To make a compass in Minecraft, place four iron ingots around one redstone in the middle of a crafting table grid and take the compass from the output slot.
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Below are the exact slot layout, what the needle points to, where to get a compass without iron, the lodestone and recovery compasses, and the maps a compass unlocks.
How to craft a compass on a crafting table
A compass takes four Iron Ingot items and one redstone. The recipe is shaped, so the iron has to sit in a plus pattern around the redstone, and it needs the 3×3 grid of a crafting table.
- Collect four iron ingots and one redstone.
- Open a crafting table to get the 3×3 grid.
- Put one iron ingot in the top middle slot.
- Put one iron ingot in the left middle slot and one in the right middle slot.
- Put the redstone in the center slot.
- Put the last iron ingot in the bottom middle slot.
- Take the compass from the output slot and move it to your inventory.
The four corner slots stay empty. Any iron in a corner, or redstone outside the center, and the output slot stays blank.
In the Overworld, the red needle of a plain compass always points to the world spawn point, whether you hold it, carry it in your inventory, drop it or put it in an item frame. In the Nether and the End the needle is not reliable.
Where can I find a compass without crafting one?
Crafting is the reliable route, but compasses also turn up in chests and villager trades. Villager prices below are Bedrock Edition base prices, and the price multiplier shifts them.
| Your situation | Where to find a compass | What it costs or pays |
|---|---|---|
| You have iron and redstone | Craft it on a crafting table | Four iron ingots and one redstone |
| You are exploring | Check chests in villages, strongholds and shipwrecks | Free, but compasses only turn up occasionally |
| You have emeralds but no iron | Buy one from a librarian villager | 4 emeralds per compass (Bedrock base price) |
| You are lost with no compass at all | Open your inventory and look at the compass icon on the top tab of the recipe book | Nothing; that icon also points to spawn |
| You have spare compasses | Sell one to a cartographer villager | Pays 1 emerald per compass once the cartographer has leveled up (Bedrock) |
| You want a structure, not a direction | Trade a compass plus emeralds to a cartographer for an explorer map | 8 emeralds for village, swamp hut or jungle temple maps; 12 for trial chambers; 13 for an ocean monument (Bedrock) |
How to use a lodestone compass to find your way home
A lodestone compass is a normal compass that has been linked to a placed lodestone. It points to that lodestone, so a lodestone at your base gives you a compass that always leads home.
In Java Edition 1.21.5 the lodestone recipe changed from a Netherite ingot with chiseled stone bricks to one iron ingot surrounded by eight Chiseled Stone Bricks. Bedrock Edition uses the same iron ingot recipe.
- Put one iron ingot in the center slot of a crafting table and fill the other eight slots with chiseled stone bricks.
- Take the Lodestone and place it at your base.
- Hold a compass and use it on the lodestone.
- Check that the compass in your hand is now a lodestone compass.
- Carry it while you explore; the needle points back to that lodestone.
Lodestones also turn up as loot at Ruined Portals in the Overworld and the Nether since Java Edition 1.21.5, which saves the chiseled stone bricks. In Java Edition, linking a compass to a lodestone the first time unlocks the Country Lode, Take Me Home advancement.
Making a map with a compass in Bedrock Edition
Bedrock Edition has two map recipes on the crafting table. Nine paper makes a plain empty map, and eight paper around a compass makes an empty locator map.
- Open a crafting table.
- Put the compass in the center slot.
- Fill all eight slots around it with paper.
- Take the empty locator map from the output slot.
- Hold the map and use it to draw the area around you.
How to check your compass is working
- Open your inventory and confirm the item is named Compass, Lodestone Compass or Recovery Compass.
- For a plain compass, stand in the Overworld and walk in a circle; the needle should keep pointing the same way, toward the world spawn point.
- For a lodestone compass, walk away from the linked lodestone and turn around; the needle should keep swinging back toward it.
- For a recovery compass, check whether you have died in this world and in this dimension; if not, a spinning needle is normal.
- For a map made with a compass, confirm the crafted item is an empty locator map, then hold it and use it to draw the area around you.
What is a compass? Three types of Minecraft compass explained
Minecraft has three compass items. All three start from the same plain compass, and each one points to something different.
| Type | How you get it | What it points to |
|---|---|---|
| Compass | Four iron ingots around one redstone on a crafting table, a chest find, or a librarian trade | The world spawn point, in the Overworld only |
| Lodestone compass | Use a compass on a placed lodestone | The lodestone it was linked to |
| Recovery compass | One compass surrounded by eight echo shards on a crafting table | The last place you died; it spins if you have not died yet or are in a different dimension |
The Echo Shards for a Recovery Compass are only found in Ancient City chests, so this compass waits until you reach the deep dark. It arrived in the 1.19 Wild Update.
