Last updated: 25 June 2026

How to Make a Nether Portal in Minecraft

To build a Nether portal you need a frame of at least 10 obsidian blocks arranged in a 4-wide by 5-tall rectangle, then light the inside with flint and steel. The purple gateway activates instantly and works in both Java Edition and Bedrock Edition.

01What You Need to Build a Nether Portal

Before you start digging, gather these two key ingredients:

• Obsidian — at least 10 blocks for the minimum frame (14 if you fill the corners too).
• Flint and steel — crafted from one iron ingot and one flint (dropped by gravel).

You do not need to fill the four corner blocks of the frame; obsidian there is wasted unless you want a decorative full frame. The two hollow interior cells of the minimum frame must remain empty air so the portal can ignite.

02Getting Obsidian — Two Methods

Obsidian forms when flowing water touches a lava source block. How you reach it depends on how far you are in the game.

Method A — Diamond pickaxe (standard)

Find or create a lava lake, let water flow over it to solidify the surface into obsidian, then mine the blocks with a diamond pickaxe. A diamond pickaxe is the minimum tier that can harvest obsidian — any lower and the block disappears when broken. Netherite picks also work and mine faster.

Method B — Lava-cast trick (no diamonds required)

This method lets you build a portal without ever mining obsidian. You cast the shape yourself using a lava bucket and a water bucket.

1. Find a lava pool (since Java 1.18 / Bedrock equivalent, underground lava lakes generate above Y=0, most commonly between roughly Y=0 and Y=50; the giant lava sea sits around Y=−54 but requires navigating very deep caves).
2. Bring a bucket of water, a bucket of lava, and a stack of any cheap solid block (dirt works).
3. Build a dirt mould in the exact shape of your portal frame — two columns of four dirt on the sides, two dirt across the top and bottom.
4. Pour lava into each mould slot one at a time, then immediately splash water onto the lava source. The water converts the lava source block into obsidian in place. Scoop the water back up before it spreads.
5. Repeat for all 10 positions. Remove the dirt mould when done.

Because you never need to mine the obsidian, a wooden pickaxe is enough for the dirt. You still need flint and steel (or a fire charge) to light it.

03Building the Obsidian Frame

The minimum portal frame is 4 blocks wide and 5 blocks tall, measured from the outside of the frame. The interior opening is 2 blocks wide and 3 blocks tall — just enough for a player to walk through.

You can build oversized portals if you want a dramatic entrance — the game supports frames up to 23 blocks in either dimension — but the standard 4×5 is what most players use.

Placement steps for the minimum frame:

1. Place two obsidian blocks side by side on the ground as the base.
2. Build up three more obsidian on the left side and three on the right, creating two columns of four blocks each (including the base block).
3. Bridge the tops of both columns with two obsidian to form the header.
4. Double-check: you should see a rectangular hollow in the centre that is 2 wide and 3 tall.

04Lighting the Nether Portal

Once the frame is complete, right-click (or use secondary action) any inner surface of the frame with your flint and steel. The interior fills with a swirling purple haze within about a second. That's it — the portal is active.

If nothing happens, check that the frame has no gaps and that the interior blocks are air. A single misplaced block breaks the connection and prevents ignition.

Alternative lighters that also work:

• Fire charge — throw one at the interior or right-click the frame with it.
• Flaming arrow — shoot an arrow through a flame or from a Flame-enchanted bow into the portal opening.
• Ghast fireball — if a ghast's fireball hits the frame, it can ignite the portal even from inside the Nether.

05Travelling Through and Linking Portals

Stand inside the purple interior for about four seconds and you will be transported to the Nether (or back to the Overworld if you are already there). The game tries to find or create a matching portal at the destination.

Distance scales differently in each dimension: one block of horizontal travel in the Nether equals eight blocks in the Overworld. This makes Nether highways an efficient way to cover large Overworld distances quickly.

Portal linking can behave unexpectedly in multiplayer or near other portals. If your return portal drops you somewhere wrong, you may need to adjust or manually build a portal closer to the correct Overworld coordinates (divide your Nether X and Z by 8 to find where the matching Overworld portal should be).

06Keeping Your Portal Safe

Ghasts in the Nether can extinguish portals with their fireballs. If your portal goes dark, simply relight it with flint and steel. Building a small shelter of non-flammable blocks around the Nether-side of the portal prevents most accidental deactivations and keeps piglin traffic from wandering through.