3 Ways To Place Blocks In Minecraft - WikiHow

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Terms of Use wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Learn why people trust wikiHow How to Place and Break Blocks in Your Minecraft World PDF download Download Article Build on your computer, console, or mobile device Co-authored by Benjimin and Cheyenne Main

Last Updated: February 4, 2026 Fact Checked

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This article was co-authored by Benjimin and by wikiHow staff writer, Cheyenne Main. Benjimin is a Minecraft content creator. On his channels, he builds everything from simple survival bases to full maps and mega projects. He has built an online community of fellow Minecraft enthusiasts, with over 15K subscribers on YouTube, over 33K followers on Instagram, over 33K followers on TikTok, and a passionate base on Twitch. On his Patreon, he provides maps, guides, and other creative Minecraft instructional projects to over 11K members. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 179,090 times.

Placing your first blocks in Minecraft is easy—once you know the controls. Whether you’re playing Bedrock or Java Edition, we have all the information you need to start building your first creations in Minecraft. Keep reading to learn how to quickly place blocks. We’ll also tell you how to jump, sneak, move around, and break the blocks that you place.

Laying Down a Block in Minecraft

If you’re playing with a mouse, move it until the crosshair (+) is directly over the area where you want your block. Right-click the mouse to place whatever you’re holding, and hold down left-click to break it. With a controller, tap the left trigger to place a block and hold down the right trigger to break it.

Steps

Section 1 of 3:

Placing & Breaking Blocks on PC or Mac

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  1. Step 1 Look at the area where you want to place a block with the mouse. 1 Look at the area where you want to place a block with the mouse. Use the “W,” “A,” “S,” and “D” keys to move forward, left, backward, and right, and hit the spacebar to jump.[1] Navigate to the area where you’d like to build and point the crosshair (+) in the middle of the screen over a block.[2] The edges of the block will be highlighted with a thin black line.
    • Press the “Ctrl” key while moving to sprint, and the “Shift” key to sneak.
    • Fly in Creative Mode by double-tapping the spacebar. Hold the spacebar to fly upward and press “Shift” to fly downward again.
    • If you’re using a laptop without a mouse, use the touchpad to look around.
  2. Step 2 Use the mouse wheel to select the item you want to place in your hotbar. 2 Use the mouse wheel to select the item you want to place in your hotbar. The first items you pick up will appear in your hotbar—this is the gray bar at the bottom of the screen with icons showing items. Navigate to the block you want to place by scrolling the mouse wheel.[3]
    • If you don’t see the item you want in your hotbar, open your inventory by pressing the “E” key. Click and drag the item down to the last row in your inventory—this is your hotbar.
    • You can also press the “1,” “2,” “3,” “4,” “5,” “6,” “7,” “8,” or “9” buttons to select an item from one of the boxes in your hotbar from right to left.
    • In Creative Mode, click the tabs above your inventory to find almost all the blocks you can possibly place in the game.
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  3. Step 3 Right-click your mouse to place the block. 3 Right-click your mouse to place the block. Once you have the block you want selected in your hotbar, press the right mouse button to place it.[4] If you want to pick it up again, hold down the left mouse button until it breaks.[5]
    • To place a block without a mouse, hit the right button on your computer touchpad.
    • Some items need a special tool to pick them back up again—for example, any stone or ore blocks need to be broken with a Pickaxe selected in your hotbar.
    • To place blocks faster, hold down the right mouse button with multiple of the same block in your hotbar. You can tell how many items you have by the number in the lower right corner.
    • Player-oriented blocks have sides that change orientation depending on where you’re looking while you place them.
    • Vertically locked blocks are blocks that can only be placed with the top and bottom facing up or down, like grass or half slabs.
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Section 2 of 3:

Laying & Breaking Blocks on Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo Switch

