version: "1.0.2" name: mcbe-json-ui-server-forms description: Analyze and implement Bedrock JSON UI server forms, including title/factory routing, collection-backed buttons, client tabs and dropdown pagination, category and global search, hover states, close/search input, inline edit boxes, and typed BP response handling.

MCBE JSON UI Server Forms

Treat a custom form as one BP/RP protocol, not as an isolated screen skin.

Evidence first, skill second

Research the real evidence before applying anything written in this skill, and say which step answered:

1. The target pack itself: its _ui_defs.json, manifests, the files the request names, and the current Content Log.
2. Pinned official vanilla evidence: references/official/bedrock-samples-ui at the revision in references/official/bedrock-samples-ui.lock.json, node tools/vanilla-name-check.mjs <name> for any control, #binding, $variable, button id, renderer or screen file, the full local mirror under references/upstreams/bedrock-samples when present, and docs/83-vanilla-ui-1.26.50-diff.md for names that moved or disappeared.
3. Registered upstream sources and their cards: node tools/design-library.mjs sources --source ID and node tools/design-library.mjs patterns --source ID for the official docs, Wiki snapshots, schemas and sample addons pinned in config/design-research-lock.json (commit-pinned raw URLs for every file), then the repository docs/.
4. Only when steps 1–3 do not answer: this skill's own references. Label such guidance "inferred from skill guidance", never "confirmed".

A name, offset, selector or rule found in steps 1–3 overrides this skill. Older third-party references and example packs stay valid pattern evidence; do not delete or rewrite them because a vanilla name moved. Without this repository checkout, follow the same order with the official samples and docs you can reach and report which steps were unavailable.

For a chest-style menu, use mcbe-json-ui-chest-gui for fixed slots, page snapshots and inventory appendix mapping, then return here for the ActionForm factory contract. A native chest_screen inventory is owned by that chest skill rather than this ActionForm workflow.

Contract

• Input: server_form.json, routed UI files, exact title/body/buttons or modal fields, sender code, and target input devices.
• Output: sender -> title route -> factory -> collection/index -> event -> response trace, changed files, and interaction evidence.
• Success: route/fallback is valid, displayed and callback indices agree, collection ownership is valid, search uses the intended data scope, and close/input behavior is tested or marked pending.

If data/skill-tool-profiles.json exists, read only the mcbe-json-ui-server-forms entry. Static contract checks do not prove that Bedrock dispatches clicks or typed values.

Workflow

1. Read references/server-form-map.md.
2. Write the complete BP/RP contract before editing: form kind, exact title token, fallback, ordered semantic ids, field types, cancel behavior, and search scope.
3. Trace main_screen_content/route -> qualified factory control -> collection owner -> per-item index -> verified button mapping.
4. Validate sender/receiver order and marker cleanup, then test mouse, controller, touch, close/cancel, search, and typed submission in Bedrock.

For transparent form buttons over a HUD Geo scene, read the GeoUI skill's hybrid player-form customizer. Keep collection ownership and caption indices separate; a scene that remains visible while an ActionForm is reopened does not prove the form itself stayed open.

For instant tabs/pages within one open ModalForm, read dropdown pagination only when requested. Keep the state dropdown at custom_form index 0, preload all views, and keep its reader and page gates active. Resolve the author's dropdown.radio_selected in the actual source pack; it is not an established vanilla control. ActionForm-style content buttons inside a ModalForm need a separately verified hybrid adapter. The reference includes pinned similar implementations and original protocol/binding fragments; target-client interaction remains a required check.

Required boundaries

• A search toggle cannot search categories whose data is absent from the active collection.
• collection_name belongs to the verified collection owner; collection_index belongs to the materialized item.
• A visual hover/pressed state is not click dispatch.
• Keep project-specific tokens, labels, namespaces, and hidden payload markers in the project contract, not in this Skill.