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Programming Minecraft With Python

Overview

This document includes instructions for setting up a development environment for Python and MinecraftEDU on macOS. This is a series of steps pieced together from various sources. I was unable to find a specific set of instructions for integrating the Python Minecraft API with MinecraftEDU. I was able to piece together various tools and installations processes to make this environment work.

Much of this guide is adapted from this blog post. I converted a lot of it to work with MinecraftEDU.

For now, this is largely a series of steps to follow. More explanation will be included at a later point.

PyCharm

Install the PyCharm IDE. One concern I had was that this wouldn't interact with the Minecraft environment, but the PyCharm interpreter works perfectly with Raspberry Juice and the Minecraft API.

Here's a download link for the free edition. PyCharm Community Edition: Mac

  • Download the package and install it into the Applications folder.
  • Optional: Pin to the Dock.

Minecraft Tools

I grouped together all of the server tools that are needed in the environment. I packaged them into a zip folder. The reason for this is that you need the version of the Spigot server to match the version of Minecraft (just like with full Minecraft). MinecraftEDU works similarly.

The server settings that I preset (creative mode and support for offline mode) are stored in the provided server.properties file. If you need to modify this, open this file with any text editor and change the values.

I tried to get the Python Minecraft API to interact with MinecreaftEDU's internal server, but ran into issues with Raspberry Juice. My solution was to pre-bundle all of these tools and then have the youth unpack the zip and run start.sh from a terminal prompt to launch the server.

  • Download link for the tools: Minecraft Tools Pack
  • Download the .zip and move it from Downloads to Documents.
  • Once in Documents, expand the zip to create the minecraft-tools folder.

Installing Prerequisites and Dependencies

While going through this process I encountered that there were several prerequisite installations as well as many dependencies. I've included this in this section, going as far back to the first trackable dependency. You may already have some of these installed on your Mac system.

Install Homebrew

  • Install the Homebrew package manager. Check out their install page here: Homebrew install
  • Open Terminal and enter the following code into the command prompt:
/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"
  • This process may take awhile. If you see lots of action in the Terminal window, Homebrew is installing correctly.
  • There are potentially some pauses in this process:
    • Prompt for XCode Command Line Tools: Press ENTER and enter admin password.
    • Prompt for XCode agreement: Read through agreement (advancing it with SPACE) and type 'agree' at end.
    • Out of space for XCode: Computer needs additional space to install the XCode tools. Clear space and try again.

Install Python 3

  • The courses uses Python 3, which may or may not be installed.
  • Open Terminal and enter the following command:
brew install python3
  • This will either install Python 3, or verify that it's already installed. If you see "Warning: python3 3.6.1 is already installed" then your system already has the latest version of Python3.

Install Java

Note: Only do this step if you're unable to run the launcher.jar file. You'll receive an alert saying that there is no Java SDK to open the .jar file.

  • To check if this is necessary, type which java in a terminal prompt. If you get a pathway as a response, Java is installed. Still run launcher.jar to double check. If you can't run the file, or which java doesn't return a pathway, move through the next steps.
  • Use Homebrew to install the latest Java SDK. This is needed to run MinecraftEDU.
  • Type the following into Terminal and press enter:
brew cask install java

Minecraft API

  • At this point, navigate to the minecraft-tools folder that you made in your Documents folder. If you didn't download it previously, refer to the link at the top of the guide.
  • The following series of instructions require you to be inside this directory. The installation won't work if you're not!
  • Open a Terminal prompt, and navigate to this file location by typing the following:
cd ~/Documents/minecraft-tools
  • This will change directories to the minecraft-tools folder.
  • At this point, type the following command into Terminal:
pip3 install ./py3minepi-master
  • The ./ is crucial! This installs this particular package from the current folder.

Note: You may need to use sudo for this. If so, use sudo and enter an admin password.

Testing

To test that the server is installed, run the following command in Terminal:

./start.sh

This will execute the script that launches the server. You must keep Terminal open! Closing Terminal closes your server!

Conclusion

The tools should now be installed! I pre-packaged much of the heftier installations by bundling everything into the minecraft-tools zip. Make sure to keep this folder intact!