Mob Spawners

The spawner_mobs.yml file in plugins/SmartSpawner/ controls the drops, XP, menu head and drop chance of every mob spawner.

Every mob has one spawner under its own name, such as zombie. Extra spawners for the same mob, each with its own loot, go under custom_spawners.

In-game Editing

Use /ss editloot <name> to change a spawner's loot without opening the file. It works for both mob spawners and custom spawners, for example /ss editloot zombie or /ss editloot golden_zombie. See Commands for how the editor works.

Drop Multiplier

Each generation cycle rolls drops between min_mobs and max_mobs times (default: 1–4). The configured amounts are base values per mob; actual output is higher.

Configuration Format

yaml

zombie:                       # The mob's own spawner, named after the mob
  experience: <number>
  drop_chance: <percentage>   # Optional, defaults to 100.0
  nbt_data: <summon-style SNBT> # Optional
  mob_head:
    item: <MATERIAL>
    hash_texture: <hash>      # null for vanilla heads
  loot:                       # Optional
    1:
      item: <item>            # Required
      amount: <min>-<max>
      chance: <percentage>
      durability: <min>-<max> # Optional, for tools and weapons

custom_spawners:
  golden_zombie:              # Any name that is not a mob name
    entity: ZOMBIE            # Required
    display_name: Golden Zombie # Optional
    loot:
      1:
        item: GOLD_INGOT
        amount: 1-2
        chance: 50.0

Custom Spawners

A custom spawner is a second spawner for a mob that already has one, with its own loot. Players see it as a separate spawner: it has its own name, it cannot be stacked with the normal spawner of that mob, and /ss give gives it by its own name.

entity is required and names the mob.
display_name replaces the mob name everywhere players see this spawner: the item name, menu titles and the hologram. Use plain text, the colors come from the language files.
experience, drop_chance, nbt_data and mob_head are optional. Anything left out is taken from the mob's own spawner.
loot is never taken from the mob's spawner. A custom spawner without loot drops nothing.
The name must not be a mob name, and must be unique across spawner_mobs.yml and spawner_items.yml. The console warns about any name that breaks these rules.

Renaming a Custom Spawner

Spawners already placed in the world remember the name they were given. To rename a custom spawner and keep the ones already placed, list the old name under aliases:

yaml

custom_spawners:
  golden_zombie:
    entity: ZOMBIE
    aliases: [lucky_zombie]
    loot: ...

Placed spawners and spawner items with the old name then belong to golden_zombie. They stack with new ones, and placed spawners switch to the new name on their own.

If a custom spawner is removed instead, its placed spawners work as the mob's own spawner and the console names the missing spawner once. Adding the entry back restores them.

Naming an Item

Each loot entry names its item in the item field. It is required: an entry without one is skipped and reported in the console.

item accepts three things:

Form	Example	Use it for
A material name	`ARROW`	Plain items
A `/give` item string	`tipped_arrow[potion_contents={potion:"minecraft:poison"}]`	Potions, enchanted items, named items, anything with extra data
`nbt:` plus a code	`nbt:H4sIAAAA...`	Items copied out of the game exactly as they are

The second form is the same text the /give command completes for you in game. Build the item you want with /give, copy the part after the player name, and paste it here between single quotes.

Entries are numbered, and the number is only a position in the list. The item line is what says what drops, which is why the same material can appear more than once:

yaml

bogged:
  loot:
    1:
      item: 'tipped_arrow[potion_contents={potion:"minecraft:poison"}]'
      amount: 0-1
      chance: 50.0
    2:
      item: 'tipped_arrow[potion_contents={potion:"minecraft:slowness"}]'
      amount: 0-1
      chance: 10.0

An entry the server cannot read is skipped and reported in the console with the spawner and entry name. The rest of the file still loads.

Properties Reference

Spawner-Level Properties

Property	Format	Description
`entity`	`ZOMBIE`	The mob of a custom spawner. Only used under `custom_spawners`.
`display_name`	`Golden Zombie`	Name players see instead of the mob name.
`aliases`	`[lucky_zombie]`	Old names of a renamed custom spawner.
`experience`	`5`	XP generated per spawner trigger
`nbt_data`	`{profile:DrDonutt}`	Summon-style SNBT used by the rotating entity model inside the spawner cage
`drop_chance`	`75.0`	Chance the Smart Spawner item drops when broken. Omit to use 100.0.
`mob_head.item`	`"PLAYER_HEAD"`	Head shown for this spawner in menus
`mob_head.hash_texture`	`"abc123..."`	Texture hash for player heads. Use `null` for vanilla heads.

Loot Properties

Property	Format	Description
`item`	`ARROW`	The item that drops
`amount`	`1-3`	Item quantity range per generation cycle
`chance`	`50.0`	Drop probability (0.0 to 100.0)
`durability`	`1-384`	Durability range for tools and weapons. A single value like `100` is also accepted.

Spawner Break Drop Chance

The drop_chance property controls whether the spawner item itself drops when that spawner is broken. This is independent of the loot chance which controls generated drops.

