Where Minecraft Stores Its Sound Files (and How to Play the OGGs)

Minecraft is full of great sounds: cave noises, creeper hisses, note blocks and calm piano music. All of them are OGG files. Maybe you want to hear them outside the game. Or swap them in a resource pack. Either way, this guide is for you.

You’ll learn where Minecraft stores its sounds and why the files look strange at first. Then you’ll pull them out, play them and add your own OGG sounds to a resource pack.

The quick answer

• Java Edition keeps its sounds in the assets folder inside .minecraft. The files have coded names and no extension.
• Look up a sound in the assets/indexes file. Then copy the matching file from assets/objects and add .ogg to its name.
• Play any Minecraft sound in our free online OGG player or in VLC.
• Custom sounds for resource packs must be OGG Vorbis files.

Why does Minecraft use OGG?

Minecraft uses Ogg Vorbis for nearly all of its sounds and music. There are good reasons:

• It’s free. Vorbis has no licence fees, which matters for a game sold to millions.
• It’s small. Vorbis files are compact, so downloads and updates stay small.
• It sounds good. Vorbis beats MP3 in quality at the same file size.
• It works everywhere. The Java game engine can decode it on Windows, Mac and Linux.

Where are Minecraft sound files stored?

Minecraft Java Edition

First, find your .minecraft folder:

Inside, open the assets folder. You’ll see:

• indexes: small JSON files that list every sound and its code.
• objects: hundreds of folders with two-character names, like 0a or f3.

The sounds are in objects. But when you open those folders, you’ll see files with long random names and no extension. That’s normal.

Why the files have strange names

Minecraft names each file by its hash, a unique code based on the file’s contents. This lets the launcher check files quickly and share them between game versions. The real names live in the index file.

So a sound like minecraft/sounds/mob/creeper/say1.ogg is stored as something like objects/3e/3e5c…, with no .ogg at the end.

Minecraft Bedrock Edition

Bedrock stores its built-in sounds inside the game’s install files, which are harder to reach and differ by platform. For Bedrock, the easier route is to work with resource packs, which use normal folders and file names. More on that below.

How to find and play a specific Minecraft sound

Step 1: Open the index

1. Go to .minecraft > assets > indexes.
2. Open the newest JSON file with a text editor. Notepad, TextEdit or VS Code all work.

Step 2: Search for the sound

Press Ctrl + F (or Cmd + F) and search for the sound name. For example, search for creeper. You’ll see lines like this:

"minecraft/sounds/mob/creeper/say1.ogg": {"hash": "3e5c...", "size": 12345}

The hash is the file’s code name.

Step 3: Find the file

1. Copy the first two characters of the hash, like 3e.
2. Go to .minecraft > assets > objects > 3e.
3. Find the file whose name matches the full hash.

Step 4: Copy and rename it

1. Copy the file to your desktop. Don’t move it, or the game may re-download it.
2. Rename it and add .ogg at the end, like creeper-say1.ogg.

Step 5: Play it

Drop the file into the online OGG player, or open it with VLC. It plays right away. You can also convert it to MP3 or WAV from the online player.

Extract all Minecraft sounds at once

Doing this by hand for hundreds of sounds is slow. Do you have Python installed? This short script copies every sound into a folder called minecraft_sounds, with the real names:

import json, os, shutil, glob

mc = os.path.expanduser("~/.minecraft")  # Windows: os.path.expandvars(r"%APPDATA%\.minecraft")
index = max(glob.glob(os.path.join(mc, "assets", "indexes", "*.json")), key=os.path.getmtime)
objects = json.load(open(index))["objects"]

for name, info in objects.items():
    if name.endswith(".ogg"):
        h = info["hash"]
        src = os.path.join(mc, "assets", "objects", h[:2], h)
        dst = os.path.join("minecraft_sounds", name)
        os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(dst), exist_ok=True)
        shutil.copy(src, dst)

On a Mac, change the mc line to ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft. The script only copies files. It doesn’t change anything in your game.

How to play Minecraft OGG files

Once you have the files with .ogg at the end, any OGG player works:

• Online OGG player: no install, works on any device. Great for a quick listen or for making MP3s.
• VLC: drag a whole folder onto it to play every sound as a playlist. See how to play OGG files in VLC.
• Windows 11 Media Player: plays Vorbis files, especially with the free Web Media Extensions.
• Android: most phones play them from the file manager.

