Oraxen, Custom Items From Scratch

Why Oraxen for Custom Items?

Oraxen is a resource pack management plugin that lets you add fully custom items to your Minecraft server without touching a single texture pack manually. It handles model generation, resource pack hosting, and item registration all from YAML files inside your plugins folder. If you have ever wanted swords with unique textures, decorative furniture blocks, or custom food items, this oraxen custom items tutorial walks you through the entire process from installation to a working item in your inventory.

We chose Oraxen over alternatives like ItemsAdder because Oraxen generates the resource pack automatically and serves it to players through its built-in web server. There is no need to upload packs to Dropbox or configure external hosting. The plugin also integrates cleanly with CrazyCrates, ShopGUI+, and other plugins that accept Oraxen item IDs as valid references.

Installing Oraxen

Download the Oraxen jar from the official source and drop it into your plugins/ folder. Restart the server completely. Oraxen generates a directory structure on first boot:

plugins/Oraxen/
├── settings.yml
├── items/
│   ├── examples/
│   │   ├── swords.yml
│   │   └── hats.yml
├── pack/
│   ├── textures/
│   └── models/
└── recipes/

The items/ folder is where all your custom item definitions live. The pack/ folder holds textures and models that Oraxen compiles into a resource pack automatically on each reload.

Enabling the Built-in Pack Server

Open settings.yml and confirm the pack upload method:

Pack:
  generation:
    auto_generated: true
  upload:
    type: polymath
    polymath:
      server: atlas.oraxen.com

The Polymath option uploads your pack to Oraxen's hosted CDN, which means players receive the pack on join with zero configuration on your side. For self-hosted servers, switch to self-host and Oraxen will serve it from your machine's port directly.

Creating Your First Custom Item

Create a new file at plugins/Oraxen/items/ruby_sword.yml:

ruby_sword:
  displayname: "&cRuby Sword"
  material: DIAMOND_SWORD
  Pack:
    generate_model: true
    parent_model: item/handheld
    textures:
      - ruby_sword.png
  Mechanics:
    durability:
      value: 2000
    custom_armor:
      damage: 12

Place your texture file ruby_sword.png (16x16 or higher) inside plugins/Oraxen/pack/textures/. Run /oraxen reload all and the plugin compiles the resource pack, assigns a CustomModelData integer automatically, and registers your item. Give it to yourself with /oraxen give ruby_sword 1.

This is the core of any oraxen custom items tutorial: define the YAML, drop the texture, reload. Every custom item follows this same workflow regardless of complexity.

Adding Custom Recipes

Oraxen supports shaped and shapeless recipes. Add a recipe section to your item file:

ruby_sword:
  Recipes:
    shaped:
      - " R "
      - " R "
      - " S "
    ingredients:
      R: REDSTONE_BLOCK
      S: STICK

Players can now craft your custom item on a crafting table using two redstone blocks and a stick. Recipes reload with /oraxen reload recipes.

Integration with Other Plugins

One major advantage of Oraxen is that other plugins can reference its items by ID. In CrazyCrates, you can set a prize to oraxen:ruby_sword and the crate hands out your custom item. In ShopGUI+, use oraxen:ruby_sword as the material field in your shop YAML. In ChestShop, players can sell Oraxen items through sign shops because ChestShop reads the item's persistent data.

This interoperability is what makes Oraxen a practical choice for production servers. Custom items are not locked inside a single plugin; they flow through your entire economy and reward system.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

• Texture shows as purple/black: Confirm your PNG is in pack/textures/ and the filename in your YAML matches exactly, including case sensitivity.
• Pack not sending: Check settings.yml upload type. If using Polymath, ensure your server can reach atlas.oraxen.com on port 443.
• Item ID conflicts: Each item must have a unique top-level key. Duplicate keys silently overwrite each other.

With your first oraxen custom items tutorial complete, you can expand to furniture, blocks, armor sets, and anything else the resource pack format supports. The workflow never changes: YAML config, texture file, reload. For a broader look at custom item strategies across multiple plugins, see our custom items overview.

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