Cape Support

Capes are cosmetic items displayed on player backs in Minecraft. This page explains how SkinsRestorer interacts with capes.

How capes work in Minecraft

Capes are purely cosmetic and don't affect gameplay. They're obtained through:

Account-related: Migration capes, Vanilla cape (Bedrock-Java linking)
Events: Minecraft Live, MINECON, social media campaigns
Staff/Volunteer: Mojang employees, translators, moderators
Personal: Given to specific individuals (Java Edition only)
Pan Cape: The only cape automatically given to all players

Capes cannot be custom-made or transferred between accounts. They are tied to specific Mojang/Microsoft accounts.

How SkinsRestorer handles capes

When you use /skin <playerName>, SkinsRestorer fetches the complete skin data from Mojang's API. This data includes:

The skin texture
The cape texture (if the player has one equipped)
Mojang's cryptographic signature

If the player you're copying has a cape, that cape will be included in the skin data and displayed on your character.

Example

/skin Dinnerbone

If Dinnerbone has a Mojang employee cape equipped, you'll see both his skin AND his cape on your character.

Limitations

What SkinsRestorer CAN do

Copy skins from players who have capes (cape included)
Display the cape that comes with the copied skin data

What SkinsRestorer CANNOT do

Create custom capes: Capes require Mojang's signature and are tied to specific accounts
Add capes to URL skins: When you use /skin url, only the skin texture is generated - no cape
Remove capes from copied skins: If a player's skin data includes a cape, you'll get both
Generate arbitrary capes: There's no API to create new capes

MineSkin (used for /skin url) only generates skin textures. It does not and cannot generate capes, as capes require Mojang account verification.

Finding players with capes

To get a skin with a cape, you need to know the username of someone who has one equipped.

Some players known to have capes:

Mojang employees (Mojang cape)
MINECON attendees (various years)
Minecraft Live participants
Content creators with personal capes

The cape displayed depends on what the original player currently has equipped. If they switch capes or unequip it, the cached data in SkinsRestorer will show their old cape until refreshed.

Refreshing cape data

If a player changes their cape, you may need to refresh the cached data:

/skin update

Or clear and re-apply:

/skin clear
/skin <playerName>

Technical details

Cape data is part of Mojang's signed skin property. The texture data (Base64 encoded) contains URLs for both skin and cape:

{
  "textures": {
    "SKIN": {
      "url": "http://textures.minecraft.net/texture/..."
    },
    "CAPE": {
      "url": "http://textures.minecraft.net/texture/..."
    }
  }
}

The cape URL is only present if the player has a cape equipped. This entire payload is cryptographically signed by Mojang, which is why custom capes cannot be created.

Cape Support

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