How do you get a Minecraft cape? If you want to know this or how to equip them on your avatar, we’ve got all the answers. You’ve heard rumors, whispers of a mythical piece of cloth that adorns the shoulders of the most elite Minecraft players. Word on the block (sigh) is that capes also modify the appearance of Minecraft Elytra, the magical wings found in end ships, as they occupy the same space on a player’s back. Needless to say, Minecraft capes are highly coveted, but they haven’t been easy to get.
An almost endless amount of customization options make Minecraft one of the best PC games around: from the world itself, to gameplay, graphics, and your skin. Whispers and rumors aside then, what is a Minecraft cape in the sandbox game? These capes sits separately to your avatar skin, so you can chop and change it at will – even easier than you can change your Minecraft skin. However, the difficult part about Minecraft capes is getting one – there are elusive, exclusive capes, capes to buy on the Minecraft Marketplace, and even some for suggesting ideas to Mojang Studios, so here’s how to get your very own Minecraft cape, and how to equip them when you have a wardrobe full.
How to get a Minecraft cape
Since a Minecraft cape is usually a commemorative item, they can be earned during events, Minecraft Live conventions, or as a reward for carrying out a specific task, such as migrating your Mojang account. We’ve got a more specific breakdown of how to get hold of some Minecraft capes for yourself below, whichever version of the game you play.
The different ways to get a cape in Minecraft are:
Migrating your Mojang account
Back in 2020, Mojang announced that it would be migrating all Minecraft Java edition accounts from Mojang to Microsoft. This is a mandatory change, and you should have been prompted to do so by now if you have a legacy Mojang account.
If you have done so already – or once you do – you’ll unlock a shiny new cape. New Minecraft accounts are automatically set up with Microsoft instead of Mojang, and unfortunately won’t have a way to obtain the Migrator cape.
Own the game
In 2022, Minecraft Java Edition and Bedrock (AKA Windows) Edition were merged into the same Launcher, alongside Minecraft Dungeons and any other future game, like Minecraft Legends. To celebrate the merger, players who owned both the Java and Bedrock editions of the game on PC on the same account beforehand were awarded with the Vanilla cape in both versions. Again, sadly, if you don’t already have it, you’ll no longer be able to get it, but if you find it sitting in your collection, now you know why!
Play Bedrock Edition
The pan cape, as seen further up, is given to all players on Bedrock edition, and can be equipped from the ‘Capes’ tab of the Bedrock dressing room. When equipped with an elytra, the ‘pan cape’ looks like a pancake with butter and maple syrup – geddit now?
There may be other capes that will be given to Bedrock players, as the Founder’s Cape is another exclusive cape given to existing players of the game in 2019.
Exclusive capes
Those who ventured to any Minecon event before Minecon Earth 2017 each received Minecraft capes; each year, a different color and design. Even rarer still are the personal capes gifted to lucky individuals in recognition of their achievements, such as Reddit user u/billyk_, who got a personal turtle cape for suggesting Mojang should add turtles to Minecraft.
Unless you can come up with a suggestion as good as turtles (unlikely) or can time travel back to Minecons past, it looks like you’re out of luck to obtain any of these Minecraft capes in the Java version.
Get a cape in Minecraft with mods
So, capes are still pretty rare in Java Minecraft, and we don’t know when the next exclusive cape will be offered to fans, so what if you desperately want your avatar to have a cape right now, and you’re not interested in the free migration cape? Luckily, with the power of mods, you can get your own cape to bellow behind you as you walk! You can obtain any of the coveted capes in the game – or even better, any cape you can conceive of – using mods like the Advanced Capes Mod.
There is a caveat: other players you meet on multiplayer Minecraft servers won’t be able to see your cape unless they also have the same mods installed. So the only way to get capes that everyone can see is by waiting for official capes to be gifted to you from Mojang as it migrates your account.
How to equip Minecraft capes
It’s worth noting that, if you play both Java and Bedrock edition of the game, your capes are exclusive to the version, so your Java capes won’t appear in your Bedrock dressing room and vice versa.
Java Edition
If you have an official Minecraft cape in Java Edition, it can be found in the Skins section of the Minecraft Launcher. Head to the Skins tab, select the skin you’d like to add your cape to, then click ‘Duplicate’ or ‘Edit’. From there, choose the cape you’d like to add and save this down as a new skin selection.
It’s best to keep your cape equipped, as you can then turn it off in-game. To unequip your cape, head to options from your game, select ‘Skin Customization’, and toggle cape to ‘Off.’
Bedrock Edition
For the Bedrock version, launch the game. Next, click the tab on the left of the screen with a red cape with the Mojang logo. This will show all of your available capes, so choose one and click equip.
Equip your cape to your elytra
You don’t need to do anything to equip your cape to your elytra. On the contrary, if you have a cape on when you equip an eltyra, your wings will automatically take on the appearance of your cape! Cool!
That’s everything you need to know about getting yourself a cool Minecraft cape – if you’re looking to complete your ensemble, here are the best Minecraft skins we’ve found, or you could kit yourself out with a full suit of Minecraft Netherite armor.