No Minecraft Modding API. Its ditched - do not expect a release date

In Notch's latest message he reveals that the Minecraft API will not be released. It makes sense really. The API would never give the same flexibility as developing mods using Java code. However, this still leaves Notch with the dilemma of stopping people making money from Minecraft mods.

The API (Application Programming Interface) would have provided a consistent way to modify Minecraft. It would have been great for amateur programmers and those not familiar with the Java language. Rather than digging through Java code and trying to understand classes, the API would have provided methods to extract and update information within Minecraft. A typical method might have been GetMobLocations or ReSpawnMobs. In a perfect world, API's are great to have.

Whilst those without programming knowledge were looking forward to having the chance to create their own mods, others were sceptical about the mod API. Would it provide the level of flexibility to create something as grand as Charlotte your female companion or steampunks airship? Probably not.

The problem with creating an API for Minecraft lies in the fact that the code is already open to anyone to tinker with. Java is a very popular language with millions of developers capable of writing additional code. Decompiling the code, writing new methods and recompiling again is pretty straight forward. See our modding tutorial. Minecraft also has frequent updates, almost every 2 weeks. An API would need to be updated with each of these releases. A tough task in itself. Creating an API would almost certainly restrict the type of mods you could create.

So it's not all bad and probably for the best. There's no API but we've still got some create developers releasing their own mods. It's also good to see Notch focusing his attention on adding new features to Minecraft - which of course are always welcome.