If drop_chance is omitted, the spawner always drops (100% chance).
If drop_chance is set, each break has that percentage chance of returning the spawner item.
When sneak_break is enabled, spawners with drop_chance configured cannot be sneak-broken as a stack; players must break one at a time.
Players with smartspawner.break.bypassdropchance always receive the drop and can use all stacking features.

Examples

Mob with Custom Head

yaml

# Reference: https://minecraft.wiki/w/Cow#Drops
cow:
  experience: 3
  mob_head:
    item: "PLAYER_HEAD"
    hash_texture: "b667c0e107be79d7679bfe89bbc57c6bf198ecb529a3295fcfdfd2f24408dca3"
  loot:
    1:
      item: LEATHER
      amount: 0-2
      chance: 66.67
    2:
      item: BEEF
      amount: 1-3
      chance: 100.0

Mob with Weapons

yaml

# Reference: https://minecraft.wiki/w/Wither_Skeleton#Drops
wither_skeleton:
  experience: 5
  mob_head:
    item: "WITHER_SKELETON_SKULL"
    hash_texture: null
  loot:
    1:
      item: COAL
      amount: 0-1
      chance: 33.33
    2:
      item: BONE
      amount: 0-2
      chance: 66.67
    3:
      item: STONE_SWORD
      amount: 1-1
      chance: 8.5
      durability: 1-131

Mob with Potions and Enchanted Gear

yaml

witch:
  experience: 5
  loot:
    1:
      item: 'potion[potion_contents={potion:"minecraft:strength"}]'
      amount: 0-1
      chance: 5.0
    2:
      item: 'diamond_sword[enchantments={"minecraft:sharpness":5}]'
      amount: 1-1
      chance: 0.5

Mob with Drop Chance

yaml

allay:
  experience: 0
  drop_chance: 75.0   # 75% chance to drop spawner when broken

Mob with No Drops

yaml

# Reference: https://minecraft.wiki/w/Bat#Drops
bat:
  experience: 0
  # No loot section = no item drops

Two Spawners for the Same Mob

The normal zombie spawner, plus a rarer one that drops gold and uses a different head. The custom one keeps the zombie's XP because it leaves experience out.

yaml

zombie:
  experience: 5
  loot:
    1:
      item: ROTTEN_FLESH
      amount: 0-2
      chance: 100.0

custom_spawners:
  golden_zombie:
    entity: ZOMBIE
    display_name: Golden Zombie
    mob_head:
      item: GOLD_BLOCK
    loot:
      1:
        item: GOLD_INGOT
        amount: 1-2
        chance: 50.0

Drop Mechanics

Actual drops per generation cycle are calculated as:

actual_drops = base_amount × random(min_mobs, max_mobs)

With defaults (min_mobs=1, max_mobs=4):

Config amount	Possible output
`1-1`	1–4 items
`2-3`	2–12 items
`1-2`	1–8 items

Each loot entry is rolled independently. A single cycle can produce multiple item types simultaneously.

Finding Head Textures

Custom player head textures can be found at:

Use the hash portion of the texture URL only (without http://textures.minecraft.net/texture/).

Vanilla Head Materials

Some mobs use built-in skull types with hash_texture: null:

SKELETON_SKULL
WITHER_SKELETON_SKULL
ZOMBIE_HEAD
PIGLIN_HEAD
DRAGON_HEAD

Default Configuration

SmartSpawner ships with a default spawner_mobs.yml covering all vanilla mob types with drop tables based on Minecraft Wiki data.

View online: GitHub: spawner_mobs.yml
Reset: Delete spawner_mobs.yml and restart the server to regenerate it.

Upgrading from 1.8

A spawner_mobs.yml in the 1.8 layout is converted on the first start. Entries named like zombie_spawner become zombie, other entries move to custom_spawners, and the old file is kept as spawner_mobs.yml.1.8-backup. Placed spawners and spawner items keep working.

Give Spawners

bash

/ss give <player> <name> [amount]

Examples:

bash

/ss give Steve skeleton 1
/ss give Player123 golden_zombie 3

Mob Spawners ​

In-game Editing ​

Configuration Format ​

Custom Spawners ​

Renaming a Custom Spawner ​

Naming an Item ​

Properties Reference ​

Spawner-Level Properties ​

Loot Properties ​

Spawner Break Drop Chance ​

Examples ​

Mob with Custom Head ​

Mob with Weapons ​

Mob with Potions and Enchanted Gear ​

Mob with Drop Chance ​

Mob with No Drops ​

Two Spawners for the Same Mob ​

Drop Mechanics ​

Finding Head Textures ​

Vanilla Head Materials ​

Default Configuration ​

Give Spawners ​

Mob Spawners

In-game Editing

Configuration Format

Custom Spawners

Renaming a Custom Spawner

Naming an Item

Properties Reference

Spawner-Level Properties

Loot Properties

Spawner Break Drop Chance

Examples

Mob with Custom Head

Mob with Weapons

Mob with Potions and Enchanted Gear

Mob with Drop Chance

Mob with No Drops

Two Spawners for the Same Mob

Drop Mechanics

Finding Head Textures

Vanilla Head Materials

Default Configuration

Give Spawners