Sneaking

Notch sneaking on a hill

Sneaking is a feature introduced in the 1st Seecret Saturday update on September 18th, 2010 (Alpha 1.1.1). While holding the Shift key, the player enters sneaking mode. Sneaking was originally called crouching; however, the player's hitbox doesn't change from the normal standing height. Mobs still notice players in sneak mode, despite that there are no foot step noises.

Sneaking prevents players from falling one or more blocks, making it primarily useful for building horizontally outwards from high ledges by looking over the lip. However, if Shift is released while beyond the edge of a block, the player will fall down.

On a Macintosh computer, the hotkey can be changed from Shift to CapsLock to sneak without having to hold down a key. On a Windows the sneak hotkey must be held and then ALT must be pressed while still holding it. This will freeze the game, but if ALT is pressed again after the key is released then the sneaking is permanent until the sneak hotkey is pressed (AND released) again. Bringing up the inventory or menu will revert the status to walking, as will pressing the chat hotkey or interacting with a furnace, crafting bench, or dispenser. This method works in both windowed and fullscreen mode. (Note: this applies to other commands too, like walking or jumping.)

Also, if the sneak hotkey is pressed at EXACTLY the same time as the chat hotkey, then the player will be crouching in chat. This is very useful if you want to talk but remain hidden from players, because when chat is activated the mouse is released.

Also, when you are sneaking, you can still jump. This means that you can jump up levels, but if you jump on the edge of a block, you will fall down, effectively negating the effects of sneaking.

Effects

• The character moves slower, at a speed of about 1.31 meters/second. Moving diagonally will allow the player to move slightly faster, but not at full speed.
• The character bends down one-eighth of a block. This can be viewed using F5.
• No sound is made when sneaking.
• Players cannot fall off blocks.
• Crops won't be trampled.
• The camera angle lowers slightly.
• Other players in Survival Multiplayer cannot see your name through a solid Block.
• In SMP your name will be slighty darker than normal.
• As of Beta 1.4, If you hold shift on a ladder, you will grab the ladder and you will not slide down the ladder. Mining speed is still decreased by a 5x factor.

Bugs

• If you sneak into a corner to a hole, with enough precision, you will fall.