Tutorials/Skyblock

Skyblock is a popular challenge, where the player starts the game in a small island in the void, including a tree and often a chest, which contains items you couldn't get without it (for example lava buckets).

Many different variations of the skyblock map are available online.

Overworld only
The most efficient way to get an item is written in bold.

Ways of getting items requiring cobblestone are written in italic.

Tree farming
Wood is crucial in the beginning of a skyblock map because it is the only renewable block available in the beginning of the game (except if you have immediately access to lava and water, in this case you can make a cobblestone generator).

First, chop down your island's tree, and make sure to get all of the dropped saplings. Then, dig all the dirt of island, except the first layer. You will then use (almost) all of the dirt to create a tree farm and use the wood you collect to make wooden slabs and expand your terrain using them.

Note that, at this stage, your only food available is apples, which has a 0.5% chance to drop from oak leaves. Also, try not to sprint or jump, in order to be able to eat enough.

Cobblestone farming
To farm cobblestone, you will need a lava bucket and a water bucket. If you don't have immediate access to water, you will have to make a mob farm before, in order to get iron for a cauldron.

To make a cobblestone generator, dig a one block deep T-shaped hole. Put a block in the center, water and lava on two others slots. Break the center block, get in the last slot, and break the cobblestone that forms. Make sure that the blocks that surround the lava are not flammable, or they will burn.

Mob farming
Hostile mob farms are very important because they are a source of bones, strings, redstone dust, iron ingots, potatoes and carrots, among many other drops. Building a mob farm is mandatory to get the crops to start crop farming. It is also an abundant source of rotten flesh, which you can now eat instead of apples. Multiple mob farms designs are explained in the page Tutorials/Mob farm, however, the vast majority of efficient designs need water or redstone circuits.

This hostile mob farm design shown by ilmango uses the mob pathfinding mechanics to lure them into a drop shaft, without the need of water or redstone circuits (note that spiders can't spawn in this farm) :

You should also make a temporary passive mob farm to get animals: to do that, if you're in a biome where animals can spawn you can remove the saplings from your tree farm, get back and wait for some to spawn. Keep in mind that you won't be able to attract them or breed them, since you don't have any crops yet.