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Minecraft uses the standard control scheme of mouse and keyboard controls as input. The game cannot be played using only a mouse or only a keyboard using the default control scheme. The controls menu is located in the Options setting.

Computer

Non-configurable controls

Note: On many notebook computers and most Macs, "Function" or "F" keys do not operate in their default configuration. You can often get around this by pressing the fn key while you press an F key. To make F-keys work in OS X, go to the Apple menu → System Preferences → Keyboard and mouse and check the "Use F1, F2 etc. as normal keys". If you choose the first option, you can then use the fn key to switch F keys back to actions they used to do (e.g. play/pause music, etc).
Default Function
Mouse Move Turning; aiming; third person camera movement.
Mouse Wheel Scroll Scrolls through the quick-bar.
1 - 9 Selects the appropriate quick-bar item.
Esc Open up the menu and give back cursor control. Pauses Singleplayer games.
F1 Toggles the Heads-Up Display.
F2 Simply pressing this key will take a screenshot and place it in:

%appdata%\.minecraft\screenshots on Windows
~/Library/Application Support/minecraft/screenshots in OS X
~/.minecraft/screenshots in Linux.

Use this in conjunction with F1 to take screenshots without the HUD.

F3 Pressing this key will toggle the showing of extra debug information on the top of the screen along side the Minecraft version, such as FPS (frames per second), chunk updates, and available memory.

Pressing the keys 1 - 9 while in the debug screen will show you a more detailed view of the graph on the right. Pressing 0 will show you a less detailed graph.

Pressing S while holding F3 will reload all web-loaded client resources.

Pressing A while holding F3 will reload all chunks.

Pressing T while holding F3 will reload all textures, which is useful for texture pack authors.

Pressing F while holding F3 will change render distance a.k.a. "fog", from farther to nearer. Before 1.8 this function was assigned to F (which was changeable) button.

Holding ⇧ Shift while pressing F3 and F will reverse the fog toggling, going from nearer to farther.

Pressing P while holding F3 will toggle the auto-pause when the window loses focus.

Pressing H while holding F3 will toggle detailed item descriptions.

  • Shows tool and armor durability on damaged items
  • Shows up a map level

Pressing C while holding F3 for at least 6 seconds will trigger a manual debug crash on purpose after the keys are released.

Pressing B while holding F3 will toggle showing the hitbox around mobs.

F5 Toggles between first person, third person from the back and third person from the front.
F8 Toggles mouse smoothing. Looking around becomes a slow, smooth and more cinematic motion.
F10
or
Left Alt
On Windows, focuses on the icon of the window and freezes all of Minecraft's processes, thus stopping setting the location of the mouse to the center of the window and letting the cursor become visible, although the cursor bounds stay the same. This allows you to think twice before taking a screenshot. Holding a movement key then toggling this on then off again will make that key stuck on, even if it is let go. Pressing the same movement key again will stop it.
F11 Toggles full-screen mode.

When using some Apple keyboards, F11 must be pressed while holding fn and alt to enter fullscreen. Using F11 alone toggles Exposé, and pressing F11 while holding fn will turn the volume down or vice versa, depending on system preferences.

Some people are experiencing a bug while exiting from full-screen mode that causes an inescapable black screen. When that's the case, use ALT+TAB to switch out of Minecraft and switch it back to windowed mode.

On Linux, mouse input is often buggy while in full-screen mode.

Also, note that this may not respect multiple monitors and Minecraft may occupy all screens instead of the one it is active on.

⇧ Shift When the inventory is open, Shift + clicking on an item or stack moves it between the inventory and the hotbar.

When a chest is open, Shift + clicking on an item will move the entire stack between the chest and the inventory.

When a furnace is open, Shift + clicking an item or stack in the furnace moves it to the inventory, and Shift + clicking an item or stack in the inventory moves it into the "item" (not fuel) slot of the furnace.

When crafting, Shift + clicking the crafted item automatically crafts the maximum number of that item for the materials being used, and moves all crafted items to the inventory.

In the survival inventory tab of the creative inventory, Shift + left click on the red 'Delete' field clears the whole inventory.

When in the Multiplayer server selection menu, Shift + up and Shift + down moves a server name to a specific position.

When shift + clicking a block like a crafting table or chest with a placeable block/item in the player's hand, the block/item will be placed like normal instead of opening the screen for the block it's placed on.

Configurable controls

Default In-game option name Function
Left click Button 1 (Attack or Dig) Destroy blocks (hold down); Attack (click once); Split a stack evenly (hold and drag); sort loose items into one stack (double-click)
Right click Button 2 (Use Item) Place blocks; Place one item from a stack in each inventory slot (hold and drag); toggle switches/doors (click once), fire with a bow; block using a sword; use special blocks like chests, doors, and switches; enter vehicles.

Also: Eat food, hoe farmland, shear sheep. Commonly, if both the item held and the block clicked on has a such purpose (like trying to place dirt on a chest), the block will overrule the item.

Middle click Pick Block Switch to the block currently looked at, as long as it is in the quickbar. In Creative mode, if the block is not in the quickbar, replaces the currently active quickbar slot with the block currently looked at. However, if the chosen block is one that drops a non-block resource when destroyed (ex. certain ores, glowstone, and occasionally gravel blocks), you will end up with whatever the resource of that block is. Clicking on a mob will give that mob's spawn egg, if there is one. Clicking on a painting, minecart (with or without chest or furnace), or boat will give the corresponding item.

Hovering over an item in an inventory and clicking with the mouse wheel when in creative gives the maximum stack of that item.

W Forward Move forward. When double-tapped, causes the player to sprint (unless in water, Fly Mode is on, or the character is too hungry).
A Left Strafe left.
S Back Move backward.
D Right Strafe right.
Spacebar Jump Jump. When double-tapped, toggles Fly Mode (Creative only). When Fly Mode is on, causes the player to gain altitude (ascend).
⇧ Left Shift Sneak Sneak. When Fly Mode is on, causes the player to lose altitude (descend). When sneaking, right-clicking places objects like Levers onto blocks that would usually open an internal inventory, such as Dispensers.
E Inventory Open up the Inventory
Q Drop Drop/toss an item from the quick-bar. If items are stacked, only one will be thrown/tossed/dropped.[a] Ctrl+Q drops the whole stack of elements.
T Chat Chat and Server commands.
/ Command Opens the chat window with the "/" character already typed.
Tab ↹ List Players In Multiplayer hold the Tab key to see a list of players. On a Mac, this only works in full screen mode, unless the player presses Option first.
  1. There is no actual "throw" command; "drop" (default Q) will toss an object approximately 2 to 3 blocks from you. Eggs, Ender Pearls, Eyes of Ender, and Snowballs can be thrown by the "use" command (default right-clicking). Eggs, snowballs, and Ender Pearls fly in an arc; additionally, Ender Pearls teleport you to the location it lands, causing 5♥♥♥ points of damage. Eyes of Ender fly toward the direction of the nearest Stronghold, and then fall to the ground.

Pocket Edition

Phones

Jigsaw Block (top texture) JE2 BE2
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Function Action
Movement Tap forward, back, left, and right symbols on screen.
Jump Tap the square symbol on the screen. Also, the character will auto-jump when moving towards a block.
Fly Tap the square symbol in the screen twice. Hold the square symbol, slide your finger forward to go up, slide your finger back to go down. To move forward, back, left, or right, it's the same rules as movement. You can only fly in creative mode.
Place Block Tap where you would like to place the block.
Break Block Hold down your finger on the block you want to break. How long it takes to break the block is indicated by a circular icon on the screen. How long it takes to break the block varies on what tool you're using to break the block.
Move Camera Slide your finger across the screen.
Screenshot Hold the Home button and Power at the same time (iOS) or hold Volume Down and Power at the same time (Android). Only works on iOS 4.0+ and Android 4.0+

Xperia PLAY

Key Function
Right Bumper Place block
Left Bumper Destroy block
PlayStationTriangle Open inventory
PlayStationCircle Cycle right in the quick-bar
PlayStationX Jump
PlayStationSquare Cycle left in the quick-bar
Directional Keys Movement
Left Touch Pad Toggle crouch
Right Touch Pad Moves the camera
Menu Open game menu
Touch Screen Chat (multiplayer only). Tap to change selection in hotbar
Search Button Toggle third person view

Note: For Xperia Play owners using the gamepad, while in creative mode, the lowest two rows of items are beneath the screen, and one cannot scroll down to see them. They are still accessible, but it requires either remembering how many times one has to press the directional buttons to access them, or trial-and-error. This will hopefully be fixed soon, but is most prominent in the 4.0 update, as the amount of items has increased, and now sixteen items are hidden. The only way to see them is to turn on the option to use touch controls in the options menu.

Tablets

Tablets for iOS or Android use the same controls as on phones. Split-touch controls display crosshairs like in the computer version. Split-touch controls can be turned on in Options. Tap and hold to break a block with split-touch controls, and tap to place a block. Whatever the crosshairs is over is the block you break when you hold down, or where you place a block when you tap the screen.

Function Action
Movement Tap forward, back, left, and right symbols on screen.
Jump Tap the square symbol on the screen. Also, the character will auto-jump when moving towards a block.
Fly Tap the square symbol in the screen twice. Hold the square symbol, slide your finger forward to go up, slide your finger back to go down. To move forward, back, left, or right, it's the same rules for movement.
Place Block Tap where you would like to place the block.
Break Block Hold down your finger on the block you want to break. How long it takes to break the block is indicated by a circular icon on the screen. How long it takes to break the block varies on what tool you're using to break the block.
Move Camera Slide your finger across the screen.
Screenshot Hold the Home button and Power at the same time (iOS) or hold Volume Down and Power at the same time (Android). Only works on iOS 4.0+ and Android 4.0+

Xbox 360 Edition

Jigsaw Block (top texture) JE2 BE2
This section needs expansion. 
You can help by expanding it.

All the controls for the Xbox 360 Edition are excecuted with the Xbox console.

Gameplay

Button In-game option name Function
Start button Pause Pause the game
Right stick Look To look/move; When quickly pushed forward and then moved, enables sprinting for as long as you hold it.

