How to Make a Compass in Minecraft and Why It Spins
Four iron ingots around 1 redstone dust make a compass. How to make a compass in Minecraft, what it points to, how lodestones change it, and why it spins.
To make a compass, put 1 redstone dust in the center of a crafting table and 4 iron ingots in the slots directly above, below, left and right of it. Leave the corners empty. The recipe is identical in Java and Bedrock.
Materials for a compass
Iron is easy to come by: mine iron ore with a stone pickaxe or better and smelt it. If you are short, our iron guide lists the best heights and the cave shapes where it shows up. Redstone dust comes from redstone ore deep underground, and one ore block drops four or five dust, so you will have plenty left over for other builds.
What it points to
The needle points to the world spawn point, the area where you first appeared. This trips up a lot of new players: it does not point to your bed, even if you have slept in one and set your spawn point there. If your base is near world spawn, the compass is a way home. If it is not, you need a lodestone.
Like the clock, a compass only works in the Overworld. Take it into the Nether or the End and the needle spins.
Turning it into a lodestone compass
A lodestone is a block crafted from 8 chiseled stone bricks around 1 iron ingot. Older guides say you need a netherite ingot; that changed in Java 1.21.5 and Bedrock 1.21.60, so the lodestone is now cheap enough for early game.
Place the lodestone at your base, then use a compass on it. The compass gets an enchanted shimmer and points to that lodestone from then on. This works in any dimension, but only while you are in the same dimension as the lodestone. A lodestone in your Nether hub is a lifesaver, because Nether navigation is where people get lost most. If the lodestone is broken, the compass goes back to spinning.
Other recipes that use a compass
- Map: surround a compass with 8 paper to get an empty map in Java. See how to make a map for the Bedrock difference.
- Recovery compass: 8 echo shards from ancient city chests around a compass. It points to where you last died, which is the compass most people actually want after a lava accident.
If you play with friends on a server, put a lodestone at each shared base and hand out linked compasses. It saves a lot of “where are you?” in chat.
Common questions
Where does a compass point in Minecraft?
A normal compass points to the world spawn point, not to your bed or your last death. Linking it to a lodestone makes it point to that lodestone instead.
Why does my compass spin in the Nether?
Normal compasses only work in the Overworld. In the Nether and the End they spin at random unless they are linked to a lodestone in that same dimension.
What is the lodestone recipe now?
8 chiseled stone bricks around 1 iron ingot. It used a netherite ingot before Java 1.21.5 and Bedrock 1.21.60.
Sources & verification
Facts on this page are checked against these references and in-game behavior for the stated edition(s). how we verify.
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