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  1. Step 1 Use the left joystick to look where you want to place a block. 1 Use the left joystick to look where you want to place a block. Use the right joystick to move forward, backward, and side-to-side. Navigate to the area you want to build in, then move the left joystick up, left, right, and down to look up, left, right, and below you. Move the crosshair until it highlights the surface of the block you want to place a block on top of.[6]
    • Use the “A” button on the Xbox and Nintendo Switch to jump. On PlayStation consoles, press “X” to jump. In Creative Mode, double-tap this key to fly.
    • Press the left joystick straight down (like a button) while you’re moving to sprint faster.
    • Press the “B” button on Xbox and Nintendo consoles or the “O” button on PlayStation consoles to sneak (or fly downward if you’re in Creative Mode).
  2. Step 2 Use the left and right bumpers to hold an item from the hotbar. 2 Use the left and right bumpers to hold an item from the hotbar. The hotbar is the gray set of boxes at the bottom of the screen. Press the left bumper to select the next item to the left along the hotbar, and press the right bumper to select the next item on the right. When your hotbar is full, items will go straight into your inventory.[7]
    • To move an item from your inventory to your hotbar, press the “Y” button on XBox or Nintendo or the triangle on PlayStation to open the inventory.
    • Use the controller’s touch screen or the left joystick to navigate through the items in your inventory. Highlight the item, then hold “A” or “X” and move the joystick down to the last line of boxes in your inventory. Release “A” or “X” to drop the item.
  3. Step 3 Tap the left trigger on your controller to place a block. 3 Tap the left trigger on your controller to place a block. When you’ve selected the item you want to place, press the large left trigger on the top of your controller to put it down.[8] To break it, hold down the right trigger until the block is gone.[9]
    • To place multiple blocks at the same time, hold down the left trigger.
    • Select a Pickaxe in your hotbar to break stones and ores, or hold a Sword to fight off enemies.
    • Player-oriented blocks have sides that change orientation depending on where you’re looking while you place them.
    • Vertically locked blocks are blocks that can only be placed with the top and bottom facing up or down, like grass or half slabs.
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Section 3 of 3:

Putting Down & Destroying Blocks on Mobile Devices

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  1. Step 1 Touch and drag the screen to look where you want to place a block. 1 Touch and drag the screen to look where you want to place a block. In Minecraft Bedrock Edition, all you need to do is touch the screen with your finger and move it around. Press the arrow keys in the joypad in the bottom left corner of the screen to move your character around the world. Aim the crosshair (+) over the surface you want to place a block on.[10]
    • Use the button that looks like an upward-facing arrow on the right side of the screen to jump. Double-tap this button in Creative Mode to fly (hold it down to fly upward).
    • Press the double arrow button on the right side of the screen to sprint.
    • Tap the downward-facing arrow button on the right side of the screen to sneak (or to fly downward if you’re in Creative Mode).
  2. Step 2 Tap the item in your hotbar you want to place. 2 Tap the item in your hotbar you want to place. The hot bar is the gray row of boxes along the bottom of your screen. If you don’t see the item you want to put down in your hotbar, open your inventory by pressing the “...” button on the far right side of the hotbar. Tap an item in your inventory, then tap a box in the bottom row of boxes to put it in your hotbar.[11]
    • When you’re done, press the “X” in the top right corner of your inventory to return to the main view.
  3. Step 3 Tap a surface to place the item in your hand. 3 Tap a surface to place the item in your hand. Tap the box with the item in your hotbar to select it. Make sure your crosshair is highlighting the surface you want to place the block on, then tap it to place it down. To break the block again, highlight the block with your crosshair and tap and hold the screen where the block is.[12]
    • If you’re in a world with multiple players you want to talk to, press the speech bubble button at the top of the screen to open a chat window. Type your message, then hit “Send.”
    • You can also press the emote button on the top of the screen to send an emote to other players on the server.
    • Player-oriented blocks have sides that change orientation depending on where you’re looking while you place them.
    • Vertically locked blocks are blocks that can only be placed with the top and bottom facing up or down, like grass or half slabs.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question How do I place a command block? Community Answer Community Answer Either do /setblock ~ ~ ~ minecraft:command_block (to place one directly where you are standing) or /give [your username] minecraft:command_block (to insert the command block item into your inventory). Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 28 Helpful 28
  • Question My sister's Minecraft keeps lagging and crashing. What can I do to help? Community Answer Community Answer While deleting and reinstalling Minecraft may help, there are other things you can do. You can close other programs and apps you aren't using or turn on game mode if that's an option available on your device. You can also go to Minecraft settings and turn down the quality of the game and turn off or reduce things like render distance, particles, clouds, shadows, etc., to help the game run faster. Also, if you're on Java Edition, installing Optifine can help. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 6 Helpful 9
  • Question How do you place a block in minecraft on a computer? Amrith Center Amrith Center Community Answer For both the Windows and Dell (Java Edition), the block that you want to place the other object on, highlight it. There should be a thin border that is black when you've highlighted a block. Then click the block and place it. Remember that you should place the + sign on the highlighted block. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 48 Helpful 15
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Tips

