Technical blocks



Technical blocks are blocks that cannot be acquired without commands or mods, but have independent block IDs, and serve various purposes during events within the game. The ability to obtain the item form of most technical blocks (block IDs 26, 34, 36, 55, 59, 63, 64, 68, 71, 74, 75, 83, 92, 93, 94, 104, 105, 115, 117, 118, 124, 127, 132, 140, 144, 149, and 150) was removed in the 1.7.2 update. As of 14w02a, types of crops were removed. As of 14w25a, fire blocks were removed. As of 14w26a, fluid blocks and portal blocks were removed. Farmland, Monster Spawners, and Burning Furnaces remain available.

All technical blocks that appear in the Pocket Edition remain available too. (e.g. Glowing Redstone Ore, Melon Stem, Crops, etc.)

Piston related
These blocks serve a purpose when a piston is used.

Piston Head
Piston Head is a block used as the piston's extension. One of the data bits of this block defines if it is a normal piston or a sticky piston extension. Many players use this block as a table instead of the standard pressure plate on fence. Block 34 can be obtained by using the pick block key on Block 34 in creative in 1.2, but not later. Block 34 cannot be placed even if the player has it. It can, however, be placed with some programs. For example---MCEdit or certain modifications. When placed using these programs, only the two sides of the piston's shaft will render (the two sides facing the player).

It is possible to create a piston arm that will not disappear when the block next to it updates, but it will disappear if the piston that created it is moved or destroyed (The piston is both extended and retracted at the same time.) This can only be done with sticky pistons. To replicate this, one must create a "smart piston" (a piston that will push a block away as soon as the block is placed in front of the piston). This is accomplished by putting a redstone torch underneath the space where the block will be, and connecting wire from next to the space where the block will be to the piston. Since the pulse that will be created is less than 1 tick (1/20 of a second), the sticky piston will not stick to the block. Next, place blocks in front of the piston until it can't push any more, and destroy the block immediately in front of the piston (again, this must be a sticky piston.) The piston will extend and retract several times, then stay extended and retracted at the same time until either the piston or the arm is destroyed (Destroying the arm will not destroy the piston, but moving or destroying the piston will destroy the arm.) (Tested horizontally in Minecraft 1.2.5.).

Trivia

 * Mobs can spawn inside the block.

Piston Extension
The Piston Extension (aka "Block Being Moved By Piston" or simply "block 36") is a technical block used by pistons. It is a side effect of the method of storing blocks that are being moved by a piston as tile entities instead of normal entities. It is used by the piston head to display the animation of a block coming out of the piston base.

Block 36 is invisible, non-solid, and cannot be broken without the use of commands. It decreases the light level of light passing through by 1. Although it is non-solid, fluids cannot pass through it. Before 14w32a, the block could be removed by right-clicking, allowing redstone devices to check when a player right-clicks. Since 14w32a, it no longer has a hitbox, but the block still prevents from building at its location. The game treats the block as a stone block when it comes to their breaking animation and the player's footstep sounds.

Trivia

 * Carpet can be placed on this block, and will remain if the block 36 is replaced with a solid block using.

Decoration related
These blocks are technical and can be found as items in the decoration section of the Creative menu.

Flower Pot
The flower pot is a technical block that is placed using the flower pot item. It uses damage values and a tile entity to determine the plant it contains.

Bed
The bed block can be placed using the bed item, but this block is still considered a Technical block because it has separate block and item forms. When using the command, it will say: "There is no such ID as ID 26." Thus, it cannot be obtained since 1.7.2 and later. When placed in the "minecraft" world using the command, you will see only the half of the bed block.

Mob head
Even though there is a mob head item, this is still a technical block because it has separate block and item forms. However, as of 14w31a, the inventory item does not appear, and instead this block is displayed rather than the item. The mob head items use damage values when placed to determine whether this block is on the wall or ground. Its rotational data is stored in its connected Tile Entity. Data values for the item form determine which of the 5 default mob heads it is (even if it's a custom mobhead it's secretly the Steve mobhead underneath).

Sign
This block has two forms: Wall (block 68) and standing sign (block 63). It has an item form that allows the block to have a custom message before you place it.

Brewing related
These are technical blocks related to brewing.

Brewing Stand
The brewing stand block is a technical block version of the brewing stand item. It cannot be obtained since 1.7.2 due to the item forms of technical blocks being removed.

