Minecraft Skins: Change, Design and Download Them Safely

A Minecraft skin is a small PNG image wrapped around your character, and changing it is free on both editions. On Java you upload it in the launcher or on your minecraft.net profile; on Bedrock you import it in the Dressing Room on Windows and mobile, or pick one from the Marketplace on console. The step-by-step for every platform is in how to change your Minecraft skin.

If you’d rather make your own than download one, our skin editor guide explains how the template is laid out, how the second layer works, and how to shade a face that fits in 8 by 8 pixels.

The few facts that trip people up

• Size: Java accepts 64×64 PNGs (and the old 64×32 format). Bedrock also accepts 64×64 and 64×32, plus 128×128 for higher detail when imported.
• Arm width: every skin is made for either the classic model (4-pixel arms) or the slim model (3-pixel arms). Upload a skin with the wrong setting and you’ll get a stripe of missing or stretched pixels down the arms.
• Editions are separate: a skin you set on Java doesn’t appear on Bedrock, and the reverse. Bedrock’s Character Creator outfits are Bedrock-only.
• Consoles: Xbox, PlayStation and Switch can’t import PNG skins. Console players use the Character Creator and Marketplace skin packs.
• Capes are a separate thing you can’t upload yourself. Our capes page lists the legitimate ways to get one.

Staying safe

Skin sites are mostly fine. The risk is software that pretends to be one. A skin is just an image. You never need to install a “skin changer” program, give a website your Microsoft password, or run anything to use one. Download the PNG, upload it through the official launcher or the game, and that’s it. Parents setting things up for younger players can find account and safety settings in Minecraft for parents.

Want the rest of the game to look different too? Resource packs reskin blocks and items on both editions the same way skins reskin you.