Minecraft 26.x Data Components Guide: Transitioning from NBT

If you have updated your map or server to Minecraft 26.x, you likely noticed that old NBT commands like /give @p diamond_sword{display:{Name:'"Excalibur"'}} no longer work! Mojang completely overhauled the item syntax by replacing unstructured NBT with type-safe Data Components.

Why Mojang Replaced NBT Tags

Old NBT tags were fragile. Different items used different tag structures, leading to bugs and slow server parsing. Data Components standardize all item data into explicit, pre-compiled properties.

Key 1.21 Component Changes

1. Custom Names & Lore

Old: {display:{Name:'{"text":"Hero Sword"}',Lore:['{"text":"Legendary"}']}}

New: [item_name='"Hero Sword"',lore=['"Legendary"']]

2. Custom Unbreakable Tag

Old: {Unbreakable:1b}

New: [unbreakable={}]

3. Custom Data Storage (NBT Storage)

All custom NBT keys that do not belong to vanilla components now go inside the custom_data component:

[custom_data={my_quest_id:42,rarity:"epic"}]

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