Custom Main Menu: Shape Your Minecraft Title Screen with JSON
If you have ever wanted your main menu to feel like part of your world instead of the default vanilla layout, the Custom Main Menu mod is one of the most flexible ways to do it on modded Minecraft. Instead of digging through opaque code, you work with a single JSON file that describes blocks of UI: buttons, images, text, and even extra pages. That keeps the workflow approachable for players who already know crafting recipes and resource packs, but who also like tweaking mechanics at a deeper level.
What Changes the First Time You Launch
After your first run with the mod installed, the experience should still feel familiar. The big difference you will notice right away is an extra button on the main menu. That button is your live refresh control while you edit menu.json. When you change the file and press refresh in-game, you can see updates instantly without restarting Minecraft. Once you are happy with the result, you can remove the refresh button so the screen looks clean for everyday play.
Most of the structure mirrors what vanilla already shows, which makes it easier to learn by example. If you are building a modpack or a themed server experience, that parity helps you keep recognizable navigation while you customize biomes, lore, or branding on the title screen.
Editing menu.json and Understanding the Layout
You will find the configuration under config/CustomMainMenu, with menu.json listing the elements the vanilla menu uses. Each entry controls content and position, and many properties are self-explanatory if you have edited JSON before. Think of it like arranging blocks: you are placing rectangles, labels, and actions rather than cobblestone, but the idea of a structured blueprint is the same.
Documentation pages for the mod explain the different object types you can add beyond vanilla pieces. That matters when you want slideshows, web links, or entirely new sub menus that open like small hubs inside the title flow. Pairing those options with careful spacing and consistent typography can make your menu read like a polished mini website sitting on top of Minecraft.
Slideshows, Links, Random Text, and Resource Locations
One of the mod’s strengths is how far you can push presentation. A slideshow can rotate background art or featured updates across versions. Web links can point players toward patch notes or community rules, expressed as plain text destinations you type yourself rather than relying on mystery download buttons scattered around the internet.
Italicized properties in the schema support random values. For example, a text field can be an array like ["Text1","Text2","Text3","Text4"], and one entry is chosen randomly each time Minecraft starts. That small touch keeps repeated launches feeling fresh without rewriting the file every week.
For textures, images, and text resources, the mod expects a resource location. Images can also load from the web when you use web as the resource domain and supply a URL. You can supply custom assets through a resource pack or through Resource Loader, which many players find simpler for one-off modpack art.
Practical Tips Before You Debug
Invalid JSON is the fastest way to get confusing behavior, so run your file through a JSON validator if something stops loading. Resource paths should be completely lowercase in both the JSON and on disk, which matches how Minecraft resolves textures across biomes, blocks, and UI alike. Double-check that required properties are present and that names match the format exactly; a single mismatched key can silently drop an element.
If textures go missing, create a debug folder inside your resources folder when using Resource Loader. That setting causes helpful lines to print to the debug log when Minecraft cannot find a requested file. On Windows, you can sanity-check a path by pasting it into the Run dialog to confirm the folder structure lines up with what you typed.
When you are juggling several mods across updates, it helps to keep installation smooth. If you like grabbing UI tweaks and quality-of-life mods without hunting scattered sites, this mod can be easily installed via the foxygame.net launcher, a convenient, flexible, and modern Minecraft launcher where you can download mods right from the menu, which saves time when you iterate on menu.json between play sessions.
Examples, Version Drift, and Sharing Your Work
Community galleries show dramatic before-and-after results: recolored button text, textured panels, slideshow showcases, and custom action buttons that chain into sub menus. Keep in mind that older examples may not match the latest Custom Main Menu format after updates, and some demos assume custom images that will look odd if you paste the config without the same art. They still teach the techniques, even if you need to adjust coordinates or properties for your Minecraft version.
External helper ideas from the original project notes include logo-style text generators and skin-based avatar URLs that pair well with web: image sources, giving you quick ways to personalize a menu with a player head or stylized title without building every pixel by hand.
Conclusion
Custom Main Menu turns the title screen into a configurable surface: JSON for structure, resource locations for art, and optional randomization for variety. Whether you run a small friends server or a large modpack across multiple Minecraft versions, a deliberate menu sets expectations before anyone joins a world. Start from the vanilla layout, refresh often while you edit, validate your JSON, keep paths lowercase, and treat missing textures as a routing problem rather than a mystery. With those habits, you can ship a main menu that feels crafted for your community, not copied from default templates.