Bedrock Creative Tabs

Configurable creative tabs for NeoForge: a resource pack names a set of item stacks and the tabs they belong to, and each of those tabs shows them as one icon that opens where it stands — the way Bedrock Edition groups its creative inventory. Nothing about which stacks fold, or where, is written in code.

This is a client-side mod. But for stability, it's recommended to install this mod on dedicated servers.

Resource pack

One JSON file per group, at assets/<namespace>/bedrock_creative_tabs/creative_group/<path>.json:

{
  "creative_tabs": [
    "minecraft:ingredients"
  ],
  "icon": {
    "id": "minecraft:red_dye"
  },
  "entries": [
    "#c:dyes"
  ],
  "priority": 0
}

A definition is reloaded with F3+T (or by switching packs). Reloading also rebuilds the tabs, so a change shows up as soon as the reload finishes.

Also don't forget to translate your group's name with creative_group.<namespace>.<path> language keys.

Entries

An entry says one thing: whether it claims a stack. Five types ship with the mod.

You do not have to catch that by eye: every entry that matches no item at all is logged, naming the group and the entry.

WARN  Creative group bedrock_creative_tabs:planks: entry #c:planks matches no item

If an entry fails to parse — most often because it names a type that no installed mod provides, or because the type was written without its namespace — that entry is dropped with a warning in the log and the rest of the definition still loads; a group left with no entries at all is refused while it loads, so a broken group is never silently an empty one.

Adding an entry type

An entry type is a MapCodec registered under bedrock_creative_tabs:group_entry_type:

public final class MyEntryTypes {
    public static final DeferredRegister<MapCodec<? extends GroupEntry>> REGISTRY = DeferredRegister.create(BctRegistries.GROUP_ENTRY_TYPE, "mymod");

    public static final DeferredHolder<MapCodec<? extends GroupEntry>, MapCodec<RegexEntry>> REGEX = REGISTRY.register("regex", () -> RegexEntry.CODEC);
}

public record RegexEntry(Pattern pattern) implements GroupEntry {
    public static final MapCodec<RegexEntry> CODEC = Codec.STRING.comapFlatMap(RegexEntry::parse, entry -> entry.pattern.pattern()).fieldOf("pattern");

    @Override
    public boolean matches(ItemStack stack) {
        // The full id, namespace included: writing that into the pattern is what a pack does to narrow it.
        return this.pattern.matcher(BuiltInRegistries.ITEM.getKey(stack.getItem()).toString()).matches();
    }

    @Override
    public MapCodec<RegexEntry> codec() {
        return CODEC;
    }
}