How to download older snapshots for Minecraft Java Edition

Minecraft snapshots are ways to play experimental versions of the game. These are most often released ahead of major updates. For example, there are snapshots available right now that can give an advanced look at the upcoming 1.20 update.

However, there is a way to access the snapshots from any update, whether it's 1.17 Caves & Cliffs Part One or 1.14 Village & Pillage. Whatever version you want to play, there's a way to do it in Java Edition. Here's how.

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How to play snapshots and older snapshots in Minecraft Java Edition

Playing a snapshot in Minecraft is pretty simple:

1. Open the Launcher.
2. Navigate to the Installations tab.
3. Click Snapshots, which should be in the top right corner.
4. Select the latest snapshot from there and play it.

Note that this is only possible in the Java Edition. Bedrock Edition does have previews of the next update, but they are called betas and are accessed very differently. It's much more accessible to get older versions of the game on Java.

However, older versions are not available there, as the Minecraft Wiki says:

"Each time the launcher closes, it automatically removes snapshots from its Use version list that don't belong to its current set of snapshots, which, as explained above, is usually the most recent set of snapshots, and usually only the last one per week. Due to this, older snapshots become unavailable from that list over time, but the launcher can certainly still play them."

A snapshot from the latest version (Image via Mojang)

Here's how you can access them, though:

1. Visit the Minecraft Wiki, which has a page for version history here. You can download any of the available options.
2. Select the option from the menu that you want, whether this is a snapshot from 1.16 or 1.4.
3. Navigate to the versions folder of the game.
4. Create a new folder with the same name as the snapshot.
5. Move the downloaded files (which should be .jar and .json) into this brand new folder.
6. Rename both files to match the snapshot version.
7. Start the launcher up.
8. Navigate to the Installations tab.
9. Click Snapshots, which should be in the top right corner.
10. Select the latest snapshot from there and play it.

You will now have access to all snapshots of the game. Repeat the process with other snapshot files if you wish to change the version of the game.

Please keep in mind that since these are old, unofficial versions of the game, they are not without risks. Opening single-player worlds in a snapshot can be dangerous, so ensure anything important is backed up.

Be sure to copy all the files to a secure location in case the game deletes them when it is shut down. This way, you can avoid having to repeat all the steps to download them again.

Always be sure to start a brand new world when on an older Minecraft snapshot. If not, this will cause problems since the world you may have opened was made on a different, most likely newer version of the game.