This Minecraft tutorial explains the NBT tags (formerly called data tags) that you can use for a wither boss 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 wither boss 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 a wither boss is wither. The wither 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 wither). The NBT tag is always surrounded in {} such as {NoAI:1}. If there is more than one NBT tag used in a game command, the NBT tags are separated by a comma such as {NoAI:1, CustomName:”\”Destruction\””}.

List of NBT Tags

Here is a list of the NBT tags that you can use for wither in Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19 and 1.20:

NBT Tag Value (Description)
Invul ticks (The number of game ticks until the invincibility shield for the wither boss wears off)

Example
{Invul:2000}
CustomName  

name (The name to assign to the wither boss)

Example
{CustomName:”\”Destruction\””}
Health  

number (The number of health points the wither boss has)

Example
{Health:25.0f}
AbsorptionAmount  

number (The number of absorption health points the wither boss has)

Example
{AbsorptionAmount:2.0f}
Invulnerable  

0 (The wither boss will take damage like normal)
1 (The wither boss will not take any damage from attacks or physical surroundings)

Example
{Invulnerable:1}
PersistenceRequired  

0 (The wither boss will despawn naturally)
1 (The wither boss won’t despawn)

Example
{PersistenceRequired:1}
NoAI  

0 (The wither boss will have artificial intelligence and will move/behave like normal)
1 (The wither boss will have no artificial intelligence and will appear motionless)

Example
{NoAI:1}
Silent  

0 (The wither boss will make its usual noises in the game)
1 (The wither boss will not make any noise in the game)

Example
{Silent:1}
Fire  

ticks (The number of game ticks until the wither boss is no longer on fire – there are 20 ticks in a second)

Example
{Fire:60}
PortalCooldown  

ticks (The number of game ticks until the wither boss can go through a portal again – there are 20 ticks in a second)

Example
{PortalCooldown:120}
Air  

ticks (The number of game ticks the wither boss has air left for)

Example
{Air:120}
id  

wither (The entity value used to represent a wither boss in the EntityTag or Passengers tag)

Example
{id:wither}
Passengers  

The mob that is riding on the wither boss. Use the entity value for the passenger mob

Example of skeleton as passenger
Passengers:[{id:skeleton}]

NBT Tag Examples

To summon a wither boss that is named Destruction:

/summon wither ~ ~ ~ {CustomName:"\"Destruction\""}

To summon a wither boss that is named Destruction and has no artificial intelligence:

/summon wither ~ ~ ~ {CustomName:"\"Destruction\"", NoAI:1}

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=wither value, you can target wither bosses:

@e[type=wither]

Target Selector Examples

To change the name of the nearest wither boss to Destruction:

/data merge entity @e[type=wither,limit=1,sort=nearest] {CustomName:"\"Destruction\""}

To kill all wither bosses:

/kill @e[type=wither]

Next, learn how to use the game commands in Minecraft.

Command Examples

Here are some game command examples for a wither boss in Minecraft:

How to Summon a Wither Boss

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