1 - Your text
20 characters. Spaces and line breaks count toward the gradient, as they do in MiniMessage.
2 - Colours
Presets
3 - Format
4 - Copy for your server
Paper, Velocity and any plugin that reads MiniMessage tags. The server works out the colours itself.
Need the text as a picture for a thumbnail or banner? The Font Generator renders gradient text as a PNG.
How Minecraft gradient text works
Since Java 1.16 any character can have its own hex colour, so a gradient is just a row of characters stepping from one colour to the next. This tool works out each letter's colour the way MiniMessage does and writes it in the format your server reads.
The colours are spread evenly over every character, spaces and line breaks included, exactly as MiniMessage's <gradient> tag spreads them on a Paper server. That's why the &#hex, § and /tellraw outputs match the MiniMessage one letter for letter: switch formats and the preview doesn't change. Spaces only get a colour code when underline or strikethrough is on, since that's the only time a space shows a colour.
Legacy codes have one catch. In § and & formatting, a colour code switches off bold, italic and the rest, so the tool writes the format codes again after every colour. Leave them out of the text itself: anything typed as &l or §a is removed, because it would break the gradient and MiniMessage refuses section signs outright.
Which format your server needs
Here's the word Steve with the Sunset preset in each format.
| Format | Output | Works in |
|---|---|---|
| MiniMessage | <gradient:#FF5F6D:#FFC371>Steve</gradient> | Paper, Velocity, MiniMOTD and other plugins built on Adventure |
| &#hex | &#FF5F6DS&#FF786Et&#FF916Fe&#FFAA70v&#FFC371e | EssentialsX chat and /nick, plus many chat and hologram plugins |
| &x codes | &x&F&F&5&F&6&DS&x&F&F&7&8&6&Et&x&F&F&9&1&6&Fe&x&F&F&A&A&7&0v&x&F&F&C&3&7&1e | Plugins that convert & with Spigot's translateAlternateColorCodes |
| §x codes | §x§F§F§5§F§6§DS§x§F§F§7§8§6§Et§x§F§F§9§1§6§Fe§x§F§F§A§A§7§0v§x§F§F§C§3§7§1e | Configs that take the section sign as is |
| /tellraw | /tellraw @a [{"text":""},{"text":"S","color":"#FF5F6D"},{"text":"t","color":"#FF786E"},{"text":"e","color":"#FF916F"},{"text":"v","color":"#FFAA70"},{"text":"e","color":"#FFC371"}] | Vanilla Java 1.16 and later, from chat or a command block |
Gradients on Bedrock
Bedrock text can't hold a hex colour, so there's no true gradient there. What it does have is a bigger palette than Java: 28 codes, adding Minecoin gold (§g) and 11 material colours such as quartz (§h) and resin (§v). The Bedrock output gives each letter the nearest of those 28, judged by how close the colours look rather than by raw RGB, and the preview switches to show exactly what a Bedrock player sees.
Bedrock spends §m and §n on the redstone and copper material colours, so underline and strikethrough don't exist there and are left out. Bold, italic and obfuscated carry over. The full list with every hex value is on the color codes page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I make gradient text in Minecraft?
Minecraft gives every character one colour, so a gradient is a row of characters that each get a slightly different hex colour. Type your text above, pick two or more colours, then copy the format your server reads: MiniMessage for Paper and Adventure plugins, &#hex for EssentialsX, or /tellraw for a vanilla world.
Does gradient text work without plugins?
Yes, on Java 1.16 and later. /tellraw and /title accept a hex colour per text component, which is what the /tellraw output builds. Players can't type hex colours into vanilla chat themselves, so for chat messages and nicknames you need a plugin such as EssentialsX or one that reads MiniMessage.
How do I set a gradient nickname with EssentialsX?
Copy the &#hex output and run /nick with it. The player needs the essentials.nick.rgb permission. EssentialsX counts colour codes toward max-nick-length (16 by default) unless ignore-colors-in-max-nick-length is set to true in its config.yml, and every letter of a gradient carries an 8-character code, so turn that option on first or the nickname is rejected as too long.
Why is the MiniMessage version so much shorter?
MiniMessage sends only the colours and lets the server spread them across the letters, so <gradient:#FF5F6D:#FFC371>Steve</gradient> stays short at any length. Every other format spells out a colour for each character. All of them give each letter the same colour, because this tool uses MiniMessage's own maths for the rest.
Can Bedrock Edition show gradient text?
Not a smooth one. Bedrock has no hex colours in chat, signs or names, only 28 colour codes: the 16 shared with Java plus Minecoin gold and 11 material colours such as §q emerald and §s diamond. The Bedrock output picks the closest of those for each letter, which gives a stepped gradient that works in Bedrock chat, signs and /tellraw.
How do I put a gradient in my server's MOTD?
Use a MOTD plugin that reads MiniMessage, such as MiniMOTD, and paste the MiniMessage output into its config. The vanilla server.properties motd line only understands the 16 classic § colours, so it can't hold a hex gradient.
Want the gradient as an image instead?