End Portal in Minecraft: How Many Eyes of Ender You Need
The End portal is 12 frames in a stronghold portal room, each with a 10% chance of an eye in place. Plan on 10-12 eyes of ender, then activate it.
The End portal is a ring of 12 End portal frames found only in the portal room of a stronghold. Put an eye of ender in every frame and the middle turns into a starry portal to the End. Each frame has a 10% chance to come with an eye already in it, so plan on needing 10 to 12 eyes, plus spares for finding the place.
Where the portal is
Every stronghold has exactly one portal room. It’s a room with stone brick stairs leading up to the frame ring, a lava pool underneath where the portal sits, and a silverfish spawner on the stairs. If you’ve found the stronghold but not the portal, keep throwing eyes inside; they still point to the portal room. Our guide to finding a stronghold covers the eye-throwing method in detail.
How many eyes you really need
| Prefilled frames | Eyes you place |
|---|---|
| 0 | 12 |
| 1 (most common) | 11 |
| 2 | 10 |
| 12 | 0 (about one in a trillion) |
On average a portal has about 1.2 eyes already in place. Eyes you throw to find the stronghold also break 20% of the time, so most players craft 15 to 20 before setting out. Each eye is one ender pearl plus one blaze powder, so that’s a lot of Endermen and blaze rods.
Activating it
Right-click each empty frame with an eye of ender. When the last one goes in, the portal activates with a loud sound you can hear across the whole world (on Java). Don’t stand in the middle while you place the last eye. You’ll fall into the portal the moment it lights.
Before jumping in:
- Kill the silverfish spawner, or light it up so it stops spawning. Silverfish chew through your health while you work.
- Bring blocks, a bow with lots of arrows, beds or Slow Falling, food and a pumpkin to wear against Endermen.
- Set your spawn point near the stronghold with a bed so a death in the End isn’t a long walk back.
The portal leads to the main End island, where the Ender Dragon waits. Coming back from the End uses the exit portal that appears after the dragon dies.
Frames are permanent
End portal frames can’t be mined in survival. They have no drops even with Silk Touch, pistons can’t push them, and explosions don’t touch them. That also means you can’t move a portal to your base: you build the base around the portal instead.
Building one in creative
In creative mode, or with /give @s minecraft:end_portal_frame 12, you can build your own. Place 12 frames in a 5x5 ring with the corners missing (three frames per side) and every frame facing inward. The easiest way is to stand inside the ring while placing each one. Fill them with eyes and it activates like a natural portal.
All the other structures are on the structures hub.
Common questions
How many eyes of ender do you need for the End portal?
Up to 12, one per frame. Each frame has a 10% chance to already hold an eye, so most portals need 10 to 12. Bring extra for throwing, since eyes break 20% of the time.
Can you mine an End portal frame?
No. In survival, End portal frames are unbreakable, even with Silk Touch, and pistons can't move them. You can only get one in creative or with commands.
Can you build an End portal in survival?
No. Frames aren't craftable or obtainable in survival, so the only working portals are the ones in strongholds.
Sources & verification
Facts on this page are checked against these references and in-game behavior for the stated edition(s). how we verify.
Keep reading