Java Edition hard limits

This page documents historical hard limits of mainly earlier versions of Java Edition. These are defined as boundaries which exist due to the game's code and data types, as opposed to limits which have been implemented intentionally (see World boundary) or effects due to precision loss (see Java Edition distance effects).

Precision loss errors (X/Z: ±2–±2,147,483,519)
Numerous effects become visible, such as the characteristic stuttering/offset bug at high distances. This still occurred in later releases (tested in 1.7.10) if one uses the shaders mod (or the releases of optifine with built in shader support) and the SEUS shader pack, because it incorrectly uses floats instead of doubles. With that particular shader pack graphical glitches start to occur in the form of smeared textures, stuttery foliage waving, glitched water effects and various other glitches. It should be also noted that the ice blocks are unaffected by the choppy movement likely due to differences in rendering.

Fake chunks (X/Z: >±32,000,000)
Blocks beyond 32 million were intentionally hardcoded to not exist. However, in some versions, they still render, resulting in odd rendering.

Spawn chunk glitch (X/Z: ±524,288–X/Z: ±1,073,741,824)
A notable bug at high distances is the spawn chunk glitch, causing the chunks at the origin to reappear at high distances.

32-bit limit (X/Z: >±2,147,483,647)
At X/Z: ±2,147,483,519, blocks are no longer rendered, giving way to an empty sky. At X/Z: ±2,147,483,647 (maximum 32-bit integer), the game is likely to crash or the player gets stuck. However, chunks still generate along with clouds. Fast graphics clouds are however insanely stretched. It is very dangerous to reach X/Z ±4,294,967,296 or higher, as the chances of crashing (assuming the player has 64-bit Java) are extremely high, and get higher the further the player goes.

Cloud render limit (X/Z: ±25,769,803,000–±25,769,804,000)
Between X/Z: ±25,769,803,000 and X/Z: ±25,769,804,000 clouds stop rendering (Varies between maps, but they disappear somewhere in between these distances. Does not apply for fast graphics clouds). Beyond here, only the sky, sun, moon and void remain.

Chunk overwrite limit (X/Z: >±34,359,738,368)
If one makes it to X/Z: ±34,359,738,368 (235), away from spawn, chunks start getting overwritten. As a result, this is the end of chunk generation in Minecraft. As soon as this limit is approached, the game freezes and crashes, resulting in an Out of memory screen. However, in some cases, the player may be able to move past this limit for a few seconds before Minecraft crashes. A chunk is 16 × 16 blocks, and 34,359,738,368 = 2,147,483,648 × 16, so the chunk coordinates are 32-bit integers as well.

64-bit integer limit (X/Z: >±9,223,372,036,854,775,807)
The highest signed value for 64-bit machines is X/Z ±9,223,372,036,854,775,807. However, despite this being the limit any machine can go, it may not be possible (through in-game methods) to go near this point, since the vast majority of people experience instant client freeze, followed by the client crashing. In some cases, it is possible to teleport to it however this is difficult. The only way that this can work with a high consistency is if one uses Cheat Engine to edit a players position to be at this limit. If one manages to make it this far, the only things that exist are the Sun, Moon and the sky, as shown by one user that managed to actually be out this far.

Previously, there was a theory that at this distance there would be no sun or moon, the sky would be pitch black and the clouds would glow oddly. This has since been debunked as false, as clouds would disappear long before this coordinate would be reached.

>64-bit floating point limit (X/Z: >±1.797693134862315907729305190789&times;10 )
On August 1, 2018, a YouTube user named "Aura Gunner" made a video showing the player teleporting to 1.797693134862315907729305190789 x 10^308 (past 21024) on the X-axis. Because 1.797693134862315907729305190789 x 10^308 is the maximum 64-bit floating-point integer, it caused the player's X coordinate to roll over to read "Infinity". It is impossible to go further since this is the physical limit at which Java can render, and the game always crashes at this distance. It is possible to get this far, however, Cheat Engine must be used to edit the coordinates in a way that allows continuous teleportation.

(Y: <&minus;2,147,483,647)
In Beta 1.7.3, as the player falls below Y=&minus;2,147,483,647, the darkness of being in the void disappears. Instead of darkness, the void now looks like an empty world. It has a sky, a sun, and a moon, and they are all visible depending on the time of day. Despite this, the player still receives damage from the void.

Map editors
When viewing the Far Lands in a 3D Minecraft map editor, the player encounters errors. In MCEdit, the selection cubes start to distort and the map distorts when viewing. In addition, when the player rotates their view around a selected area, blocks are not lined up right and change how poorly lined up they are at random, making the whole world seem to shake.