Cauldron
The cauldron block is a technical block that can be placed using its item form. The cauldron has a damage value which determines the water level.

Door related
These blocks are parts of the door. Since the door is two blocks linked together, using gives you only half a door.

Wooden Door
When placed in the "Minecraft" world using the command you will only see a half wooden door, unlike its item form which  makes both top and bottom during placement. A single half behaves like a wooden door, it can be opened and closed by hand or with redstone.

Iron Door
When placed in the "Minecraft" world using the command you will only see a half iron door, unlike its item form which  makes both top and bottom during placement.

Iron door blocks can be placed using the iron door item. If placed using the command, only half the door will be placed. Iron door blocks are also opened when they receive a redstone signal, even if it is only half of the door.

these when place down from inventory (obtaining will only work in 1.6.4 or lower) it will be invisible.

Lit Furnace
This is a block used to make furnaces shed light when smelting. It has a different texture than the normal furnace and emits particles. It will replace the normal furnace block while the furnace is burning fuel, but once the fuel runs out it will revert. Through or other means you can place this block and it will "burn" for as long as you don't use it. It can also be obtained by using pick block in creative on an active furnace. Strangely, if hacked into the game as an item, it looks as if it were the regular furnace, it also has the same tooltip, "Furnace", instead of something like "Burning Furnace" or "Fueled Furnace", but the name when using in 1.7 is "minecraft:lit_furnace". As of version 1.5, it has a blank face texture, which is used on the sides. This was fixed in the 1.8 snapshots.

In 1.7.2, the pick block feature to obtain this was removed.

Redstone Wire
When placed in the Minecraft world using, it becomes a block of "Redstone Dust", acting the same as if you placed it by hand. Redstone dust can only be placed on opaque blocks (dirt, stone, grass blocks, etc.), as well as glowstone, upside-down slabs and upside-down stairs, and hoppers. Also, redstone wire cannot be used to craft redstone components.

Lit Redstone Ore
This is a block used to make Redstone Ore glow when stepped on, right-clicked, or left-clicked. Glowing Redstone maintains its glow if pushed or pulled by a piston, but eventually stops glowing as if it had been touched by the player when placed.

In Creative Mode, middle-clicking Glowing Redstone Ore will select it as a different block than normal Redstone Ore.

Unlit Redstone Torch
Block 75 is a block representing an off-state Redstone Torch. If a normal Redstone Torch is on a block and the block receives power, it turns off, and stops giving power. When the torch's block stops getting power it turns back to the normal on-state torch, and gives power again. For the game to know the torch stopped getting power the game must update the block - this happens when a block near the torch changes, and when it turned off because of Redstone current, this is not a problem, but when spawned into the world it will be turned off, and because no block is updated, it will stay this way, until a block updates. When the block is removed it will turn to a normal on-state torch. This can be used to create 'burnt out' torches. The torches will only stay off for one tick before turning on. This block used to be available in the new creative inventory (12w21b) under the Redstone section, and the normal Redstone Torch was under Decoration. However, this was fixed later in 12w22a. Removing 'off' torch.

Powered Redstone Repeater
Block 94 is the "on" state of the Redstone Repeater. If one tries to hack this in, the picture will be the side of a double stone slab, or the bottom of a Redstone Repeater. If placed, it will lose the charge after one tick, making it a way in 1.64 or earlier to start one-tick pulses in creative or through use of the command. A normal redstone torch on a normal redstone block is the way to start one-tick pulses in 1.7 or higher.

Lit Redstone Lamp
Block 124 is the "on" state of the Redstone Lamp. When hacked in to the inventory, placing it will immediately turn it off unless it's receiving a redstone signal. When added to the game it was possible to receive this item by breaking it. This was fixed in later updates.

Powered Redstone Comparator
Block 150 is the "on" state of the Redstone Comparator. It will provide a one tick pulse and then will turn off, similar to block 94 (active repeater). Note: block 149 (originally "off state Comparator") has been changed to include the off and on states in the same block, making this an unused technical block not just one with a missing item form.

Inverted Daylight Sensor
Block 178 is the inverted state of the Daylight Sensor. Can be obtained by right-clicking a Daylight Sensor.

Flowing Water
The flowing water block tells the game to check for any air blocks around it and put some water into them if applicable. This is distinct from whether or not the fluid appears to be moving, and whether or not it is a source block. When placed using a water bucket or a mod it will flow 8 blocks. This may be placed in the Nether, unlike water buckets.

