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How to read coordinates in Minecraft
There are three coordinates in Minecraft: X, Y and Z. Each coordinate indicates the player’s distance from the original spawn point in a different way:
- East – X (positive value)
- West – X (negative value)
- Altitude above origin – Y (positive value)
- Depth below origin – Y (negative value)
- South – Z (positive value)
- North – Z (negative value)
Activating coordinates in Minecraft
- Java version: press the F3 key on Windows or FN + F3 on Mac. Your exact coordinates are listed in the row “XYZ”. You can also refer to the “Block” row, but it doesn’t show your exact coordinates as the numbers are rounded.
- Bedrock version:
- When you create your world for the first time, activate the Show Coordinates option in the World Options menu.
- If you forgot or didn’t activate the Show coordinates option the first time, don’t worry. Go back to the main menu, then click the pen icon or edit button next to your world and turn on Show Coordinates.
- Pocket Edition: Pause the game, select Settings in Game Settings, scroll down to World Options, then activate the Show Coordinates button.
Understanding Minecraft coordinates
Like any three-dimensional space, Minecraft has three coordinates, X, Y and Z. With these three you can pinpoint the exact location of any particular block or object in the Minecraft world. Here’s what determines each of these three coordinates.
- The X coordinate determines your East/West position on the map. If the value is positive, it means that the position in question is east of the central part of the map. Negative value determines a position in the West.
- The Y coordinate determines your vertical position on the map. The further you move up, the more the positive value will increase. Alternatively, the further you go into the bedrock, the more the value decreases. The sea is always Y=64.
- The Z coordinate determines your position on the south/north map. As you move your location south, the positive value will increase. Go north and the numbers will go negative.
Pressing the debug button will bring up a readout of the debug information for Minecraft and the key is typically F3, but this can vary depending on your PC: For desktop PCs, pressing F3 will open the debug screen. While for most laptops and Macs, you will need to press Fn+F3, and new Mac computer owners need to press Alt+Fn+F3.
Those coordinates labeled Block are simple and the detailed coordinates are labeled XYZ. But you will also see the Facing entry which tells you which direction you are currently facing.