Minecraft tag command guide

Updated: 30 October 2026

The basic form

Same on Java and Bedrock. Tag names cannot contain spaces; letters and numbers are safest.

Select by tag

/effect give @a[tag=player] minecraft:speed 30 1
/tp @a[tag=!player] 0 64 0

[tag=name] picks entities with the tag; [tag=!name] picks those without it. The first line speeds up participants, the second sends everyone else to spawn.

Minigame sign-up

/tag @a[distance=..5] add player
/give @a[tag=player] minecraft:wooden_sword
/tag @a remove player

Tag everyone near the sign-up point, give only them equipment, and remove the tag when the game ends. Tags never expire on their own.

Combine tags

/effect give @a[tag=player,tag=!out] minecraft:glowing 10 0

Several tag= conditions must all match: this highlights participants who are not out yet. Mark eliminated players with /tag @s add out.

Run something once per player

execute as @a[tag=!welcomed] run tellraw @s {"text":"Welcome!","color":"gold"}
tag @a[tag=!welcomed] add welcomed

In a repeating block followed by a chain block, each new player gets the message once and is then tagged. The same pattern works for first-join rewards.

Tag mobs when you summon them

Afterwards /kill @e[tag=boss] targets only that mob.

Common problems

• Nobody is selected: tag names are case-sensitive; check with /tag @s list.
• Adding twice does nothing: a tag is either there or not.
• Tags after death: players keep their tags; killed mobs are gone along with theirs.
• Tags vs teams: a player has one team but any number of tags (up to 1024).

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