NBT Tags for Ender Dragon – Wiki Guide
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            December 25, 2023        
            This Minecraft tutorial explains the NBT tags (formerly called data tags) that you can use for an ender dragon in Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19 and 1.20.
TIP: If you are not running Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.16/1.17/1.18/1.19/1.20, find NBT tags for ender dragon in another version of Minecraft:
- Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.14/1.15
 - Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.11/1.12
 - Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.10
 

Background
In Minecraft Java Edition 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19 and 1.20, the entity value for an ender dragon is ender_dragon. The ender_dragon entity has a unique set of data tags that can be used in Minecraft commands such as: /summon and /data.

What are NBT tags (formerly called Data Tags)?
NBT tags allow you to set certain properties of an entity (such as ender_dragon). The NBT tag is always surrounded in {} such as {DragonPhase:7}. If there is more than one NBT tag used in a game command, the NBT tags are separated by a comma such as {DragonPhase:7, CustomName:”\”Endie\””}.
List of NBT Tags
Here is a list of the NBT tags that you can use for ender_dragon in Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19 and 1.20:
| NBT Tag | Value (Description) | Works With | 
|---|---|---|
| DragonPhase | 0 (The dragon is starting its attack phase) 4 (The dragon is in the middle of the attack phase and will make a noise) 7 (The dragon is about to perform a breath attack) 9 (The dragon is about to die and will drop experience) 10 (The dragon is tame) Example  | 
/summon /data  | 
| CustomName |  
 name (The name to assign to the ender dragon) Example  | 
/summon /data  | 
| Health |  
 number (The number of health points the ender dragon has) Example  | 
/summon /data  | 
| AbsorptionAmount |  
 number (The number of absorption health points the ender dragon has) Example  | 
/summon /data  | 
| Invulnerable |  
 0 (The ender dragon will take damage like normal) Example  | 
/summon /data  | 
| PersistenceRequired |  
 0 (The ender dragon will despawn naturally) Example  | 
/summon /data  | 
| NoAI |  
 0 (The ender dragon will have artificial intelligence and will move/behave like normal) Example  | 
/summon /data  | 
| Silent |  
 0 (The ender dragon will make its usual noises in the game) Example  | 
/summon /data  | 
| Fire |  
 ticks (The number of game ticks until the ender dragon is no longer on fire – there are 20 ticks in a second) Example  | 
/summon /data  | 
| PortalCooldown |  
 ticks (The number of game ticks until the ender dragon can go through a portal again – there are 20 ticks in a second) Example  | 
/summon /data  | 
| Air |  
 ticks (The number of game ticks the ender dragon has air left for) Example  | 
/summon /data  | 
| id |  
 ender_dragon (The entity value used to represent an ender dragon in the EntityTag or Passengers tag) Example  | 
/summon /give  | 
| Passengers |  
 The mob that is riding on the ender dragon. Use the entity value for the passenger mob Example of skeleton as passenger  | 
/summon /data  | 
NBT Tag Examples
To summon an ender dragon that is about to start its attack phase:
/summon ender_dragon ~ ~ ~ {DragonPhase:0}
To summon an ender dragon that is named Endie and is about to perform a breath attack:
/summon ender_dragon ~ ~ ~ {CustomName:"\"Endie\"", DragonPhase:7}
To summon an ender dragon that is named Endie and is about to die and drop experience:
/summon ender_dragon ~ ~ ~ {CustomName:"\"Endie\"", DragonPhase:9}
Target Selectors
Before we finish discussing data tags, let’s quickly explore how to use the @e target selector. The @e target selector allows you to target entities in your commands. If you use the type=ender_dragon value, you can target ender dragons:
@e[type=ender_dragon]
Target Selector Examples
To change the nearest ender dragon to dragon phase 7 (perform a breath attack):
/data merge entity @e[type=ender_dragon,limit=1,sort=nearest] {DragonPhase:7}
To kill all ender dragons:
/kill @e[type=ender_dragon]
Next, learn how to use the game commands in Minecraft.
Command Examples
Here are some game command examples for an ender dragon in Minecraft: