Markup Guide
Markup is an XML-style tag language that lets you style and animate text in /eta send and /eta queue commands. You don't need to know any programming — just wrap your text in tags.
How Tags Work
Basic Syntax
<tagname>Your text here</tagname>
The tag wraps around the text it affects. Tags have an opening part <tagname> and a closing part </tagname>.
Tags with Parameters
<tagname param=value>Text</tagname>
Parameters customize how the tag behaves. Multiple parameters are separated by spaces:
<wave a=2.0 f=1.5>Wavy text</wave>
Quoting Values with Spaces
Values that contain spaces must be quoted:
<typewriter sound="minecraft:block.note_block.hat">Text</typewriter>
Self-Closing Tags
Some tags don't wrap text — they insert content inline:
<item id=minecraft:diamond/>
<entity id=minecraft:creeper scale=0.5/>
The / before > marks the tag as self-closing.
Nesting Tags
Tags can be nested inside each other. Inner tags inherit the outer tag's effects:
<rainbow><bold>Bold rainbow text</bold></rainbow>
Both rainbow and bold apply to "Bold rainbow text."
Complex nesting:
<anchor value=MIDDLE><scale value=1.3><neon><rainbow>Fancy centered text</rainbow></neon></scale></anchor>
Style Tags
Basic text formatting:
| Tag | Shorthand | Effect |
|---|---|---|
<bold> | <b> | Bold text |
<italic> | <i> | Italic text |
<underline> | <u> | Underlined text |
<strikethrough> | <s> | |
<obfuscated> | <obf> | Obfuscated text (vanilla §k style) |
<b>Bold</b> and <i>italic</i> and <b><i>both</i></b>
Color Tag
Set a specific text color using a hex code:
<color value=FF0000>Red text</color>
<c value=#00FF00>Green text (shorthand)</c>
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
value | 6-digit hex color. The # prefix is optional. |
Common colors:
| Color | Hex |
|---|---|
| Red | FF0000 |
| Green | 00FF00 |
| Blue | 0000FF |
| Gold | FFD700 |
| White | FFFFFF |
| Gray | 888888 |
| Dark purple | AA00FF |
Effect Tags (Quick Reference)
All 19 built-in effects are available as tags. See Effects Reference for full parameter details.
| Tag | Aliases | What it does |
|---|---|---|
<rainbow> | <rainb> | Cycling color spectrum |
<grad> | <gradient> | Color gradient from A to B |
<color col=HEX> | <color value=HEX> | Apply a solid color via effect system |
<pulse> | — | Rhythmic brightness pulsing |
<fade> | — | Transparency oscillation |
<wave> | — | Sinusoidal up-down motion |
<shake> | — | Random jitter displacement |
<bounce> | — | Bouncy hop animation |
<circle> | — | Characters orbit in circles |
<wiggle> | — | Organic per-character wiggle |
<pend> | <pendulum> | Pendulum swing |
<swing> | — | Rotation back and forth |
<scroll> | — | Continuous rightward-to-left scroll |
<turb> | <turbulence> | Wind-like organic drift |
<glitch> | — | Digital distortion |
<neon> | <glow> | Soft glow halo |
<shadow> | — | Custom shadow color/offset |
<typewriter> | <type> | Character-by-character reveal |
<obfuscate> | — | Scramble / reveal animation |
Example — stacking effects:
<neon><wave a=2.0><rainbow>Glowing wavy rainbow text</rainbow></wave></neon>
Layout Tags
Control where the message appears on screen and how it looks.
<anchor> — Screen Position
Places the message at one of 9 screen positions:
<anchor value=MIDDLE>Centered on screen</anchor>
<anchor value=BOTTOM_CENTER>Bottom of screen</anchor>
<anchor value=TOP_LEFT>Top-left corner</anchor>
Valid values: TOP_LEFT, TOP_CENTER (default), TOP_RIGHT, MIDDLE_LEFT, MIDDLE, MIDDLE_RIGHT, BOTTOM_LEFT, BOTTOM_CENTER, BOTTOM_RIGHT
<offset> — Pixel Adjustment
Nudges the message from its anchor position:
<offset x=10 y=-20>Shifted right 10px, up 20px</offset>
Positive x = rightward. Positive y = downward.
