MobGrab Documentation

Complete reference for MobGrab v2.1.3

Overview

MobGrab lets players pick up mobs by shift + right-clicking them. The mob turns into a player head item with full data preserved — health, equipment, trades, name, variant, everything. Right-click a block to place the mob back down exactly as it was.

All 90+ Mobs

Every living mob in 26.2 supported with custom head textures.

Full Data

Trades, profession, level, equipment, enchants — all preserved.

Region Protection

Respects WorldGuard, PlotSquared, and GriefPrevention.

Bedrock Support

Form-based GUI for Bedrock players via Floodgate.

How to Use

Picking Up

Sneak + Right-click a mob to pick it up. It becomes a player head item in your inventory with the mob's face, stats, and data shown in the lore.

If your inventory is full, the item drops at your feet.

Placing Down

Hold the mob item and right-click any block to place the mob back down. All data is restored — trades, health, name, equipment, everything.

Mobs picked up by one player can be placed by anyone with the mobgrab.place permission. The items are tradeable and storable.

Permissions

Bundle Permissions

Grant entire categories of mobs at once.

PermissionDescriptionDefault
mobgrab.pickup.*Pick up all mobs (includes all bundles)false
mobgrab.pickup.passiveAll passive mobs (cows, sheep, horses, etc.)false
mobgrab.pickup.hostileAll hostile mobs (zombies, skeletons, etc.)false
mobgrab.pickup.villagerVillagers and zombie villagersfalse
mobgrab.pickup.utilityIron golems, snow golems, copper golemsfalse
mobgrab.pickup.bossWarden, Wither, Ender Dragonfalse

Individual Mob Permissions

Every mob has its own permission node: mobgrab.pickup.<mob>

For example: mobgrab.pickup.cow, mobgrab.pickup.villager, mobgrab.pickup.creeper

The mob name matches the Bukkit EntityType in lowercase. All individual permissions are listed in plugin.yml and are discoverable in LuckPerms.

Core Permissions

PermissionDescriptionDefault
mobgrab.placePlace mob items back downop
mobgrab.adminAccess /mobgrab commands and GUIop
mobgrab.updateRun /mobgrab update (downloads and installs the latest release)op
mobgrab.bypass.protectionIgnore region protection checksop
Players need both the pickup permission for a mob and the mob must be enabled in config. Either condition missing will prevent pickup.

Commands

CommandDescriptionPermission
/mobgrab guiOpen the mob toggle GUImobgrab.admin
/mobgrab enable <mob>Enable a mob for pickupmobgrab.admin
/mobgrab disable <mob>Disable a mob for pickupmobgrab.admin
/mobgrab statusShow enabled count and current settingsmobgrab.admin
/mobgrab reloadReload config and presetsmobgrab.admin
/mobgrab give <player|@s> <preset>Give a preset mob itemmobgrab.admin
/mobgrab listList available presetsmobgrab.admin
/mobgrab save <name>Save the mob you're looking at as a presetmobgrab.admin
/mobgrab delete <name>Delete a presetmobgrab.admin
/mobgrab updateDownload and install the latest release jarmobgrab.update
About /mobgrab update: it checks the GitHub releases page for a newer version, and if one exists, downloads MobGrab.jar from that release into your plugins/ folder. It only pulls from the official public repo, never runs automatically, and requires the mobgrab.update permission (op by default). Restart the server to apply. Revoke the permission to disable it.

Configuration

All settings are in plugins/MobGrab/config.yml.

Sound Effects

KeyDefaultDescription
pickup-soundENTITY_CHICKEN_EGGSound when picking up a mob
pickup-sound-volume0.8Volume (0.0 – 1.0)
pickup-sound-pitch1.4Pitch (0.5 – 2.0)
place-soundENTITY_ENDERMAN_TELEPORTSound when placing a mob
place-sound-volume0.6Volume
place-sound-pitch1.2Pitch

Particle Effects

KeyDefaultDescription
pickup-particlesSMOKEParticle type on pickup
pickup-particle-count15Number of particles
place-particlesHAPPY_VILLAGERParticle type on place
place-particle-count20Number of particles

Mechanics

KeyDefaultDescription
cooldown-seconds1Cooldown between pickups per player
blacklist-modefalsefalse = whitelist (only listed mobs), true = blacklist (all except listed)
fireproof-itemstrueGrabbed mob items survive fire & lava; can also be toggled live from the admin GUI
disabled-worlds[]Worlds where MobGrab is fully disabled (no pickup or placement), by world folder name

Mob Toggles

Under enabled-mobs:, each mob type can be set to true or false.

