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Overview

This guide will help you set up your development environment to build and contribute to Minecraft Community Edition.

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Prerequisites

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Required Tools

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:
  • Visual Studio (2015 or later recommended)
  • Windows SDK (for platform-specific development)
  • Git (for version control)

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Platform-Specific Requirements

The project includes platform-specific builds:
  • Durango: Xbox-specific development tools
  • Windows: Standard Windows development environment
The solution file MinecraftConsoles.sln contains the main project configuration.

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Setup Instructions

1

Clone the repository

Clone the Minecraft Community Edition repository to your local machine:
git clone <repository-url>
cd <repository-directory>
2

Open the solution

Open MinecraftConsoles.sln in Visual Studio. This solution contains two main projects:
  • Minecraft.Client - Client-side code and rendering
  • Minecraft.World - Game logic, world generation, and entities
3

Configure build settings

Select your target platform and configuration:
  • Configuration: Debug or Release
  • Platform: Choose based on your target platform
For initial development, use Debug configuration for better debugging capabilities.
4

Restore dependencies

Visual Studio should automatically restore any required dependencies. If not, right-click the solution and select “Restore NuGet Packages” (if applicable).
5

Build the project

Build the solution:
  • Press Ctrl+Shift+B or
  • Select Build > Build Solution from the menu
The build should complete without errors.
6

Verify the setup

Ensure the build completes successfully with:
  • No build errors
  • No warnings (our CI checks for this)
  • All projects built successfully

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Project Structure

Understanding the project structure: 
Minecraft Community Edition/
├── Minecraft.Client/          # Client code
│   ├── Common/               # Shared client code
│   ├── Durango/              # Xbox-specific code
│   └── *.cpp, *.h            # Client implementation
├── Minecraft.World/          # Game engine
│   ├── net.minecraft.world.* # Java-style namespaced headers
│   ├── entities/             # Entity implementations
│   ├── tiles/                # Block/tile implementations
│   └── *.cpp, *.h            # World implementation
└── MinecraftConsoles.sln     # Visual Studio solution

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IDE Configuration

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Visual Studio Settings

Recommended Visual Studio settings:
  1. Editor:
    • Tab size: 4 spaces (tabs, not spaces)
    • Enable line numbers
    • Enable code folding
  2. Build:
    • Enable parallel build
    • Treat warnings as errors: No (but avoid introducing new warnings)
  3. Debugging:
    • Enable Just My Code debugging
    • Set working directory to appropriate platform output

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Extensions (Optional)

Consider installing these Visual Studio extensions:
  • Visual Assist (for better C++ IntelliSense)
  • Resharper C++ (for code analysis)
  • CodeMaid (for code cleanup)

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Common Issues

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Build Errors

If you encounter build errors:
  1. Ensure you have the correct Windows SDK installed
  2. Check that all project dependencies are available
  3. Clean the solution (Build > Clean Solution) and rebuild
  4. Verify your Visual Studio version is compatible

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Missing Headers

If you see missing header errors:
  1. Check that all include paths are correctly configured
  2. Verify platform-specific SDKs are installed
  3. Ensure the stdafx.h precompiled header is building correctly

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Platform-Specific Issues

For Durango (Xbox) builds:
  1. Install the Xbox development SDK
  2. Configure the appropriate development kit
  3. Set up the correct deployment target

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Next Steps

Once your environment is set up:
  1. Review the Code Style Guide
  2. Familiarize yourself with the codebase
  3. Read the Pull Request Process
  4. Start contributing!

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