Custom Block Sounds

Custom Block Sounds

Let resource packs redefine block sounds – no coding, no datapacks, just one JSON file.

Custom Block Sounds is a lightweight client-side Fabric mod that lets resource pack authors override the interaction sounds of any block – even of a single blockstate – and add ambient (idle) sounds to blocks that never had them.

Features

• Override break / fall / hit / place / step sounds per block or per blockstate
• Add idle (ambient) sounds to any block – with chance, cooldown, day/night, weather, open-sky, air-above and cluster conditions
• Use vanilla sounds or custom sounds shipped in the same resource pack
• Per-sound volume and pitch control
• Other players’ and mobs’ footsteps, block placement and fall sounds are replaced too – server-sent sounds are matched against the block at their position
• Multiple resource packs merge naturally – the pack higher in the list wins
• Invalid entries never crash the game – they are skipped with a clear warning in the log

Works on Minecraft 1.21 – 1.21.11 with one jar and on Minecraft 26.2 – 26.3 with a second one (the +26 file). Requires Fabric API. Fully client-side – safe to join any server.

Setting up your resource pack

Create one file in your resource pack:

assets/customblocksounds/config/blockmap.json

Each line is one rule: the key is a block (optionally with blockstate properties), the value is a list of parameters. Duplicate keys are allowed – write one line per sound type.

{
	"minecraft:brown_mushroom_block[down=false,east=false,north=false,south=false,up=false,west=true]": "sound=minecraft:block.sand.break,type=break,volume=1.0,pitch=0.8",
	"minecraft:brown_mushroom_block[down=false,east=false,north=false,south=false,up=false,west=true]": "sound=minecraft:block.sand.step,type=step",
	"minecraft:stone": "sound=mypack:custom_stone_step,type=step"
}

• Blockstate properties in [...] are optional and may be partial – a rule matches every state that has the listed values. A more specific rule (more properties) wins.
• sound= accepts any vanilla sound event (e.g. minecraft:block.sand.break – full list in vanilla sounds.json) or a sound declared in your own pack’s assets/<namespace>/sounds.json (declare it in sounds.json as usual and put the .ogg next to it).

Tip: press F3+T after editing blockmap.json – the config reloads without restarting the game.

Parameters

| Parameter | Description |
|—|—|
| type | which sound to replace: break, fall, hit, place, step (alias walk), idle (alias ambient) |
| sound | sound event id; optional for non-idle types (omit it to keep the vanilla sound and only change volume/pitch) |
| volume | 0-16, default 1.0 |
| pitch | 0-16, default 1.0 |

Idle (ambient) sounds

type=idle gives a block a looping ambience, like desert sand in vanilla 1.21.5+. Extra parameters:

| Parameter | Description | Default |
|—|—|—|
| idle_chance | chance to play when the scanner hits the block, 0-1 | 0.002 |
| idle_cooldown | minimum seconds between plays of this rule | 0 |
| idle_pitch_min / idle_pitch_max | random pitch range | 0.9-1.1 |
| idle_category | volume slider used: blocks, ambient, weather, players, music… | blocks |
| idle_air_above | true = only when the block above is air | off |
| idle_sky | true = only under open sky | off |
| idle_cluster | only when N same blocks are nearby (±8 horizontally, ±2 vertically) | off |
| idle_time | day or night | any |
| idle_weather | rain or clear | any |

Example – sand-like desert ambience:

"minecraft:brown_mushroom_block[down=true,east=true,north=true,south=true,up=true,west=false]": "sound=minecraft:block.sand.idle,type=idle,idle_chance=1.0,idle_cooldown=5,idle_air_above=true,idle_sky=true,idle_cluster=3,idle_time=day,idle_weather=clear"

Global idle scanner settings

One reserved key per pack (the highest enabled pack wins):

"customblocksounds:ambient": "idle_samples=64,idle_radius=24,idle_max_per_second=4"

| Parameter | Description | Default | Max |
|—|—|—|—|
| idle_samples | positions checked around the player per tick | 6 | 700 |
| idle_radius | horizontal scan radius (vertical = half) | 16 | 32 |
| idle_max_per_second | global cap on idle sounds per second | unlimited | 1000 |

A single block is found rarely with default settings – that’s vanilla-like desert density, tuned for areas of blocks. For clearly audible single blocks raise idle_chance and idle_samples.