What to craft with a compass
| Result | Recipe or action | Edition note |
|---|---|---|
| Empty locator map | One compass in the center, eight paper around it | Bedrock recipe |
| Recovery compass | One compass in the center, eight echo shards around it | Added in the Wild Update |
| Lodestone compass | Not crafted; use a compass on a placed lodestone | Lodestone added in Java Edition 1.16 |
| Explorer map | Not crafted; trade a compass plus emeralds to a cartographer | Bedrock trade data lists village, swamp hut, jungle temple, ocean monument and trial chambers maps |
Since Java Edition 1.16 a compass can also be enchanted with Curse of Vanishing.
Fix a compass recipe that does not work
The output slot stays empty when you craft a compass
The compass recipe is shaped, so the slot positions matter.
- Clear the grid.
- Put iron ingots in the top, left, right and bottom middle slots only.
- Put the redstone in the center and leave all four corners empty.
The compass recipe is missing from the recipe book
In Bedrock Edition the compass recipe unlocks when you pick up redstone.
- Mine or pick up at least one redstone.
- Reopen the crafting table and search the recipe book again.
- Or place the ingredients by hand using the layout above.
The lodestone recipe with a Netherite ingot no longer works
Java Edition 1.21.5 replaced the Netherite ingot with one iron ingot.
- Put one iron ingot in the center slot.
- Surround it with eight chiseled stone bricks.
- Take the lodestone and link your compass to it.
The compass points to spawn instead of your house
A plain compass only ever points to the world spawn point.
- Craft or find a lodestone and place it at your house.
- Use your compass on the lodestone.
- Follow the lodestone compass home instead of the plain one.
The compass needle spins or misleads you in the Nether or the End
A plain compass only points to spawn reliably in the Overworld.
- Do not navigate by a plain compass outside the Overworld.
- Go back through a portal to the Overworld, where the needle points to spawn again.
- To get back to the place you died in that dimension, use a recovery compass.
The recovery compass spins and never settles
It has no death point to show in your current dimension.
- Check whether you have died in this world yet.
- Return to the dimension where you last died.
- Look at the compass again; it points to the last place you died.
Frequently asked questions
What does a compass point to in Minecraft?
A plain compass points to the world spawn point. In the Overworld the red needle points there whether the compass is in your hand, your inventory, on the ground or in an item frame. In the Nether and the End it cannot be trusted.
How many iron ingots do you need for a compass in Minecraft?
A compass needs four iron ingots and one redstone. The iron goes in the top, left, right and bottom middle slots of a crafting table, with the redstone in the center and the four corners left empty.
Do you need a crafting table to make a compass?
Yes. The compass recipe is a 3×3 plus pattern, which does not fit the 2×2 grid in your inventory. Open a crafting table, place the four iron ingots around the redstone, leave the corners empty, then take the compass from the output slot.
Where can you find a compass in Minecraft?
Compasses occasionally turn up in village, stronghold and shipwreck chests, and librarian villagers often sell one. If you have no compass at all, the compass icon on the top tab of the recipe book in your inventory also points to spawn.
Can you buy a compass from a villager in Minecraft?
Yes, in Bedrock Edition a librarian villager can sell a compass for a base price of 4 emeralds. Cartographers go the other way: they buy compasses for an emerald each and take a compass plus emeralds for explorer maps.
What does a lodestone compass point to?
A lodestone compass points to the lodestone it was linked to. Place a lodestone at your base, use a compass on it, and the resulting lodestone compass leads you back to that block wherever you explore.
How do you make a lodestone in Minecraft?
Surround one iron ingot with eight chiseled stone bricks on a crafting table. Java Edition 1.21.5 changed the recipe from a Netherite ingot to an iron ingot, and lodestones can now also be found as loot at Ruined Portals.
How do you make a recovery compass?
Place one compass in the center of a crafting table and surround it with eight echo shards. Echo shards only come from Ancient City chests. The recovery compass then points to the last place you died in the current dimension.
Can you make a map with a compass in Minecraft?
Yes. In Bedrock Edition, eight paper around a compass on a crafting table makes an empty locator map. Nine paper without a compass makes a plain empty map instead, so put the compass in the center slot if you want the locator version.
Can a compass be enchanted in Minecraft?
Yes. Since Java Edition 1.16, the Nether Update, a compass can be enchanted with Curse of Vanishing. The same update added the lodestone, the block a compass links to when you want it to point somewhere other than spawn.