  • While you’re sneaking in the game, you can’t walk off of edges.[13] Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • When you’re playing in Creative Mode, breaking an item will cause it to disappear. In other modes (like Survival), breaking an item will return it to your inventory.[14] Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • If you don’t have any blocks in your inventory, move around your world and break dirt, wood, and other surface materials you can build with. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 1
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References

  1. ↑ https://help.minecraft.net/hc/en-us/articles/360059148111-Minecraft-Java-Edition-Hotkeys
  2. ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/minecraft-controls
  3. ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/minecraft-controls
  4. ↑ Benjimin. Minecraft Expert. Expert Interview
  5. ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/minecraft-controls
  6. ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/minecraft-controls
  7. ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/minecraft-controls
  8. ↑ https://www.digminecraft.com/getting_started/how_to_place_item.php
  9. ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/minecraft-controls
More References (5)
  1. ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/minecraft-controls
  2. ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/minecraft-controls
  3. ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/minecraft-controls
  4. ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/minecraft-controls
  5. ↑ https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/minecraft-controls

About This Article

Benjimin Co-authored by: Benjimin Minecraft Expert This article was co-authored by Benjimin and by wikiHow staff writer, Cheyenne Main. Benjimin is a Minecraft content creator. On his channels, he builds everything from simple survival bases to full maps and mega projects. He has built an online community of fellow Minecraft enthusiasts, with over 15K subscribers on YouTube, over 33K followers on Instagram, over 33K followers on TikTok, and a passionate base on Twitch. On his Patreon, he provides maps, guides, and other creative Minecraft instructional projects to over 11K members. This article has been viewed 179,090 times. 32 votes - 48% Co-authors: 17 Updated: February 4, 2026 Views: 179,090 Categories: Minecraft Building In other languages Italian Spanish Russian German French Indonesian Japanese
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Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 179,090 times.

Reader Success Stories

  • Technoblade (Yes this is legit)

    Technoblade (Yes this is legit)

    Apr 3, 2023

    "Helped me so much! I place blocks every day now, and I am so good at the game. I built a house."
More reader stories Hide reader stories Share your story

Did this article help you?

Yes No Advertisement Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Benjimin Co-authored by: Benjimin Minecraft Expert 32 votes - 48% Click a star to vote 48% of people told us that this article helped them. Co-authors: 17 Updated: February 4, 2026 Views: 179,090 Technoblade (Yes this is legit)

Technoblade (Yes this is legit)

Apr 3, 2023

"Helped me so much! I place blocks every day now, and I am so good at the game. I built a house." AJ Barra

AJ Barra

Jul 4, 2017

"This article gets 10/10." Share yours! More success stories Hide success stories

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Tag » How To Place Blocks In Minecraft