Summon a mob with no AI using commands

A mob with its AI switched off stands where you put it. It does not wander, chase or fall, which makes it useful for lobby displays, statues, photo spots and mob zoos. This guide shows the command that summons one, how to freeze a mob that already exists and how to bring it back to life.

Checked against Minecraft Java Edition 26.3, October 2026. The NoAI data tag is a Java Edition feature, and your server runs Java.

Summon a mob with no AI

The tag is NoAI. Put it in the data block at the end of a summon command. You can run the command in the Console tab with no slash, or in game as an operator with a slash. In the console, execute at runs it from a player's position, using that player's name:

execute at Alex run summon zombie ~ ~ ~ {NoAI:true,Tags:["statue"]}

In game, the same command is shorter:

/summon zombie ~ ~ ~ {NoAI:true,Tags:["statue"]}

The Tags entry gives the mob a label of your choice, statue here, so you can find it later.

What NoAI does

NoAI switches off the mob's AI. It stands still and does not fall, even with no block under it. Two things follow:

• Place it on solid ground. A mob summoned in mid-air hangs there.
• It can still be hurt. NoAI only stops it thinking. Add Invulnerable:true if you want it to survive hits. Players in Creative mode can still damage an invulnerable mob.

A few other tags suit a display mob. All of them go in the same data block, separated by commas:

A full example, a silent evoker that faces east and stays put:

execute at Alex run summon evoker ~ ~ ~ {Rotation:[-90f,0f],NoAI:true,Silent:true,PersistenceRequired:true,Tags:["statue"]}

Freeze a mob that already exists

You can add the tag to a mob that is already in the world with data merge entity. In game, stand next to it and run this. The selector @n[type=zombie] picks the nearest zombie:

/data merge entity @n[type=zombie] {NoAI:true}

From the Console tab, use a tag you set earlier, which does not depend on where anyone stands. data merge entity takes a single target, so this form freezes one tagged mob, which is why it needs limit=1:

data merge entity @e[tag=statue,limit=1] {NoAI:true}

To freeze every mob with the tag, let execute as run the merge once for each of them:

execute as @e[tag=statue] run data merge entity @s {NoAI:true}

The command cannot change a player. The game answers "Unable to modify player data".

Let it move again, or remove it

Set the tag back to false to restore its AI. This form releases one mob:

data merge entity @e[tag=statue,limit=1] {NoAI:false}

To release every mob with the tag:

execute as @e[tag=statue] run data merge entity @s {NoAI:false}

To remove every mob with the tag, use the kill command:

kill @e[tag=statue]

If it does not work

• "Monsters cannot be summoned in Peaceful difficulty". Raise the difficulty, or use an animal or another non-monster for your display. Summon custom entities with /summon has the rest of the summon syntax.
• The command changes nothing. The selector found no mob. For data merge, check the tag name, and for @n, stand next to the mob.
• The mob floats or hangs. It was summoned in the air. Kill it and summon it again on solid ground.