How to download Minecraft 1.20.5 snapshot 24w04a

Minecraft: Java Edition's snapshot 24w04a was released on January 24, 2024, across PC platforms. The beta makes substantial changes to the breeze and armadillo mobs slated to arrive in the vanilla game in the future, implements world performance optimizations, and introduces the /transfer command to move players between servers.

Given the impactful changes coming in this Java release, you will no doubt want to get your hands on it to see for yourself. Fortunately, thanks to the game's official launcher, all that's required to access snapshot 24w04a is a few clicks and a relatively solid internet connection. In just a few moments, you'll be able to dive into all the new changes with no time wasted.

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Downloading and installing Minecraft snapshot 24w04a

The official game launcher can fully download new snapshots in just a few moments (Image via Mojang)

Once you've installed the Minecraft Launcher, installing the latest snapshot, whether you're doing so for the first time or not, is incredibly easy. Sure, other Minecraft clients can do the same, but the official launcher even comes with a tab for patch notes in case you're curious about the full slate of changes.

You can download and play snapshot 24w04a with the following steps. Keep in mind these are for PC platforms:

1. If you haven't done so already, head to Mojang's site for the Minecraft Launcher and download the installation file for it based on your operating system. Run this file to install the launcher by following the steps in the installation wizard, then open the program.
2. After logging in (or if you have the launcher installed and are logged in already), select Java Edition from the game list to the left of the window.
3. Next to the install/play button, click the button that reads "Latest Release" by default and then choose "Latest Snapshot."
4. From here, simply press the Install/Play button. The launcher will connect to the internet and download all the necessary files/folders before running snapshot 24w04a.

That's all there is to it! Keep in mind that in addition to accessing snapshot 24w04a, these steps can also be used to download any new snapshot whenever Mojang releases one. The update process on Minecraft Bedrock Edition is a bit more complex, but fortunately, Java Edition snapshot updates are only a few clicks away.

The main menu of snapshot 24w04a (Image via Mojang)

If you're curious about what has changed, it doesn't hurt to check out the Minecraft snapshot 24w04a patch notes for further reference. Quite a few things have been tweaked in this release, so it isn't a bad idea to read up on them to get an idea of what to expect once you've loaded up your game world.

There will undoubtedly be several more snapshots in the lead-up to the 1.21 update, but if you love being on the cutting edge of Mojang's new implementations, snapshot 24w04a is your go-to option for the time being.