When pressed down: to sneak/walk or in Creative mode, to lower your height while flying.

Left stick Move To look/move;

When pressed down: can be used to change your camera angle (toggles First Person, Second Person,and Third Person view)

A button Jump Jump
Y button Inventory Open up the Inventory
X button Crafting Open up Crafting menu
B button Drop Drop/toss an item from the quick-bar. If items are stacked, only one will be thrown/tossed/dropped.[a]
Right trigger Mine Destroy Blocks;
Mine/destroy blocks (Hold down); Attack (Click once); Toggle Switches/Doors (Click once).
Left trigger Place Place Blocks;
Fire with a bow; block using a sword; use special blocks such as chests, doors, and switches; enter vehicles.

Also: Eat food, hoe farmland, shear sheep

Right bumper Cycle Held Item (Right) Cycle right in the quick-bar
Left bumper Cycle Held Item (Left) Cycle left in the quick-bar
  1. There is no actual "throw" command; "drop" (default B button) will toss an object approximately 2 to 3 blocks from you. Eggs and Snowballs can be thrown by the "use" command (default Left trigger). The eggs and snowballs fly in an arc.

In Crafting

Button In-game option name Function
Left stick + Right stick + D-pad Pointer/Move Move pointer/selected block/item
A button Craft Create item
Y button Quick Move Quickly moves a block/item into its appropriate space
X button Split and Desc. Take half of the highlited stack/show information about the selected block/item
B button Exit Exit the Crafting Table menu
Right bumper Change Group (Right) Changes the groups of craftable items, moving right
Left bumper Change Group (Left) Changes the groups of craftable items, moving left

Debugging controls

These controls are used for debugging and were unintentionally left in-game in Beta 1.9 Pre-releases 4-5 and snapshot 12w08a.[1][2] The controls below F6 are called the "deadmau5 camera".[3]

Key Versions appeared Function
F6 Beta 1.9 Pre-releases 4-5 and snapshot 12w08a Slowly pans the camera when moving.
Y Beta 1.9 Pre-release 5 and snapshot 12w08a Zooms in camera.[1] This and the controls below is the deadmau5 camera.[3]
H Beta 1.9 Pre-release 5 and snapshot 12w08a Zooms out camera.[1]
Y + H Beta 1.9 Pre-release 5 and snapshot 12w08a Resets the camera's zoom.[1]
N Beta 1.9 Pre-release 5 and snapshot 12w08a Rotates camera Counter-Clockwise.[1]
M Beta 1.9 Pre-release 5 and snapshot 12w08a Rotates camera Clockwise.[1]
N + M Beta 1.9 Pre-release 5 and snapshot 12w08a Resets the camera's rotation.[1]
U Beta 1.9 Pre-release 5 and snapshot 12w08a Pans camera forward.[1]
O Beta 1.9 Pre-release 5 and snapshot 12w08a Pans camera backward.[1]
I Beta 1.9 Pre-release 5 and snapshot 12w08a Slowly pans the camera up.[1]
K Beta 1.9 Pre-release 5 and snapshot 12w08a Slowly pans the camera down.[1]
J Beta 1.9 Pre-release 5 and snapshot 12w08a Slowly pans the camera left.[1]
L Beta 1.9 Pre-release 5 and snapshot 12w08a Slowly pans the camera right.[1]

Old Keys

Below are the list of keys which are no longer usable in the current versions of the game.[4]

PC version

Key Versions used Function
B Unknown - Classic Brought up the list of usable blocks in Classic Creative.
I Unknown - Beta 1.4 Brought up Inventory before Beta 1.4.
↵ Enter Unknown - Classic Set Spawn Point in Classic Creative.
R Unknown - Classic Respawned at spawn point in Classic Creative.
F4 Alpha1.2.2 Spawned a Nether portal. Used for debug by Notch and removed in Alpha 1.2.3
F5 Unknown - Classic Toggled rain in Classic Creative.
F6
and
F7
Beta 1.8 pre-release Moved the day/night cycle backwards and forwards, respectively (only in singleplayer).
G Classic 0.0.9a - Unknown Spawned a Human in Classic Creative.
Y Classic 0.0.9a - Unknown Inverted mouse in Classic Creative.
F Unknown - Beta 1.7.3 Toggled render distance (fog), changed to F3 + F in Beta 1.8.
N Classic 0.0.9a - Unknown Generated a new map in Classic Creative.
⇧ Shift
+
F2
Beta 1.2_02 - Beta 1.4 Called an unfinished experimental screenshot function that attempted to generate a huge 645 megapixel TGA image with a resolution of 36,450×17,700 pixels.[5]

Pressing this key combination would cause Minecraft to either freeze for a while, displaying several clipped tiles of the current view or crash, depending on your amount of available RAM. During this time it would attempt to generate a file of 1.8 GB in size that may end up corrupt.

Pocket Edition

Key Versions used Function
Search Button Alpha 0.1.2 The search button used to be able to change the camera to and from third person view on all Android devices (with a search button), but now this has to be done via the pause screen, since many devices do not have a search button. The Xperia PLAY retains this functionality.

See also

References


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