.10, the map is a cube with a side length of 61840 node lengths. The map has thus a volume equal to the volume of 618403 nodes = 236,487,637,504,000 nodes. The coordinates range from −30912 to 30927 in all dimensions.
See also Coordinates and End of the world.
How do I find my house again?
Minetest automatically generates a file called “debug.txt” in minetest/bin where you can see lots of text. Scroll down to its end and look for something like
singleplayer digs node * […]
Try to teleport to the positions you see in these lines until you find your home:
/teleport x,y,z
See Server commands#Player actions.
In Minetest Game, you can avoid getting lost again if use /sethome at home to save your home position and /home to teleport back to it.
Note: Teleportations require the “teleport” privilege.
How do I set my spawn point?
If you play Minetest Game, you can build a bed and sleep at night. On your next life, you will spawn on the bed.
For other subgames, two solutions are known:
The first one involves adding a special mod for your world as decribed here: https://forum.minetest.net/viewtopic.php?p=70904#p70904
The second solution: Edit your minetest.conf file and set static_spawnpoint to the coordinates on which you wish to spawn (Example: static_spawnpoint = (4,5,6)). However, this setting will apply to all worlds!
How do I increase the brightness?
See Troubleshooting#The_screen_is_too_dark.
How do I fly?
To fly you first need the “fly” privilege. You can give it to yourself using the command:
/grantme fly
This always works in singleplayer mode; in multiplayer games you need to have the “privs” privilege first.
If you have the “fly” privilege, enable fly mode by pressing K, press K again to disable it. You ascent with the jump key (default: space bar) and descent with the sneak key (default: shift).
See also: Controls/Movement modes#Fly mode
Why can’t I find the mods default or wool or fire?
Some mods might depend on those mods. These mods are part of Minetest Game and are not meant to be installed as seperate mods. For a mod depending on e.g. default to work, you will need to use Minetest Game.
Minetest Game
How does the block/plant XYZ work?
Refer to Blocks.
How does the item/tool/weapon XYZ work?
Refer to Items.
How to craft XYZ?
Refer to Blocks or Items and follow the link to the block or item you want to craft; the corresponding pages contain crafting instructions.
You can also install a crafting guide to view crafting recipes.
Note that not everything can be crafted.
Are there any mobs?
No and it is unlikely that they get added in the near future. But there are mods to add mobs.
Why don’t I find any dungeons/jungles?
This is probably because they have been disabled in your configuration. You can enable them by adding “v6_jungles, dungeons” to mg_flags in your minetest.conf file. That will enable them for worlds created after the variable has been changed. Try digging down or looking for large holes in the ground.
How do I open or close doors?
You have to use them with the right mouse button. See also: Using.
For Minecraft players
Is there a crafting bench?
In Minetest Game: No. You don’t need one. You already have a 3 × 3 crafting grid in your inventory menu (→ Crafting#Crafting_grid_and_output_slot).
How does Minetest / Minetest Game differ from Minecraft?
How can I make Minetest be like Minecraft?
The easiest way to do this is to install a Minecraft-like subgames. Examples include:
- MineClone 2 (clone, very WIP)
- Minitest (very simple clone, very old)
- Overcraft Origins (continuation of Minitest)
- Clonecraft (inspired)
- Stampy subgame (inspired)
- VoxBox (loosely inspired)
See also List of Subgames and look in the table for subgames where the “Type” column says “MC-Clone”.
If you just want to enhance Minetest Game with a few mods which add some Minecraft features, see Differences from Minecraft#Mods which add Minecraft-like behaviour.
Modding
See Modding FAQ on the Minetest Development Wiki.
Technical problems
I have a technical problem, how to fix this?
See Troubleshooting.