If you’re a map-maker (like me), you’ll want to have effects in your map. Particles are an excellent way of doing this. They are dynamic, colorful, and provide a much-needed ambiance to Minecraft. However, these particles aren’t useful at all if you don’t know HOW to use them, or (in particular) what their namespaces are.

That’s what this blog is for.


Command
The first thing to do is to get the particle command up and running. I play on Bedrock Edition, so I’ll be showing you those commands.

/particle <particle_namespace> <x><y><z>
This is the basic syntax of the command. For the purposes of this how-to, I’ll assume you know how the coordinate system works in Minecraft.


Let’s start with a simple effect. We’ll make an Ender Chest particle effect. First, grab a command block.

/give @s command_block
Open it’s UI and set it to Repeat, Unconditional, and Always Active. Type in the command
/particle minecraft:end_chest ~ ~2 ~



Exit the UI, and you should see some portal-y particles 2 blocks above the command block.




Particles
That’s all well and good, but what are all the different particles called? Here’s a handy list I found on Digminecraft:




NOTE: Make sure you insert
minecraft:before the particle ID.

arrow_spell_emitter

balloon_gas_particle

basic_bubble_particle

basic_bubble_particle_manual

basic_crit_particle

basic_flame_particle

basic_portal_particle

basic_smoke_particle

bleach

block_destruct

breaking_item_icon

breaking_item_terrain

bubble_column_bubble

bubble_column_down_particle

bubble_column_up_particle

camera_shoot_explosion

campfire_smoke_particle

campfire_tall_smoke_particle

cauldron_bubble_particle

cauldron_explosion_emitter

cauldron_spell_emitter

cauldron_splash_particle

colored_flame_particle

conduit_absorb_particle

conduit_attack_emitter

conduit_particle

critical_hit_emitter

death_explosion_emitter

dolphin_move_particle

dragon_breath_fire

dragon_breath_lingering

dragon_breath_trail

dragon_death_explosion_emitter

dragon_destroy_block

dragon_dying_explosion

egg_destroy_emitter

elephant_tooth_paste_vapor_particle

enchanting_table_particle

end_chest

endrod

evocation_fang_particle

evoker_spell

explosion_manual

explosion_particle

eye_of_ender_bubble_particle

eyeofender_death_explode_particle

falling_border_dust_particle

falling_dust

falling_dust_concrete_powder_particle

falling_dust_dragon_egg_particle

falling_dust_gravel_particle

falling_dust_red_sand_particle

falling_dust_sand_particle

falling_dust_scaffolding_particle

falling_dust_top_snow_particle

fish_hook_particle

fish_pos_particle

guardian_attack_particle

heart_particle

huge_explosion_emitter

huge_explosion_lab_misc_emitter

ice_evaporation_emitter

ink_emitter

knockback_roar_particle

lab_table_heatblock_dust_particle

lab_table_misc_mystical_particle

large_explosion

lava_drip_particle

lava_particle

llama_spit_smoke

magnesium_salts_emitter

misc_fire_vapor_particle

mob_block_spawn_emitter

mob_portal

mobflame_emitter

mobflame_single

mobspell_emitter

mycelium_dust_particle

note_particle

obsidian_glow_dust_particle

phantom_trail_particle

portal_directional

portal_east_west

portal_north_south

rain_splash_particle

redstone_ore_dust_particle

redstone_repeater_dust_particle

redstone_torch_dust_particle

redstone_wire_dust_particle

rising_border_dust_particle

shulker_bullet

silverfish_grief_emitter

sparkler_emitter

splash_spell_emitter

sponge_absorb_water_particle

squid_flee_particle

squid_ink_bubble

squid_move_particle

stunned_emitter

totem_manual

totem_particle

underwater_torch_particle

villager_angry

villager_happy

water_drip_particle

water_evaporation_actor_emitter

water_evaporation_bucket_emitter

water_evaporation_manual

water_splash_particle

water_splash_particle_manual

water_wake_particle

wither_boss_invulnerable

A few (e.g. block_destruct) are broken/only work hard-coded, but most work just fine in the latest stable update (1.16.200).