Ubiquitous Chests

Overview

Item	Details
Requirements	Minecraft Java Edition 1.20.1 · Forge 47.4.10 or a compatible later 47.x release · Java 17
Installation	Required on both the client and the server
World generation	A single vanilla loot chest buried below the terrain
Optional integration	JEI + Just Enough Resources (JER), installed on the client
License	MIT for the original project material; third-party notices are preserved

Ubiquitous Chests adds randomly generated underground treasure chests across your world. Each structure contains just one chest—no building, room, spawner, or surrounding blocks.

All biomes and dimensions are eligible by default, provided the terrain supports generation. This includes modded biomes. You decide how often chests appear, how deep they are buried, where they cannot generate, and what they contain.

Sometimes the treasure really is right under your feet.

Finding a chest

Explore newly generated terrain, or use the vanilla structure-locating command with cheats or operator permissions:

/locate structure ubiquitous_chests:underground_chest

The returned X/Z coordinates point to the chest's column. Vanilla /locate displays ~ for Y, so you still need to explore below ground. Clear the block above the chest to open it.

Existing worlds are supported, but new chests only appear in newly generated chunks. The world must have structure generation enabled.

Configuration

The mod creates config/ubiquitous_chests-common.toml on first launch, with English and Chinese comments. Stop the game or server before editing, then restart. Multiplayer worlds use the server's configuration.

Setting	Default	What it controls
enabled	true	Natural generation
chancePerChunk	0.02	A 2% generation attempt chance per 16×16 chunk, with at most one chest
minDepth / maxDepth	8 / 48	Depth below the base terrain, including both endpoints
blockedBiomes	[]	Biome IDs or #tags in which generation is forbidden
blockedDimensions	[]	Dimension IDs in which generation is forbidden
minRolls / maxRolls	3 / 7	Number of weighted loot rolls per chest
items	Basic resources and iron equipment	Item IDs, weights, and quantity ranges

Depth is measured from the generator's base terrain: the seabed in oceans and the upper terrain in the Nether. Trees and later decorations are not included. Chunks without a suitable solid position in the configured range are skipped, so actual generation can be lower than the attempt probability. Later cave carving or other mods may expose a chest in a cave.

Example: exclude oceans, the Nether, and the End

[generation]
enabled = true
chancePerChunk = 0.05
minDepth = 10
maxDepth = 35
blockedBiomes = ["#minecraft:is_ocean", "minecraft:deep_dark"]
blockedDimensions = ["minecraft:the_nether", "minecraft:the_end"]

Both the surface biome and the chest's underground biome are checked. Empty blacklists allow all biomes or dimensions; custom dimensions still need a generator that supports structures.

Choosing the loot

Each loot entry uses this format:

item_id|weight|minimum_count|maximum_count

[loot]
minRolls = 3
maxRolls = 7
items = [
  "minecraft:iron_ingot|30|2|8",
  "minecraft:gold_ingot|18|1|5",
  "minecraft:ender_pearl|8|1|3",
  "minecraft:obsidian|12|2|6",
  "minecraft:iron_pickaxe|5|1|1"
]

The defaults also include coal, bread, an iron sword, and all four iron armor pieces. Items from installed mods are supported.

Rule	Details
Weight	1–100000; higher weights make an entry more likely on each roll
Quantity	1–64 per roll; non-stackable items follow vanilla splitting rules
Roll count	0–27; reversed minimum/maximum roll or depth ranges are normalized
Invalid entries	Skipped with a log warning
Empty loot	An empty item list or zero rolls produces an empty chest
Capacity	The chest has 27 slots; excessive loot may not all fit

The same item can be selected more than once. Entry-level NBT customization is not supported.

JEI / JER integration

Install both Just Enough Items (JEI) and Just Enough Resources (JER) on the client to view Ubiquitous Chests in JER's dungeon chest loot category. You can also look up a loot item's recipes and check its chest sources.

The page shows items, quantity ranges, roll counts, and weighted probability per roll. This is not the probability of finding at least one copy in a whole chest.

Loot data is synchronized from the server on login and after /reload, so players do not need to copy the server's configuration. Neither JEI nor JER is required for chest generation, and neither is required on the dedicated server.

Tested with JEI 15.20.0.106 and JER 1.4.0.247 for Forge 1.20.1.

Frequently asked questions

Does this add a custom chest block?

No. The structure places one vanilla chest with the mod's loot table.

Will changing the configuration affect existing chests?

Generation changes affect new chunks and do not remove existing structures. Unopened chests use the current loot table; opened chests retain their contents. Previously generated chests may still be found after changing blacklists.

Can I use it in a modpack or modify it?

Yes. The original project material is MIT licensed. Preserve the license notice when redistributing it, and observe the separate licenses of Minecraft, Forge and other dependencies.

Where can I find the source or report a problem?

Source code · Issue tracker