How to change your skin in Minecraft: Java Edition
Put a custom skin on Java Edition in the Minecraft Launcher's Skins tab or on your profile page, choose Classic or Slim arms, and fix the usual problems.
Java Edition takes a custom skin as a PNG file of 64 by 64 pixels (the older 64 by 32 format still works). You can change it in two places: the Skins tab of the Minecraft Launcher, or your profile page on the official website in a browser. Either way, the skin belongs to your account, so it follows you to every computer and server you play on.
What you need
- A Microsoft account that owns Java Edition.
- The skin as a PNG file, 64 x 64 pixels. Skins made with Scan2Skin 3D download as two PNG files, one for Classic arms and one for Slim arms.
- To know which arm model the skin was drawn for: Classic (4 pixels wide) or Slim (3 pixels wide). See Classic or Slim.
In the Minecraft Launcher (the Skins tab)
- Open the Minecraft Launcher and select Minecraft: Java Edition on the left.
- Open the Skins tab at the top.
- Select New Skin and give the skin a name.
- Choose the arm model: the Launcher calls the two Wide and Slim. Wide is the Classic model.
- Select Browse and choose your PNG file.
- Select Save & Use.
The Skins tab keeps a library of the skins you have added, so switching back to an earlier one is one click. The same tab lets you choose a cape you own, through the skin's menu and Edit.
On the website (your profile)
- Sign in to your profile on minecraft.net and open the Change Your Skin page.
- Choose Classic or Slim.
- Under Upload Custom Skin, choose Select File and pick your PNG.
- Select Upload.
Seeing the new skin
The skin shows on the model in the Launcher at once. In the game, join a world or server again to see it; if it still shows the old skin, close the game and start it again. Press F5 to switch to a third-person view and look at yourself.
The outer layer and the Skin Customization menu
Every skin has a second, outer layer: a hat around the head and a jacket, sleeves and pants legs around the body. Java Edition lets each player hide each part of it, in the game's Options under Skin Customization: Cape, Jacket, Left Sleeve, Right Sleeve, Left Pants Leg, Right Pants Leg and Hat. Turning those off shows a two-layer skin without its jacket. More in the outer layer guide.
Problems and fixes
- A stripe of stray or black pixels along the arms: the arm model does not match the file. Upload it again with the other model (Classic or Slim).
- Black arms on a slim skin in an old version: slim arms are fully supported only from version 1.8.
- The upload is refused: check the file is a PNG of 64 x 64 (or 64 x 32) pixels. A skin saved as a JPEG, or resized by a photo app, will not work.
- Holes in the skin show as black or solid patches: in the base layer, transparent pixels do not show as see-through. Keep the base layer fully colored and use transparency only on the outer layer.
- Anything else saved inside the PNG, such as a title or a note, is dropped on upload: only the picture is kept.
- More symptoms and fixes: skin not working.
Make a skin now, in your browser: five guided photos with the camera, or photos already taken. Nothing is uploaded. The Scan2Skin 3D app for iPhone and Android adds scan yourself, HD skins and Pro.
Make a skin About the phone appSources
- Make a Custom Skin in Minecraft: Java Edition, Minecraft Help Center. Read October 4, 2026; the article was last edited 2026-01-30: the Launcher's Skins tab, the profile's Change Your Skin page, Classic, Wide and Slim, slim arms from version 1.8.
- What is a Minecraft Skin?, minecraft.net. Read October 4, 2026; published 2023-06-05: the Skins tab, the classic (4-pixel arms) and slim (3-pixel arms) models.
- Minecraft: Java Edition Skins Issue Update, minecraft.net. Read October 4, 2026; published 2018-04-18: uploaded skin files keep only the image data.