How to use NPCs in Minecraft: Education Edition

Exclusive to Minecraft's Education and Bedrock Editions, NPCs are mobs that are invulnerable and lack AI but who can still interact with players.

Created either via spawn eggs with the command "/give @s spawn_egg 1 51" or with the command "/summon npc". Players in Creative Mode that have worldbuilder privileges bestowed by the "/worldbuilder" command can also spawn NPCs with spawn eggs.

By default, worldbuilder access is activated for players in Creative Mode, but this may change depending on circumstances on multiplayer servers specifically. Regardless of how it is placed in a Minecraft world, the NPC in question will spawn with the default name "NPC" over its head.

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Minecraft: Additional info on interacting with NPCs

NPCs are player-created and operated, and can be used to provide helpful information (Image via Mojang)

Minecraft NPCs may resemble villagers with their character model somewhat even if their skin differs, but they operate in a very different sense. NPCs have no real AI and don't move around and mingle the way that villagers do.

Additionally, they are invincible and are unaffected by many outside factors such as other mobs, projectiles, or potions, though they do obstruct Minecarts that attempt to go through them.

If a Minecraft player has worldbuilding privileges, they can use the "use" action with the corresponding right-click or button press in order to edit their NPC. This allows players to edit the NPC's name, appearance, and dialog options in addition to some advanced capabilities that are also accessible.

A breakdown of these factors can be seen below:

Name

• Players can re-name an NPC with a name of up to 32 characters, and the name can even have its color changed as it floats overhead.

Appearance

• There are tons of skins available for NPCs, with 35 skins in Minecraft: Education Edition. Players can customize an NPC's appearance to ensure it stands out when it needs to.

Dialog

• The primary function of NPCs for those without worldbuilder editing is to provide information through dialog prompts when they're interacted with. Players that can edit it with worldbuilder privileges are able to create dialogue that the NPC will recite to others. The text limit is typically 256 characters, though in some cases it can be as high as 337. NPC dialog can be used to guide new players or to leave helpful tips or directions, or even display rules for a Minecraft world or server.

Advanced Settings

• In addition to its standard practices, NPCs can also provide hyperlink buttons if players insert a URL web address that is shorter than 1024 characters. The button can possess a name 16 characters long at maximum on its label. This button will appear for Minecraft players without worldbuilder privileges and can be used to provide web links to whatever the NPC's creators might wish.
• NPCs can also execute commands similar to the command console or command blocks. With a maximum character count of 1024, NPCs can execute multiple commands at once. Whatever commands are placed in the advanced settings command field will execute when an NPC's dialog window is closed. Commands can additionally be implemented as buttons that players can interact with similar to the URL interaction.