Skip to main content

How to make a compass in Minecraft

Compass in minecraft.
Mojang

Much of what you’ll be doing in Minecraft (aside from, you know, crafting and looking for diamonds) is exploring all the different biomes. But sometimes, it can be easy to get lost in the randomly generated world. You could use the trick of intentionally dying to respawn back at your house (as long as you made a bed and rested there), but then you would lose anything you had on your character. That’s why you should always have a compass on you. It will point you back to the spawn point, without having to stop and look at a map.

In this guide, we’ll run through everything you need to know about the compass -- from how to craft one to finding the materials and the benefits of using it.

Recommended Videos

Difficulty

Moderate

Duration

30 minutes

What You Need

  • 4 iron ingots

  • 1 redstone dust

Crafting a compass in minecraft.
Mojang

How to make a compass

Finding the materials required to make the compass isn’t too difficult. The redstone dust is acquired from smelting an iron ore in a furnace with a log of any kind. You’ll find redstone dust beneath the surface, as indicated by a light-gray block with red spots on it. Use your pickaxe to start mining below until you find it. Once you do, place one in the furnace with a log found from chopping any tree and you’ll get one redstone dust.

As for acquiring the iron ingot, it’s similar to the redstone dust. You’ll need to smelt an iron ore with a log of your choice to get an iron ingot. You likely have plenty of iron ore if you’ve been mining and exploring, but if not, use your trusty pickax to traverse below and you’ll find some in no time.

Once you have all the ingredients, follow this recipe:

Step 1: Open your crafting table.

Step 2: Put the redstone dust in the center square

Step 3: Place the four iron ingots above, below, and to either side as shown in the picture.

Step 4: Collect your compass.

The compass in Minecraft has way more functionality than just telling you which direction north is. Instead, it points to your spawn point, which is extremely useful when traveling across the map. Your spawn point should serve as your base or home, where all your precious items are. You can set your spawn point by typing in the /spawnpoint command or by sleeping in a bed. When you set your spawn point and have a compass, you’ll be able to find your way back home. The red needle will always point toward your spawn point, regardless of whether you’re holding the compass, it’s in your hotbar, or it’s in the inventory menu, which is nifty since it means you can free up space in your hands.

Joseph Yaden
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Joseph Yaden is a freelance journalist who covers Nintendo, shooters, and horror games. He mostly covers game guides for…
Lushfoil Photography Sim wants to make photographers out of us all
A photographer frames a fencepost in Lushfoil Photography Sim.

When you take away all the traffic, cities are silent. Refreshingly so, at first, but after the change settles this quiet becomes maddening. The echo and reverberation magnify every little movement. It’s out in nature, amid the ambient hum of insect and bird song, running river and crackling bark, the wind rustling millions of leaves and whistling through each individual blade of grass, that I find solitude in a quiet that conceals the tinnitus and eases my shoulders. 

Every place has a different static nature. I first learned the song along the Econlockhatchee River back home, when as a young adult I relearned how to spend hours alone in this quiet with my thoughts. Then up and down the valleys of the Hudson, where I now live. And again down by Lake Braies during summer, sitting in my Brooklyn apartment amid the dying gasps of winter playing Lushfoil Photography Sim. 

Read more
How to get Sabrina Carpenter skins in Fortnite
Sabrina Carpenter in Fortnite collab cover art

Fortnite Festival has become a cultural phenomenon, transforming the battle royale into a dynamic stage where music and gaming can merge. Since its release in 2023, the rhythm-based mode, reminiscent of Rock Band, has captivated millions with its star-studded roster of virtual idols. These performers don't just perform; they change the game, causing viral moments shared by players on social media platforms, where they exchange footage, memes, and reactions.

The excitement for each season's icon revelation is palpable as gamers speculate on who will join the likes of The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, and Billie Eilish. These collaborations tap into pop culture's pulse, bringing together music fans and Fortnite's vast player population.

Read more
The confusion around $90 Switch 2 games proves how broken the internet is
The Nintendo Switch 2 playing Mario Kart

If you're a gamer who has been on Facebook or YouTube in the past week, there's probably a good chance you've seen people arguing about the Nintendo Switch 2's pricing. My Facebook algorithm has interpreted my interest in the system as a sign that I want to see a constant stream of angry memes about how much it costs. While I've seen concerns over the hardware itself dying down, the one complaint that's stuck is the price of its games. My feeds are filled with engagement memes daring commenters to justify Mario Kart World's $90 price tag.

There's just one problem: Mario Kart World does not cost $90, at least based on what we know right now. No currently announced Nintendo Switch 2 game appears to either, but it hasn't stopped that detail from spreading on a fundamentally broken internet.

Read more