<scale> — Message Size
Multiplies the size of the entire message:
<scale value=1.5>150% size</scale>
<scale value=0.75>75% size</scale>
Default is 1.0.
<align> — Text Alignment
Controls horizontal text alignment:
<align value=LEFT>Left-aligned</align>
<align value=CENTER>Center-aligned</align>
<align value=RIGHT>Right-aligned</align>
Background Tags
Add a semi-transparent background behind message text.
Solid Background
<bg color=#60000000>Dark semi-transparent background</bg>
The color is 8-digit hex: first two digits are alpha (00 = transparent, FF = opaque), followed by RGB.
Gradient Background
<bggradient from=60000040 to=60400000>Blue-to-red gradient background</bggradient>
Aliases: <backgroundgradient>, <bggradient>
Background with Border
<bg color=#40000000 bordercolor=#80FFFFFF>Dark background, white border</bg>
<bg color=#40000000 borderstart=#80FF0000 borderend=#800000FF>Gradient border</bg>
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
color | Background fill color (ARGB hex) |
bordercolor | Single color for all four borders |
borderstart | Gradient border start color |
borderend | Gradient border end color |
Global Message Tags
These tags affect the entire message, not just the text they wrap.
<shadow value=true/false> — Toggle Shadow
Enables or disables the drop shadow behind all text:
<shadow value=true>Text with shadow</shadow>
<shadow value=false>Text without shadow</shadow>
When <shadow> includes effect parameters (x, y, c, r, g, b), it acts as a custom shadow styling effect instead. See Effects Reference → Shadow.
<fade in=N out=N> — Global Fade
Sets how many ticks the message takes to fade in and out:
<fade in=30 out=30>Fades over 30 ticks (1.5 seconds) each</fade>
When <fade> includes effect parameters (a, f, w), it acts as an oscillating transparency effect instead. See Effects Reference → Fade.
<font> — Custom Font
Changes the font for the wrapped text:
<font id=minecraft:font/unifont>Text in unifont</font>
Duration Tag (Queue Only)
The <dur:N> tag sets the display duration for a message inside /eta queue definitions:
<dur:120>This message lasts 120 ticks (6 seconds)</dur:120>
This tag is stripped before rendering — players never see it. It has no effect inside /eta send.
Always include <dur:N> in queue messages. Without it, the message defaults to 60 ticks and a warning is logged.
Inline Items and Entities
Render Minecraft items or entity models inside text.
Inline Item
You earned <item id=minecraft:diamond count=3/>!
Picked up <item id=minecraft:oak_planks size=64/>.
| Parameter | Alias | Description |
|---|---|---|
id | value | Minecraft item ID |
count | size | Stack size displayed |
x | offsetx | Horizontal pixel offset |
y | offsety | Vertical pixel offset |
Inline Entity
Beware the <entity id=minecraft:creeper scale=0.5/>!
<entity id=minecraft:villager scale=0.6 spin=2.0 anim=walk/>
| Parameter | Alias | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
id | value | (required) | Minecraft entity ID |
scale | — | 1.0 | Size multiplier |
x | offsetx | 0 | Horizontal offset |
y | offsety | 0 | Vertical offset |
yaw | — | 45 | Y-axis rotation (degrees) |
pitch | — | 0 | X-axis rotation |
spin | rotate | (none) | Continuous rotation speed |
anim | animation | idle | Animation state (idle, walk, attack, hurt) |
lighting | light | 15 | Light level (0–15) |
Preset Tags
Built-in presets bundle multiple effects and styles into a single tag:
<epic>Epic styled text</epic>
<legendary>Legendary text</legendary>
<spooky>Spooky text</spooky>
| Preset | Effects | Style |
|---|---|---|
<epic> | Pulse + Wave | Bold italic purple |
<legendary> | Rainbow + Neon | Bold gold |
<spooky> | Shake + Fade | Italic dark purple |
Putting It All Together
A complete /eta send command with layout, effects, background, and fade:
/eta send @p 200 <anchor value=MIDDLE><offset y=-30><scale value=1.2><bg color=#60000000><fade in=20 out=20><neon r=2><rainbow><bold>QUEST COMPLETE!</bold></rainbow></neon></fade></bg></scale></offset></anchor>
This creates: a centered, slightly elevated, 120%-sized, dark-background message with neon-glowing rainbow bold text that fades in and out.