Topic category: Feature requests and ideas for MCreator
Hi,
i ran into an frustrating problem lately.
All my custom classes got deleted by the click of an button I mindlessly clicked because my mind was spinning around another problem and I have not paid attention to the things I was clicking on.
I was copieing an entity and this caused some problems while compiling. The regenerate code window popt up and I clicked on the green button.
BAM
all work of 3 days was gone withing an blink of an eye without the possibility of recovery.
I dont want any good advice such as "make a backup of your code" or "code in another directory" no. This is a problem. I just started working with mcreator and this is a realy realy bad issue. The program should at least take backup before regenerating something automaticly. Or at the very very least ask again if Im sure I want to have all my files deleted.
And I think this is something that many have or will encounter with this program. So this is a feature request.
Incremental backup of the code in the mod and the ability to disable the "regenerate code" prompt.
for all the ones using mcreator the first time, so they dont have to live through that.
I also work with custom code in MCreator, I truly gotta agree with you and say: it really is good advice to back-up your code; skill issue..
I totally get what you're saying. Yes, it is a "skill issue" in the sense that we all need to learn how to manage our code, but the problem is much deeper when you're dealing with a program like MCreator, which is targeted towards users who may not have extensive programming experience. It's not just about coding skills—it's about providing a safe, user-friendly experience that encourages learning and experimentation without making the user feel like they're walking on a tightrope.
MCreator, as a tool aimed at newcomers, should be more supportive, rather than acting like a gatekeeper that punishes users for making mistakes. Telling someone "you messed up, now it's your fault" and deleting their work without warning isn't the right approach. It’s like the situation I encountered recently at a coffee machine repair shop: I brought in a machine with a third-party water filter, and instead of just throwing the filter away, the technician kept it aside and made a thoughtful recommendation. That's how it should be with MCreator—there should be a safeguard to ensure your work isn’t thrown out just because of an accidental click.
If the program is going to "regenerate" files, it should at the very least back up the previous state of the code. It’s frustrating when such simple mistakes lead to lost work. And if that’s not feasible, the program should ask for confirmation before deleting everything!
Fortunately, I managed to rescue my code by decompiling the mod again, but not everyone will have that option or knowledge.
It’s exactly this kind of experience that highlights the need for a better, more supportive approach to backing up and restoring user work. I strongly agree with you, that incremental backups and a more cautious approach to regenerating code could save a lot of headaches for first-time users.
At this time, this is requirement of how the generator operates and is needed to allow seamles adding/removal of plugins and one-click version switches.
A warning can't be shown as by design as MCreator can't distinguish between custom code and generated code in all cases (reason in first paragraph).
For this purpose, we have prepared this page to help people who want to use both systems at the same time: https://mcreator.net/wiki/combining-mcreator-generated-code-custom-code
Thank you, Klemen, for clarifying the technical limitations and for providing the link to the documentation.
It's truly unfortunate that there's no effective way to safeguard users' code. My suggestion wasn't intended for personal gain but as a humble proposal for the collective benefit of the MCreator community.
I understand the technical challenges involved, but I've seen several forum posts expressing similar concerns. Maybe it's just my perspective, but it seems there's a real need for such features. It would be great to know if others feel the same way and if these ideas resonate with the community.
I understand the need for this and am actively brainstorming how this could be circumvented in a reasonable way
Just make the code save into the document files instead of the mod files this will make it so that it can’t override the custom code