How to get a cape in Minecraft, even without mods

Publish date: 2024-04-11

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Capes are among the rarest of all items in Minecraft. Depending on which one you have, they can be a sign of how long you've played, which events you've gone to, or just which mods you use.

It's not hard to get a cape in Minecraft. But unless you fall into a very specific category of player, it'll probably involve paying some money.

Here's how to get a cape in Minecraft, using either the official method or mods.

How to get a cape in Minecraft without mods

In Minecraft, capes are usually given out to users who attend certain events or complete specific tasks.

For example:

A selection of capes from Minecraft: Java Edition. Mojang

Additionally, players who attend the upcoming Minecraft Festival in late 2022 will earn an exclusive cape.

There are a few capes that you can get at any time, but they're exclusive to Bedrock Edition.

You can buy capes in Bedrock Edition. Mojang

To equip your capes, head to Minecraft's character creation page and change your skin. You'll see all the capes you've unlocked there.

How to get a cape in Minecraft with mods like OptiFine

There are lots of Minecraft mods that can get you a cape. But the best of these mods — although it costs a bit of money — is OptiFine.

If you haven't already heard of it, OptiFine is a massive Minecraft mod that revamps the game's graphics engine and lets you optimize the game for your computer. It's possibly the most popular Minecraft mod of all time, and a necessity for anyone looking to install shader packs.

Note: Like most mods, OptiFine is only available in Minecraft: Java Edition.

Along with performance changes, OptiFine also gives you the ability to design and wear custom capes. But unlike the mod's other features, capes are locked at the start.

OptiFine is free to download, but to unlock capes, you have to donate $10 to the OptiFine team.  You can donate and choose your cape design from this webpage. You'll have to provide your Minecraft username and email address.

You can pick what your cape will look like before you buy. Optifine

Once your cape is active, you should see it appear on your character the next time you open the game. If it's not, make sure that you have OptiFine installed and capes turned on in-game: Open Options, then Skin Customization, and then make sure Cape is set to ON.

The default OptiFine cape has the letters OF on it. Mojang; Optifine; William Antonelli/Insider

Important: Other Minecraft players you meet online won't be able to see your capes unless they've also got OptiFine installed. And although most Minecraft servers support it, some servers will temporarily remove your cape.

You can change the cape's design at any time (or temporarily deactivate it) by opening Minecraft, selecting Options, Skin Customization, OptiFine Cape, and then Open Cape Editor.

Only the colors can be changed by default, but you can also select the Banner option and then follow the instructions to create a custom cape on this page.

William Antonelli Tech Reporter for Insider Reviews William Antonelli (he/she/they) is a writer, editor, and organizer based in New York City. As a founding member of the Reference team, he helped grow Tech Reference (now part of Insider Reviews) from humble beginnings into a juggernaut that attracts over 20 million visits a month. Outside of Insider, his writing has appeared in publications like Polygon, The Outline, Kotaku, and more. He's also a go-to source for tech analysis on channels like Newsy, Cheddar, and NewsNation. You can find him on Twitter @DubsRewatcher, or reach him by email at wantonelli@businessinsider.com. Read more Read less

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