Minecraft 25w17a Update - What's New
The Locator Bar left the experiments and became part of the game, the Realms configuration screen moved to tabs with a region preference, and a setting arrived to shorten the cloud range.
Overview
Minecraft 25w17a is a weekly development snapshot for Minecraft: Java Edition, published on April 22, 2025. Snapshots are Mojang's weekly previews of in-progress features (development week 17 of 2025), shipped early so the community can test and report problems before anything is finalized. This one logs 7 changes you can try in a throwaway test world.
The work in this update spans new features, realms, and technical. On the new features side it brings the Locator Bar shows where other players are, in the place of the experience bar and Players hide from it by sneaking, wearing a carved pumpkin or mob head, or drinking invisibility.
This build is part of the development cycle leading to 1.21.6 (the Chase the Skies 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
#New Features(4)
- The Locator Bar shows where other players are, in the place of the experience bar
- Players hide from it by sneaking, wearing a carved pumpkin or mob head, or drinking invisibility
- A server can switch it off with the locatorBar game rule and recolour players with the waypoint command
- An option to reduce the cloud range
#Realms(2)
- The Realms configuration screen uses tabs for worlds, players, subscription and settings
- A region preference setting for where a Realm is started
#Technical(1)
- Data pack version 74 and resource pack version 58
Server Admin Migration Guide
- Snapshot only, not for a live server: keep production on the current release
- Survival servers that want players to stay hidden can plan on turning off the locatorBar game rule
Known Issues
- Development snapshot, features can still change before 1.21.6
What This Means
For players
Snapshots are opt-in through the official launcher. Always make a copy of any world before opening it in 25w17a, 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 25w17a 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 1.21.6 (the Chase the Skies 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 25w17a.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Minecraft 25w17a released?
Minecraft 25w17a was released on April 22, 2025 as a weekly development snapshot for Minecraft: Java Edition.
What is new in 25w17a?
The Locator Bar left the experiments and became part of the game, the Realms configuration screen moved to tabs with a region preference, and a setting arrived to shorten the cloud range. Notable entries include: The Locator Bar shows where other players are, in the place of the experience bar; Players hide from it by sneaking, wearing a carved pumpkin or mob head, or drinking invisibility; A server can switch it off with the locatorBar game rule and recolour players with the waypoint command. In total it documents 7 changes across 3 categories.
Should I use 25w17a on my main world?
No. 25w17a 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 25w17a 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 25w17a a preview of?
25w17a is part of the development cycle for 1.21.6 (the Chase the Skies drop). Features shown here are still in progress and may change before the final release.
Are there known issues in 25w17a?
Yes. Documented issues for this build include: Development snapshot, features can still change before 1.21.6. 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.