Minecraft 25w04a Update - What's New
A mostly technical snapshot in the Spring to Life cycle. Mojang reverted two movement fixes that hurt parkour and speed bridging, tooltips got more detail, and cat and frog variants became data driven.
Overview
Minecraft 25w04a is a weekly development snapshot for Minecraft: Java Edition, published on January 22, 2025. Snapshots are Mojang's weekly previews of in-progress features (development week 4 of 2025), shipped early so the community can test and report problems before anything is finalized. This one logs 8 changes you can try in a throwaway test world.
The work in this update spans changes and technical. On the changes side it brings Reverted the fixes for diagonal crouch movement and for sprinting while slowed, after feedback from parkour players and Crossbow tooltips list every charged projectile.
This build is part of the development cycle leading to 1.21.5 (the Spring to Life drop). Treat it as a preview rather than a destination: features can change, be renamed, or be cut entirely before they reach the stable release, so it is meant for testing and feedback, not for your main world or a live server.
Changes
#Changes(4)
- Reverted the fixes for diagonal crouch movement and for sprinting while slowed, after feedback from parkour players
- Crossbow tooltips list every charged projectile
- Containers picked with their contents show the first four items in the tooltip
- Added Kyrgyz language support
#Technical(4)
- Cat and frog variants are data driven, with one shared way to define where each variant spawns
- The potion entity was split into splash and lingering potions
- SNBT accepts lists with mixed types
- Data pack version 64 and resource pack version 49
Server Admin Migration Guide
- Snapshot only, not for a live server: keep production on the current release
- Data packs that summon potion entities need the new splash_potion or lingering_potion ids
Known Issues
- Development snapshot, features can still change before 1.21.5
What This Means
For players
Snapshots are opt-in through the official launcher. Always make a copy of any world before opening it in 25w04a, because development builds can corrupt saves and there is no guarantee the world will open in a later version. Use a fresh test world to try the new content safely.
For server admins
Do not run 25w04a on a public server. Snapshots are unsupported by server software and most plugins. Spin up a private staging instance, confirm your plugins load, and report regressions while there is still time to fix them before release.
Background & Context
- Snapshots ship roughly once a week during active development and are enabled through the "Latest snapshot" toggle in the official launcher.
- The content here was being developed toward 1.21.5 (the Spring to Life drop); individual features may have been adjusted, renamed, or removed before that version shipped.
- Always keep a backup of important worlds before changing versions; the Astroworld versions database tracks client and server compatibility for 25w04a.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Minecraft 25w04a released?
Minecraft 25w04a was released on January 22, 2025 as a weekly development snapshot for Minecraft: Java Edition.
What is new in 25w04a?
A mostly technical snapshot in the Spring to Life cycle. Mojang reverted two movement fixes that hurt parkour and speed bridging, tooltips got more detail, and cat and frog variants became data driven. Notable entries include: Reverted the fixes for diagonal crouch movement and for sprinting while slowed, after feedback from parkour players; Crossbow tooltips list every charged projectile; Containers picked with their contents show the first four items in the tooltip. In total it documents 8 changes across 2 categories.
Should I use 25w04a on my main world?
No. 25w04a is a weekly development snapshot meant for testing. Keep your main world on the latest stable release and only open a backup copy in a separate test world to try the new content.
Can I run 25w04a on a Minecraft server?
It is not recommended for a public server. Snapshot only, not for a live server: keep production on the current release. Use a private staging instance to test plugins and mods, not to host players.
Which Minecraft version is 25w04a a preview of?
25w04a is part of the development cycle for 1.21.5 (the Spring to Life drop). Features shown here are still in progress and may change before the final release.
Are there known issues in 25w04a?
Yes. Documented issues for this build include: Development snapshot, features can still change before 1.21.5. Development builds are expected to have rough edges that get fixed before release.
Looking for version compatibility info?
Check client and server version details on our versions database.