Good Minecraft sounds to start with

Not sure what to look for? Search the index file for these folder names. They hold some of the game’s best-known sounds:

• ambient/cave: the eerie cave noises every player remembers.
• mob/creeper: the famous hiss before an explosion.
• mob/ghast: the Nether’s crying ghasts.
• note: the note block instruments, like harp, bass and bell.
• music/game: the calm background music tracks.
• records: the music discs you find in dungeons and chests.
• random: classic sounds like the level-up chime and the click.

Each search shows you the file names and hashes you need.

Using a Minecraft sound as a ringtone

A creeper hiss makes a fun notification sound. Android plays OGG ringtones natively, so you don’t even need to convert it.

1. Copy the renamed .ogg file to your phone.
2. Put it in the Notifications or Ringtones folder.
3. Go to Settings > Sound and pick it.

On an iPhone, ringtones need a special format, so this takes more work. Keep this for personal use, since the sounds belong to Mojang.

How to use OGG files in a Minecraft resource pack

Want your own sound for a creeper or a new music disc? You can replace sounds with a resource pack. Here’s the basic setup for Java Edition.

1. Prepare the sound

• Save it as OGG Vorbis. MP3 and WAV won’t work.
• Use mono for sounds that should get quieter with distance, like mob sounds. Stereo sounds don’t fade by distance in Minecraft.
• Keep the same file name as the sound you’re replacing.

If your sound is an MP3 or WAV, convert it to OGG Vorbis with a free editor like Audacity. Use File > Export Audio and choose the OGG format.

2. Build the folders

Inside your resource pack, match the game’s layout:

MyPack/
  pack.mcmeta
  assets/minecraft/sounds/mob/creeper/say1.ogg

The pack.mcmeta file tells Minecraft what the pack is. You can copy one from any existing pack and change the description.

3. Load the pack

1. Put the MyPack folder in .minecraft > resourcepacks.
2. Start Minecraft and go to Options > Resource Packs.
3. Move your pack to the Selected side and click Done.

Now the game plays your sound. To add new sounds rather than replace old ones, you’ll also need a sounds.json file. The Minecraft Wiki has full details.

Bedrock resource packs

Bedrock packs also accept OGG files. Put them in the pack’s sounds folder and list them in sound_definitions.json.

A note on copyright

Minecraft’s sounds and music belong to Mojang and the composers, including C418 and Lena Raine. Playing them for yourself or using them in personal resource packs is fine. Don’t re-upload or sell them, and check Mojang’s usage guidelines before using them in videos or public projects.

Troubleshooting

The objects folder is empty or missing

Launch the game at least once. The launcher downloads the assets the first time you play a version.

The file won’t play after renaming

Make sure you added .ogg and didn’t leave an extra hidden extension, like .ogg.txt. On Windows, turn on View > Show > File name extensions in File Explorer to check.

My custom sound doesn’t play in the game

Check that it’s a real OGG Vorbis file, not an MP3 renamed to .ogg. The online player shows the codec. Also check the folder path and file name match exactly.

My custom sound doesn’t fade with distance

It’s probably stereo. Re-export it as mono.

Related guides: Find and play game OGG sound files

FAQ

What format are Minecraft sounds?

Ogg Vorbis, saved as .ogg files.

Where is the Minecraft sounds folder?

In Java Edition, sounds are in .minecraft > assets > objects, stored under hashed names. Use the index file in assets > indexes to match names to files.

Why don’t Minecraft sound files have names?

Minecraft names them by their hash so the launcher can check and share them between versions.

Can I use MP3 files in a Minecraft resource pack?

No. Minecraft needs OGG Vorbis. Convert your MP3 to OGG with Audacity first.

Do sounds change between Minecraft versions?

Yes. Updates add new sounds and sometimes replace old ones. Each version has its own index file in assets > indexes. If you want the sounds from a specific version, open the index for that version, not just the newest one.

Can I use Minecraft sounds in my YouTube videos?

Many creators do, but the sounds are still Mojang’s property. Read Mojang’s official usage guidelines before you publish. When in doubt, use royalty-free sounds instead.

How do I play Minecraft OGG files?

Add .ogg to the file name, then open it with the online OGG player or VLC.

Final word

Minecraft’s sounds are all OGG files, hidden under coded names in the assets folder. Use the index file to find what you want and add .ogg to the name. Then play it in the free online OGG player. And if you’re making a resource pack, remember: OGG Vorbis only, and mono for sounds that should fade with distance.