In whitelist mode (default), only mobs set to true can be picked up. In blacklist mode, all mobs can be picked up unless set to false.

Mobs can also be toggled in-game via /mobgrab gui.

Boss mobs (Warden, Wither, Ender Dragon) are disabled by default. Enable them in config if desired.

Mob Info Display

When a mob is picked up, the item shows detailed info in its lore. What's displayed depends on the mob type:

InfoShown On
HealthAll living entities
Custom nameNamed mobs
OwnerTamed pets (wolves, cats, parrots, etc.)
BabyAny ageable mob that isn't adult
SittingTamed pets that are sitting
Profession, Level, TradesVillagers
Color, StyleHorses
Type, CollarCats, Wolves
Wool Color, ShearedSheep
VariantAxolotls, Frogs, Mooshrooms
ColorParrots, Llamas, Shulkers
TypeFoxes, Rabbits
PersonalityPandas
Nectar, Stung, AngryBees
Screaming, HornsGoats
ChargedCreepers
SizeSlimes, Magma Cubes, Phantoms
Pattern, Body ColorTropical Fish
Puff StatePufferfish
ShiveringStriders
Weathering StateCopper Golems
Equipment & EnchantsAny mob with armor or held items

Villager Trades

Villager items display a full trade list with icons:

Trades (6) 24x Emerald + Book -> Mending I 20x Wheat -> Emerald Book -> Emerald 5x Emerald -> Shield ...
  • Each trade shows ingredients and result with item icons
  • Multi-ingredient trades display a + between inputs
  • Enchanted book trades show the enchantment name directly as the result
  • Exhausted trades (no uses left) appear with strikethrough

Custom Presets

A preset is a saved mob you hand out as an item. Define them in plugins/MobGrab/presets.yml, then give them out.

Commands

  • /mobgrab save <name> — save the mob you're looking at (works for any mob)
  • /mobgrab give <player|@s> <preset> — give the preset item
  • /mobgrab list — list presets · /mobgrab delete <name> — remove one
  • /mobgrab reload — reload after editing the file

Hand-written villager preset

Best for custom trader villagers. Each top-level key is the preset name:

mending_master: type: VILLAGER name: "&6Mending Master" # & colour codes profession: LIBRARIAN # job (see list below) level: 5 # 1-5; 5 unlocks all trades villager-type: PLAINS # biome skin (optional) health: 40 # optional trades: - ingredient1: "EMERALD:5" # what the player pays ingredient2: "BOOK:1" # optional second cost result: "ENCHANTED_BOOK:1" # what they receive enchantments: mending: 1 # enchant the result (name: level) max-uses: 9999 # uses before it locks

Fields

  • type — entity type; defaults to VILLAGER
  • profession — LIBRARIAN, ARMORER, WEAPONSMITH, TOOLSMITH, FARMER, CLERIC, FLETCHER, CARTOGRAPHER, BUTCHER, MASON, SHEPHERD, FISHERMAN, LEATHERWORKER, NITWIT, NONE
  • villager-type — PLAINS, DESERT, JUNGLE, SAVANNA, SNOW, SWAMP, TAIGA
  • trades — list of ingredient1 / optional ingredient2 / result / optional enchantments / max-uses
  • equipment — optional helmet / chestplate / leggings / boots / main-hand / off-hand, each a material with optional enchantments
  • Items are MATERIAL:AMOUNT (e.g. EMERALD:10); enchantments use lowercase ids (mending, sharpness)

Snapshot any mob

Look at any mob and run /mobgrab save <name>. It writes the exact mob to presets.yml as a snapshot — don't hand-edit the snbt:

my_wolf: type: WOLF snbt: "{...full mob data...}"

Compatibility

All integrations are soft dependencies — MobGrab works fine without any of them installed.

Region Protection

Mobs can only be picked up or placed where the player has build permission. Supports:

  • WorldGuard — checks the BUILD flag, plus a custom mob-grab region flag (set to deny to block pickups in a region)
  • PlotSquared — checks plot ownership and membership
  • GriefPrevention — checks claim build access

Use mobgrab.bypass.protection to skip these checks.

RoseStacker

When picking up a mob from a RoseStacker stack, only one mob is removed from the stack instead of the whole group.

Floodgate / Geyser

Bedrock players automatically get a form-based GUI for /mobgrab gui instead of the chest inventory.

ClickVillagers Migration

MobGrab can place villager items created by ClickVillagers. Players can right-click to place their old ClickVillagers items normally. When they pick the villager up again, it becomes a MobGrab item going forward.