You’re standing in a dark cave, pickaxe almost broken, and you’ve finally gathered enough obsidian to leave the Overworld behind. Honestly, it’s a rite of passage. But figuring out how to make the portal in minecraft is usually where players hit their first real wall because the game doesn't exactly give you a blueprint. You just sort of have to know.
If you've ever watched a speedrunner or a veteran player, they make it look like a five-second chore. In reality? It’s a geometry puzzle mixed with a scavenger hunt. Whether you're aiming for the purple glow of the Nether or the starry void of the End, the process is precise. If you misplace one block, nothing happens. No sparks. No portal. Just a weird-looking stone frame in the middle of your base.
The Standard Nether Frame: What You Actually Need
Most people think you need 14 blocks of obsidian. You don't. That's a waste of time and diamond pickaxe durability. You can actually get away with 10. You just skip the corners. Why waste four blocks of the hardest material in the game on "aesthetic" corners when dirt or cobblestone works as a placeholder?
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To build the classic vertical frame, you need a space that is four blocks wide and five blocks tall. The hollow interior—the part that actually turns into the purple "water" effect—must be a 2x3 area. Put two obsidian blocks on the bottom. Build up three blocks on each side. Close the top with two more obsidian blocks.
Lighting it is the satisfying part. You grab your flint and steel and click the top of one of the bottom obsidian blocks. If you did it right, the air inside the frame turns into a swirling purple vortex. If it didn't work? Check your measurements. A 2x2 interior won't trigger. Neither will a 3x3. It has to be that specific 2x3 rectangle.
Making a Portal Without a Diamond Pickaxe
This is the "pro" move. Most beginners think you have to find diamonds, craft a pickaxe, find lava, and mine the obsidian. That takes forever. Instead, you can "cast" the portal in place using lava buckets and water. It’s basically 3D printing with volcanic rock.
Find a pool of still lava. Build a small mold out of dirt in the shape of the portal frame. You place the lava into the mold and then dump a water bucket right next to it. The water hits the lava, turns it into obsidian instantly, and boom—you have a permanent block right where you want it. This is how speedrunners like Dream or Illumina get to the Nether in under five minutes. They don't mine; they build.
It's risky. One wrong move and you turn your entire lava pool into cobblestone, which is a nightmare to clear out. Or worse, you fall in. Always keep a water bucket on your hotbar. It’s the single most important safety tool in the game.
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The Flint and Steel Problem
Sometimes you have the obsidian, but you can't find gravel for flint. It happens. You’re stuck in a desert or a forest with no gravel pits in sight. You can actually light the portal using fire spread. If you place wood or wool next to the portal frame and set it on fire (using lava and a non-flammable block to direct the flames), the fire can eventually "jump" into the portal frame. When the fire hits that specific 2x3 air gap, the portal activates. It’s janky, but it works when you're desperate.
Finding the End Portal: A Different Beast Entirely
Learning how to make the portal in minecraft for the End is a completely different story because, in Survival mode, you don't actually "make" it. You find it. You have to hunt down a Stronghold using Eyes of Ender.
These eyes are crafted by killing Endermen for pearls and Blazes for rods. When you throw an eye into the sky, it floats toward the nearest Stronghold. You follow it. You dig. Eventually, you’ll break into a mossy stone brick room with a silverfish spawner and a floating frame over a pool of lava.
- The frame consists of 12 individual blocks.
- Most frames are missing a few Eyes of Ender.
- You have to place the eyes into the empty sockets.
- Every eye must be facing the center of the portal.
If you are in Creative mode and trying to build one of these from scratch, this is where everyone fails. You can't just fly around and place the blocks. You must stand in the exact center of where the portal will be and place the blocks around you. The portal blocks have a directional "front." If they aren't all facing inward, the portal won't open. It's a weird technical quirk that has frustrated players for a decade.
The Ruined Portals and the "New" Way to Travel
Since the 1.16 Nether Update, Mojang added Ruined Portals to the world generation. These are basically "starter kits." They're giant, broken frames made of obsidian and Crying Obsidian.
Crying Obsidian looks cool—it has purple particles dripping off it—but it’s useless for a working portal. You have to mine the Crying Obsidian out and replace it with regular obsidian. Often, these ruins have a chest nearby with exactly what you need: a few extra obsidian blocks, maybe some gold armor, and a flint and steel. It’s the game's way of nudging you toward the Nether without making you grind for diamonds.
Why Your Portal Might Not Be Working
- Block Obstruction: Is there a torch or a piece of tall grass inside the frame? Clear it.
- Corner Issues: While you don't need corners, you cannot have anything blocking the 2x3 space.
- The "Crying" Trap: Make sure you aren't using Crying Obsidian. It looks similar but won't conduct the portal energy.
- Version Glitches: Rarely, in older versions of Bedrock, a portal might glitch if it crosses a chunk boundary, though this is mostly fixed now.
Linkages and Math: Not Getting Lost
Once you go through, the game does some math. For every 1 block you travel in the Nether, you travel 8 blocks in the Overworld. This is the secret to fast travel. If you want to connect two bases that are 800 blocks apart, you build a portal at Base A, go into the Nether, walk 100 blocks, and build a second portal. When you step through, you’ll be at Base B.
The trick is making sure the portals "link" correctly. To do this, take your Overworld coordinates $(X, Z)$ and divide them by 8. Build your Nether-side portal at exactly those coordinates. If you don't do the math, the game might just dump you back at your first portal, or worse, in a random cave a thousand blocks away from home.
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Next Steps for Your Journey
Now that you've got the frame standing and the purple mist is humming, don't just jump in. The Nether is significantly more dangerous than the Overworld in 2026. Gold armor is a requirement unless you want Piglins chasing you across the map.
- Craft a Gold Helmet: It’s the cheapest way to keep Piglins neutral.
- Bring Cobblestone: Ghasts can’t blow it up, so use it to build small shelters around your portal.
- Set a Respawn Point: Use a Respawn Anchor if you plan on staying in the Nether for a while, but never—ever—try to sleep in a bed there. It ends poorly.
Check your coordinates one last time. If you're playing on a server, make sure you've claimed the area so nobody breaks your frame while you're away. Once you step through that curtain, the game changes completely. Happy hunting.