Vanilla armor stands have never had arms by default, and it is one of Minecraft's longest-running player complaints. Armor Stand Arms is a data pack that fixes it directly: every armor stand placed after installing the pack gets arms automatically, no commands required for the basic case. It works on Java Edition worlds from 1.20.1 through the current 26.3 drop, single-player or on a dedicated server.
What changes in-game
The pack hooks into armor stand placement so every new stand spawns with arms already attached, no extra step needed. On 1.21 and newer, shift and right-click on a stand toggles its arms individually. On 1.21.6 and newer, `/trigger armor_stand_arms.config` opens a menu to turn that shift-click behavior on or off across the whole world.
- Every armor stand placed after install spawns with arms already on
- Shift and right-click shows or hides arms on one stand (1.21 and newer)
- `/trigger armor_stand_arms.config` toggles the shift-click feature on or off (1.21.6 and newer)
- `/function armor_stand_arms:app/arms/remove_all` strips arms from every stand at once
- `/function armor_stand_arms:app/arms/show_all` restores arms on every stand at once
Installing Armor Stand Arms
- 1.Download the .zip file from the Modrinth project page
- 2.Drop it into your world's datapacks folder, or the server's for a dedicated server
- 3.Run /reload, or restart the world, to load the pack
- 4.Confirm it loaded by running /datapack list
Armor Stand Arms also ships as a mod jar for Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, and Quilt at the same 26.3 build, for anyone who would rather drop it into a mods folder than manage a data pack file directly. The project lists an optional shared library, 5555ff-lib, as a dependency, but it is not required for the arm features to work.
Working with armor stands before 1.21
Worlds still on 1.20.x do not get the shift and right-click shortcut. To remove arms from a single stand there, stand as close to it as you can and run /trigger remove_arms, then run /trigger show_arms the same way to bring them back. The trigger targets whichever armor stand is nearest, not the one you are looking at, so it can misfire in a crowded display room.
Multiplayer and server use
The pack is required on the server, since the arm logic runs from world data, but the client side is optional. Joining players see the arms without installing anything themselves, which makes it a safe drop-in for a survival server host who does not want to require a matching client mod or resource pack for a purely cosmetic fix.
Showcase video
Armor Stand Arms showcase
Questions about Armor Stand Arms.
5 questions
How do I install Armor Stand Arms?
Download the .zip from the Modrinth project page and place it in your world's datapacks folder, or the server's datapacks folder for a dedicated server. Run /reload or restart the world, then check /datapack list to confirm it loaded. A Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, or Quilt build is also available if you would rather install it as a mod.
Does Armor Stand Arms need a resource pack?
No. The arms are added through vanilla data pack functions, not custom textures or models, so there is no companion resource pack to install. Anyone who joins the world sees the arms automatically, with nothing extra required on their end.
Does Armor Stand Arms work on multiplayer servers?
Yes. It needs to run on the server, since the arm logic lives in world data, but individual clients do not need anything installed to see it. That makes it safe to add to a survival server without asking players to install a matching mod or pack.
Which Minecraft version does Armor Stand Arms support?
The current build reaches 26.3 across every distribution the project ships, including the plain data pack and the Fabric, Forge, NeoForge, and Quilt jars. The project also supports releases back to 1.20.1, though the shift and right-click shortcut only works on 1.21 and newer.
Can I remove the arms from just one armor stand?
On 1.21 and newer, shift and right-click the stand to hide its arms. On 1.20.x, stand as close as possible to the stand and run /trigger remove_arms, since the trigger targets the nearest stand rather than the one you are looking at. Run /trigger show_arms the same way to bring the arms back.