Stationary Water
Stationary water is just like flowing water, except it doesn't flow and doesn't move you. It generates in lakes, oceans, village wells and desert wells.

Flowing Lava
The flowing lava block tells the game to check for any air blocks around it and put some lava into them if applicable. This is distinct from whether or not the fluid appears to be moving, and whether or not it is a source block. Lava flows for 4 blocks in overworld and 8 in the Nether (flowing the same distance as water, and also faster than overworld lava). Even when a source block is removed, lava can continue flowing for a considerable amount of time. Flowing lava does not set nearby flammable blocks on fire.

Stationary Lava
Stationary lava is just like flowing lava, except it doesn't flow. It generates in lava lakes, nether fortresses, and in lava oceans in the nether.

Farmland
Farmland is a block on which seeds (melon, pumpkin, wheat, carrot, potato, and the Pocket Edition exclusive item beetroot) can be planted and grown, and it is made by using a Hoe on Dirt or Grass. If farmland is horizontally within four blocks of water it gradually becomes hydrated. Rain will also randomly hydrate farmland blocks. If left dry and unplanted, a farmland block will eventually turn back to dirt. A farmland block's damage value specifies its hydration level - the more hydrated it is, the darker its appearance, and as it dries out it becomes lighter again. Jumping on farmland will sometimes turn it into dirt, dropping any crops that might have been planted on it as if they were harvested.

Wheat Crops
This block appears when wheat seeds are planted on farmland. This block, when hacked in or obtained using the command, has the tooltip name of "Crops".

Potato Crops
This block behaves the same way as any other crops would, but they are the result of placing a potato on Farmland.

Carrot Crops
This block behaves the same way as any other crop would, but they are the result of placing a carrot on Farmland.

Pumpkin Stem
The block that is planted on farmland when pumpkin seeds are used on it. It starts off-set under-ground, and rises up as the plant grows, as opposed to the method wheat seeds uses, where each growth stage is an individual texture. The stem is colored green by the game, and then brown once fully grown.

The stem will change to the second image once a pumpkin has grown off the stem. A single stem will connect to any Pumpkin in an adjacent square, thus there are 5 possible appearances to a stem. When the pumpkin is removed, the stem will return to its original image. Using you can hack in pumpkin stems up to a data value of 15, where the stem becomes even taller.

A single pumpkin will grow off a full grown stem at a time, but once that pumpkin is removed, another can grow in its place.

Destroying a fully-grown stem yields 0-3 pumpkin seeds.



The stem is a red-orange color with a texture of the top of the pumpkin at the bottom part. This cannot be seen legitimately, as breaking the farmland will take out the stem.

NOTICE: Using the /setblock command to get illegitimate stem textures will backfire as of 1.8. Data values 8 through 11 will be stems attatched to a pumpkin, and data values 12 through 15 will crash Minecraft.

Melon Stem
The block that is planted on farmland when melon seeds are used on it. The coloring and growth method is the same as the Pumpkin Stem's.

The stem will change to the second image once a melon has grown off the stem. A single stem will connect to any Melon in an adjacent square, thus there are 4 possible appearances to a stem with a melon on it and 1 without. If there are multiple melons it can connect to, it will favor the east, then west, north, and south. When the melon is removed, the stem will return to its original image.

Using the command can hack in pumpkin stems up to a data value of 15, where the stem becomes even taller. You can also spawn the taller stem using the command.

A single melon will grow off a full grown stem at a time, but once that melon is removed, another can grow in its place.

Destroying a fully-grown stem yields 0-3 melon seeds.



The stem is an orange-yellow color with a texture of Netherrack at the bottom part. Again, this cannot be seen in the vanilla game, as breaking the farmland will delete the plant.

NOTICE: Using the /setblock command to get illegitimate stem textures will backfire as of 1.8. Data values 8 through 11 will be stems attatched to a melon, and data values 12 through 15 will crash Minecraft.

Sugar Canes
When placed using, it acts the same, except you can use damage values to make it grow another piece faster. When broken with any tool, it drops the sugar cane (item). In older versions of Pocket Edition, you will see the sugar cane block in the creative menu and it was not the item. Sugar and Paper cannot be crafted using this block.

Nether Wart
Nether wart block is the block version of the Nether Wart, it has 4 grow cycles. The nether wart can be found naturally in Nether Fortresses. It can be placed using using custom damage values it can start at any growth stage.

