Bedrock Builder versus other tools
Four tools cover most Bedrock work. Each fits one band. This page states the difference so the choice stays simple.
The four bands
| Tool | Band | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| mct (Microsoft) | Learn | Learn the raw API the official way, follow Microsoft tutorials, validate with the official rule suites. |
| Bedrock Builder | Build and ship | Create once, generate linked files, hot reload, ship one file. |
| bridge. v2 (bridge-core) | Edit visually | Edit packs in a desktop editor with tree plus text views, presets, auto completions, live previews, com.mojang sync. |
| Regolith (Bedrock-OSS) | Transform at scale | Filter pipelines over large multi-pack projects. |
Feature comparison
| Feature | Bedrock Builder | mct | bridge. v2 | Regolith |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create | bb init writes config, manifests with fresh UUIDs, entry, registries |
mct create prompts plus goal and level based templates |
Project creation window: BP, RP, skin pack, world template, namespace, target version | Project templates plus profiles |
| Generators | bb new, 27 types, every linked file in one shot, dry run, safe rerun |
mct add entity plus samples and snippets |
Presets for blocks, entities, items, plus single file creates, filtered by target version | Filters generate at compile time |
| Script bundling | esbuild, dev plus release modes, external @minecraft/server |
Bundled in the toolchain | Dash compiler with built-in plus store plugins | Via filters such as bundlers |
| Hot reload | bb run --watch, rebuild plus copy on save, 100ms batches |
Server and deploy workflows, local web server | com.mojang syncing on linked folder | Watch plus export target |
| Deploy target | Retail auto detect on Windows, macOS, Linux, plus custom path | Official paths, multi device deploy | Linked com.mojang folder per install | Configured target per profile |
| Packaging | bb ship writes one .mcaddon, level 0 to 9 |
Packaging into .mcaddon via CLI |
Export project to .mcaddon or archive |
Export config per profile |
| Validation | bb check plus bb harness cross-check every dist reference |
Built-in rule suites, CSV plus HTML reports, local only | Schema validation, error detection, hand written auto completions, content error log explorer | Filter errors surface at compile time |
| Editing model | Terminal commands, files on disk | Web editor plus terminal | Desktop editor: tree view for beginners, text view with syntax plus go to definition, model and particle previews | Terminal pipeline, edit in any editor |
| Output | Plain BP plus RP folders, no lock-in | Standard packs | Standard packs, project config standard shared with other tools | Plain packs out of the pipeline |
| Runtime | Node 20.19 or later only | Node 22 or later, plus browser for the web app | Desktop app plus web app, offline once installed | Go binary plus per-filter runtimes |
| Extensibility |
User enabled processors: match plus remap, pre,
transform, post. Broken extensions warn and skip. See
Extensions
|
Plugins plus MCP server tools | Extension store: presets, themes, compiler plugins for Dash | Filters in any language, unified compile flow, shared standard library |
| License | zlib | Microsoft open source terms | GPL-3.0 | zlib |
Pick Bedrock Builder when
- Starting a new add-on that must ship, not just teach the API.
- Hand-wiring items, attachables, textures, and lang lines costs too much time.
- Hot reload plus one-command packaging must work out of the box.
- No pipeline config is wanted until the project outgrows one binary.
Pick something else when
- Learning the raw
@minecraft/serverAPI matters most. Use mct. - Visual pack editing with previews matters most. Use bridge. v2.
- Compile-time transforms over many packs matter most. Use Regolith.
Bedrock Builder emits plain standard packs, so a project can move to Regolith or bridge. later with no rewrite. Generation here creates standard files in one command. Generation in Regolith is a compile-time transform. bridge. reads the same folders through its project config standard.
Sources
- mct overview: templates by level, CLI commands, validation suites, Node 22 need.
- bridge. v2 guide: project creation fields, presets, Dash compiler, com.mojang syncing.
- bridge. v2 features: previews, auto completions, export, extension store.
- Regolith docs: unified compile flow, filters, source of truth outside com.mojang.
Quick decision
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| Learn the official API | mct |
| Edit packs in a visual editor | bridge. v2 |
| Shortest path to a shipped add-on | Bedrock Builder |
| Generators that write every linked file | Bedrock Builder |
Hot reload plus .mcaddon out of the box |
Bedrock Builder |
| Filter pipeline for a large project | Regolith |