Minecraft Jukebox Playlists: How to Set One Up With a Chest

How to set up a jukebox playlist

Until now a jukebox played one disc and stopped. If you wanted music running in a base you had to keep walking over to swap records, or build a redstone machine to do it for you. The upcoming game drop fixes that with a chest.

1. Place a jukebox wherever you want the music to come from.
2. Put a chest directly on top of it. A single chest, a trapped chest or any copper chest variant all work. It has to sit on the block straight above the jukebox.
3. Fill the chest with music discs in the order you want to hear them.
4. Put a disc in the jukebox to start the music. When that disc finishes, the jukebox swaps it with the next disc from the chest.

That's the whole build. No redstone, no hoppers, no timers. A single chest has 27 slots, which is more than the number of music discs in the game, so one chest is enough to hold a copy of every track.

How the playlist order works

The rules in Mojang's changelog are short, but each one changes how you'd lay out a chest.

• Slot order. Discs play in the order of the chest's slots, reading left to right along each row, from the top row down. Arrange the chest the way you'd write a track list.
• Gaps are fine. Empty slots and anything that isn't a music disc are skipped, so you can keep a few spare items in the chest without breaking the playlist.
• It loops. After the last disc, the playlist goes back to the first one, so the music keeps going for as long as you're nearby.
• The jukebox swaps, it doesn't stack. The finished disc goes back into the chest and the next one comes out, so your discs aren't lost or piled up in the jukebox.
• No discs, one song. If the chest has no music discs in it, the disc in the jukebox just plays again. Put a single favourite in the jukebox and an empty chest on top and you've got a track on repeat.
• Skipping. Eject the disc that's playing and the jukebox moves on to the next available disc.

Which chests count, and which don't

The jukebox only reads from a single container directly above it. Mojang lists the chest, the trapped chest and all of the copper chest variants. On Java, the blocks that qualify are grouped in a new block tag, #jukebox_containers, so data pack makers can see or change the list.

Double chests are out. In Snapshot 5, Mojang fixed two bugs: one where a jukebox kept reading from a single chest after it had been turned into a double chest, and one where it wouldn't read from a single chest left over after breaking a double chest. Both fixes point the same way. If your playlist stops, check the chest is a single one and that it's directly on top of the jukebox.

A trapped chest is a nice choice for a party room, because it looks like a normal chest. Copper chests are the other option if you want the playlist to match a copper build.

Where to find music discs

A playlist is only as good as the discs you can find. A few of the reliable sources:

• Creepers. A creeper killed by a skeleton's arrow drops a music disc. That's the classic source of most of C418's tracks.
• Trial Chambers. Their vaults can give "Precipice", and ominous vaults can give "Creator". In our study of 50,000 Java worlds, 99.5% had Trial Chambers within 500 blocks of spawn, so they're usually the easiest dungeon to reach.
• Ancient Cities. Their chests can hold "otherside" and the fragments you need to craft "5".
• Bastion remnants. The Nether bastions are where "Pigstep" turns up.
• Trail ruins. Brushing suspicious gravel can turn up "Relic".

How to try it now

1. Java Edition: in the Minecraft Launcher, open Installations, turn on snapshots and create an installation for 26.4 Snapshot 4 or later. Playlists arrived on 13 October 2026.
2. Bedrock Edition: install Minecraft Preview 26.70.20 or later on a supported device, or join the beta on Android. Create a new world and turn on the Drop 4 of 2026 experiment, which holds the upcoming drop's features. Experimental worlds can't earn achievements.
3. Use a new or copied world. Snapshots and previews can damage worlds, and you can't safely take a world back to the full release afterwards.

Release date

Jukebox playlists are part of Minecraft's final game drop of 2026, the same drop as the new ice caves. Mojang hasn't announced a release date, and anything in a snapshot can still change before it ships. Our guide to the Ice Caves drop covers the rest of what's in it, and Mojang's 26.4 Snapshot 4 notes list every change, including the technical ones.

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a jukebox playlist in Minecraft?

Place a single chest, trapped chest or copper chest directly on top of a jukebox and put music discs in it. When the disc in the jukebox finishes, the jukebox swaps it for the next disc in the chest.

Does a double chest work as a jukebox playlist?

No. Mojang's notes say a single chest, trapped chest or copper chest. Snapshot 5 fixed bugs that let jukeboxes read from double chests, so build your playlist on a single chest.

Can you skip a song on a jukebox playlist?

Yes. Ejecting the disc that's playing skips to the next disc available in the chest.

Does the jukebox playlist loop?

Yes. Discs play in slot order and the playlist loops back to the first disc after the last one. If the chest has no discs at all, the disc in the jukebox simply plays again.

When are jukebox playlists coming out?

They're part of Minecraft's last game drop of 2026, which has no release date yet. You can try them now in Java Edition 26.4 Snapshot 4 or later and in Bedrock Preview 26.70.20 or later.

Filed under Minecraft, Guides

Facts in this article were checked against developer and store sources on 23 October 2026. Prices, versions and dates change, so confirm on the official page before you buy.