# Using Minecraft-Data

Using minecraft-data should be one of the first steps of anybody using mineflayer, luckily it has a very simple api that is quick to learn. The best way to teach in programming is by doing, so here are a few examples of reasons you would need minecraft-data.

# Finding the id of an item

From very early, minecraft items have had an id, that is changed every minecraft version, so it is best to get this id dynamically.

Find an instance of minecraft-data to use. minecraft-data comes bundled inside of mineflayer under bot.registry, which allows for quick access.
You can simply use bot.registry.itemsByName.name.id with name being the name of an item.
Find the name of the item in minecraft-data. (For more info look at the info below)
Use the name from step 3 with the object from step 2. For example, If I was looking for an iron sword, I would use bot.registry.itemsByName.iron_sword.id

Finding item or block names

At some point in your mineflayer career, you will have to find the name of an item or block as it's called in minecraft-data. When you do, the link is at this website