/scoreboard objectives add my_score dummyThe /scoreboard command is Minecraft's built-in data storage and display system. It creates objectives, stores numeric scores for players and entities, runs math between scores, and shows values on the sidebar, Tab list, or below nametags. This generator builds the correct syntax for every subcommand.
The command has two main branches. objectives manage the trackers themselves (add, remove, modify, list, and set their display slot), while players read and change the scores stored in those objectives (set, add, remove, get, reset, enable, and operation).
Every datapack, minigame, and command-based system in Java Edition relies on scoreboards for storing variables, doing math, and displaying information. Objectives and scores are saved with the world, so they persist across restarts until you remove or reset them.
The criteria you pick when creating an objective decides how its scores change. Use dummy for values you control with commands; the rest update automatically from game events.
| Criteria | Tracking | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| dummy | Commands only | Variables, timers, custom data |
| playerKillCount | Player kills | PvP kill trackers |
| totalKillCount | All kills (players and mobs) | Combat leaderboards |
| deathCount | Player deaths | Death counters, lives systems |
| health | Current health (1 = half heart) | Health display below name |
| food | Hunger level (0-20) | Hunger monitoring |
| xp | Total XP points | XP-based systems |
| level | XP level number | Level display |
| armor | Armor points | Armor monitoring |
| trigger | Player can modify own score | Voting, player input |
Trigger criteria is special: non-operator players can change their own score with /trigger, which makes it ideal for voting systems and player input without granting command permissions.
An objective is only visible once you assign it a display slot with objectives setdisplay. Three main slots exist, plus 16 team-colored sidebar variants.
| Slot | Where It Shows |
|---|---|
| sidebar | Right side of the screen, shows all tracked players |
| list | Next to player names in the Tab list |
| below_name | Under nametags above player heads |
| sidebar.team.red | Sidebar shown only to a specific team's members |
Operations run math between two scores with players operation. The operators are += (add), -= (subtract), *= (multiply), /= (divide), %= (modulo), = (assign), < (minimum), > (maximum), and >< (swap). This is the main way to calculate with stored values in vanilla Minecraft.
The scoreboard tracks numeric values (scores) for players and entities across named objectives. Each objective has a criteria type that controls how scores update. Scores can be set by commands, tracked automatically from game events, and displayed on the sidebar, player list, or below nametags.
Criteria determine how an objective tracks scores. The dummy criteria is the most common: scores only change via commands. Auto-tracking criteria include playerKillCount, deathCount, health, food, air, armor, xp, and level, plus hundreds of custom statistics like minecraft.mined:minecraft.diamond_ore.
There are three main slots: sidebar (right side of the screen), list (the Tab player list), and below_name (under player nametags). There are also 16 team-colored sidebar slots like sidebar.team.red that show the objective only to members of that team.
The /scoreboard players operation command performs math between two scores. It supports add (+=), subtract (-=), multiply (*=), divide (/=), modulo (%=), assign (=), minimum (<), maximum (>), and swap (><). This is the main way to do math with stored values in vanilla Minecraft.
Yes. Scoreboard objectives and player scores are saved to the world's data/scoreboard.dat file, so they survive server restarts and world reloads until you remove or reset them.
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