Food related
These are technical blocks related to food.

Cake
When you place a Cake in a "Minecraft" world using, it will appear as a cake block or Block 92 unless placed using damage values. Block 92 has 6 Data values to determine how much was eaten.

Monster Egg
Monster Egg (also known as Silverfish Block or Block 97) is a block that may look like a Stone block, a Cobblestone block, or a Stone Brick block, but is actually a block that has a silverfish "inside" of it. To get the silverfish "out", you either have to mine it, or you have to attack a nearby silverfish. The block itself may be detected because breaking it with a pickaxe is slower then regular stone, and it is easily broken with any other item or tool. Blowing the block up will not make any silverfish come out. This block is obtainable in the creative mode inventory as of 1.3, in the decoration block section. These are randomly generated underground in Extreme Hills biomes.

Other monster spawners
A monster spawner can be obtained with, but will always spawn pigs when placed. Spawners that create other entites can be placed with the command (e.g., ). Using various NBT editors or a command block allows further customization, as they are not limited by the length of the command line. The spawned mobs can have specified Attributes, Status effects, equipment, and other variations; see Chunk format for details.

Nether Portal
Nether Portal blocks are generated when a portal is formed, standing in them will teleport the player from The Overworld to the Nether and vice versa. However, they disappear when a block is placed next to it. In creative mode you can break this block and it will play the glass breaking sound. It can be obtained with the use of mods or the command on a server. The portal animated texture is procedurally generated, like water or lava. Nether Portal icons in Inventory are different in Overworld and Nether. Acquiring portal blocks is no longer possible as of Minecraft version 1.8 (as usage of ids such as "90" is phased out and the name "portal" or any variety thereof does not work). Middle-clicking on an existing portal block whilst in "Gamemode 1" also does not result in the item popping up in an available quickbar slot. Whether blocks can be obtained through game modifications remains to be seen. Portals can be created in the desired shape using the traditional method instead.

Trivia

 * The inside of the Nether Portal block is hollow.
 * Despite popular belief, you only need one portal block, without a frame, to warp to the Nether. This applies to both Nether and The End portals.
 * It is not possible to place two nether portal blocks next to each other in the vanilla game simply because the block updates, then realizes it's not in a frame, and so, disappears. This also happens if you place or destroy a block directly adjacent to it.
 * In creative mode, breaking this block will produce the glass breaking sound.
 * While in your inventory, it appears as a full block unless it is rendered in the world. (That is, it looks like a normal full block, but when you place the hacked portal into the world it places as a normal (flat) portal and the version in your inventory will then render as a normal flat portal)
 * Although one cannot legitimately activate a Nether Portal in The End, Nether Portal blocks will function properly and take you to a place in the Nether that corresponds to the location in the Overworld from where you first entered The End.
 * A piston cannot push a block into a nether portal, it is as if it was obsidian or bedrock - the piston will not activate.
 * The Portal block can be broken by a Ghast fireball. A turned-off portal can also be relit by a ghast fireball.
 * In old versions of Minecraft nether portals could be turned off by water or lava flows.

End Portal
The End Portal is a block that will teleport the player into or out of The End dimension. It looks like a hole to a three-dimensional void with layers of blue and greenish stars, and emits light and black smoke particles. Only the top and the sides of the block are technically visible, and the bottom side is transparent‏. The collision box for this block takes up the lower 1/16th of the block, similar to snow.

Wherever the End Portal block exists, there is also a tile entity named “Airportal”. This tile entity has no additional data and is responsible for the special visual effect only. When a player touches an End Portal block, they are teleported to the End if they are in the Overworld, or to the Overworld if they are in the End. As of 1.5, End Portals cannot be placed in the End until the Ender Dragon has been killed, and cannot be placed in the Nether at all.

