Schematica is a mod for Minecraft which allows you to display a hologram in the game world, which will be loaded from schematic files. You can then simply fill in the schematic as long as you have the blocks in your inventory, allowing you to build complex structures with little effort.
Below, we’re going to run you through the installation process for Schematica. We’ll also briefly go through downloading schematics, loading them and configuring them.
For more Minecraft Guides on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Pocket Edition and Nintendo Switch, make sure to check out our dedicated area here! Due to modding capabilities, Schematica is only available for Minecraft Java Edition.
Install Forge
To install and play mods on Minecraft, you are going to require Forge, which you can get from their official website. Currently, the best version for Minecraft modding is going to be 1.12.2, as it’s the most recent and has support for a lot of mods.
Choose 1.12.2 on the left hand side, then choose either ‘Download Latest’ or ‘Download Recommended’. Forge will download as a .exe file, run it once it’s downloaded. Choose the ‘Install Client’ checkbox, then press OK.
Download Schematica
Now that we have Forge installed, Minecraft is supported for mods. Next, we want to download Schematica. There are two files required:
Download both these files by going to the links above and choosing the download file for Minecraft 1.12. You can do this on the right hand side, or by choosing ‘Files’ from the top bar. We need to place the two Java files into our AppData folder. To do that, open up your Start Menu and type %AppData% and hit Enter.
This should bring you to: C:\Users\YOU\AppData\Roaming
Next, open the .minecraft folder, then the mods folder. If there isn’t a mods folder, open up the Minecraft launcher and press Play for the first time with the Forge profile selected. Otherwise, you can try creating a mods folder yourself. Place the 2 Java files inside here.
Play & Use Schematica
Open up the Minecraft Launcher. In the bottom left corner, there will be a drop-down box. Select this, and choose the ‘Forge’ option so that you can start playing modded Minecraft. If your game lags, make sure to go to ‘Installations’ in the launcher, select the Forge profile and increase the RAM amount.
Start a game, and browse to the controls in the settings. (ESC > Options > Controls). Browse to Schematica, and check the settings. By default, you should be able to load a schematic by pressing Divide and manage schematics by pressing the Minus key, both which can be found on your number pad. If you don’t have a number pad, you might want to change these controls to something more accessible.
Lets start by loading a schematic. Press the Divide key, or whatever you’ve set. It will likely be empty, press the ‘Open Schematics folder’ button.
This will bring you to: C:\Users\YOU\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\schematics. Which is a folder where you can drop any SCHEMATIC files.
Download Schematics
Now that we have the mod installed, lets download a schematic. Head to the Minecraft-Schematics website. You’ll need to create an account to download schematics. Find one you like, download it and you’ll receive a SCHEMATIC file, which you should place into your schematics folder which we navigated to before.
Now, open up Minecraft again. You don’t have to restart Minecraft or anything once you’ve added a schematic. Simply reopen the load schematic interface by pressing the divide key in Schematica. Your new schematic should be there, select it and choose the ‘Load’ button.
The schematic will be placed into your world. Open the manage schematics window by pressing the Minus key. In here, you can configure everything you need, such as changing the location and rotating.
Once you’re happy, with your blocks in hand, right click on the schematic to place them. If you want to speed up the process (in a cheat-like way), press the minus key to open the manage schematic window and press ‘Printer’ in the bottom left corner. Hover over parts of the schematic and it will start automatically building.