Trivia

 * The End Portal is technically the only block without a conventional texture, or entity texture; it uses the same image as the background of The End, with an additional effect added on top.
 * Despite popular belief, if a player manages to obtain a Portal block, they only need one, without a frame, to be transported to the End.
 * As of Beta 1.9 Pre-release 4, End Portal blocks can be destroyed in Creative Mode. This does not affect the effects of adjacent End Portal blocks.
 * If the Portal is viewed from underneath it will be invisible, allowing you to see through the portal.
 * If the Portal is hit, it will give out particles the color of the Nether Portal.
 * If TNT is detonated on an End Portal, no blocks in its blast radius will be destroyed, the same as if TNT is detonated in water.
 * Passing the End Portal while riding a minecart will not teleport you to the end, instead you will simply pass through the portal straight into the lava below, because the portal does not check for riding entities, but only the hitting entity itself.
 * When a player properly passes through an End Portal, they maintain their vertical speed. Jumping from a very tall height into an End Portal usually results in massive fall damage (and usually death) when they land on the Obsidian panel that is created at the spawn point. This can be avoided by placing layers of water directly above the End Portal, which will negate fall damage upon entering the other dimension.
 * In multiplayer, hacked End Portal frames making an End Portal will disconnect the player because they "moved too fast", and when they respawn, they will spawn a distance from the End "island" above the void, falling in the void.
 * Any mob spawned on top of the End Portal piece is teleported to the End.
 * This block can be destroyed by the Ender Dragon when said mob passes through it.
 * Interestingly, the selection box for an end portal block appears on the bottom of the block, even though the actual location of the texture is at the top of the block.
 * End portal blocks give off light.
 * Before 13w02a, the texture is a gray grass top
 * As of 13w02a, End portals appear with the Nether Portal texture in the inventory.
 * As of 14w05a, the Nether Portal icon of End Portal is replaced with the "Missing Texture" icon, previously used by the Locked chest.
 * If a player throws an entity (including items) into an End Portal, the entity will be sent to The End. This does not seem to work the other way around in singleplayer, but in multiplayer entities are teleported to the default spawn.

Beetroot Crops
When you plant Beetroot Seeds on Farmland, you will see Beetroot Crops in a "seedlings" state. Beetroot crops are very similar to the Carrot and Potato crops, but ripen pink.

Glowing Obsidian
Glowing Obsidian is a block which only generates when the Nether Reactor is activated. Upon activation, the blocks that make up the reactor turn into Glowing Obsidian.

Properties
As the name suggests, Glowing Obsidian is a solid block that gives off light similar to Glowstone, but slightly dimmer. It does indeed glow, but its physical properties are closer to Obsidian. It takes the same amount of time to mine as Obsidian. Instead of dropping itself, it drops a normal Obsidian block. The block will emit red smoke particles within close proximity to it so long as it exists, similar to the particles Redstone creates when activated. Although in the Nether Reactor the block seems to spawn items around it, it is not the block itself that acts like this, nor will it spawn items if placed normally. The block turns into obsidian after a short amount of time. Otherwise it is simply an aesthetic block, as it has the same blast resistance as normal Obsidian.

Trivia

 * If the Nether Reactor Core is mined out while the Nether Reactor is active, the glowing obsidian will not turn into obsidian after the reactor deactivates. This also causes the reactor to stop spawning items and zombie pigmen.

Update Game
The Update Game block is a placeholder for nonexistent data values. It is a block with a Dirt texture with "update!" written on it in green. The Update Game Block was added in. As can be seen using an Inventory Editor, there are actually two of these blocks, one saying "update!", and the other appearing to say "ate!upd". By placing these 2 blocks next to each other, one can see "update!" and "ate!upd". Their block IDs are 248 and 249. This block has no use in game but could be placed as a decoration block; for example it could be used as a dirt block with moss on it. It takes slightly longer to break than dirt, but still makes dirt sounds. As of 0.8.0 the ate!upd block now says update! normally.

.name
.name is a solid-grey looking block. According to the code, the block's name is "Fire", but in-game, the block is marked as ".name". The block was a placeholder for fire, due to a problem with the fire-spreading mechanics. .name could only be obtained between and. In, fire was returned with fixed spreading mechanics, replacing .name. Its data value, however, changed to ID 255. Currently, it can only be obtained through hex editing.

The block was relatively fast to mine as of on android devices. It takes a very long time to break as of on iOS devices.

Removed
These technical blocks are removed or have been replaced with another block.

Infinite Water Source
The Infinite Water Source was a block that would create infinite water, which would replicate infinitely to fill up volumes. They were added originally to allow for infinite lakes on floating maps. The block was removed after infinite worlds were introduced. They flowed placing a Water source next to them. They could be broken with one click.

Infinite Lava Source
Similar to the Infinite Water Source, the Infinite Lava Source was a block that created infinite lava which would replicate infinitely to fill up volumes. The block was removed after infinite worlds were introduced. They flowed placing a lava source next to them in all four directions. They could be broken with one click.