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In Survival, use Eyes of Ender to find a stronghold, then explore its corridors to locate the End portal room. Once inside, throw another Eye to help guide your search; look for a portal frame over lava and a nearby silverfish spawner. Check for Eyes already in the frame before using your own. If cheats are enabled, a locate command can reveal stronghold coordinates, but it does not identify the portal room inside.
How to reach a stronghold with Eyes of Ender
- Bring several Eyes of Ender. Each Eye is crafted from an ender pearl and blaze powder. An Eye can break when thrown, and you will need Eyes to fill any empty portal-frame blocks you find. Mojang says a thrown Eye has a one-in-five chance of shattering, so avoid relying on the bare minimum. See Mojang’s stronghold guide.
- Throw an Eye and follow its direction. Travel toward where it flies, then throw another after moving a distance. Repeat until the Eyes lead you to the stronghold area; throwing continuously wastes supplies.
- Search underground for the structure. The Eye points toward the nearest stronghold, not directly to its End portal room. You still need to enter and explore the stronghold.
How to find the portal room inside
Explore the stronghold’s corridors and connected rooms. If you are unsure which way to go, throw an Eye while inside; Minecraft Tools recommends using its direction as an additional clue for homing in on the portal room. The Eye is a guide, not a guarantee that you can skip exploring the structure.
Look for the distinctive room containing a 12-block End portal frame above a lava pool. A silverfish spawner is commonly nearby, another useful clue. Strongholds can be maze-like, so check branches and rooms rather than assuming the first corridor leads to the portal. The room features are described in this portal-room guide.
Check the frame and activate the portal
Before placing Eyes, count how many frame blocks already contain one. Mojang says each End portal frame block has a 10% chance of generating with an Eye already present; those prefilled Eyes reduce how many you must supply. Place an Eye of Ender in every empty frame block. When all 12 blocks have Eyes, the portal activates. See Mojang’s End Portal Frame article.
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Java and Bedrock: an important difference
Mojang states that every Java stronghold has an End portal, while only some Bedrock strongholds do. If you explore a Bedrock stronghold and cannot find a portal room, the stronghold may not have one; try locating another. Stronghold distribution also differs between Java and Bedrock, so do not assume coordinates or locator results transfer between editions. These edition distinctions are covered in Mojang’s frame article and its stronghold guide.
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Locate command with cheats
If cheats are enabled, Minecraft Tools documents these commands for locating a stronghold:
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- Java:
/locate structure minecraft:stronghold - Bedrock:
/locate structure stronghold
Command syntax can depend on edition and game version, so verify it for your version. The command returns stronghold coordinates, not the location of the portal room within the structure; you must still search its rooms.
Seed-based locator
A seed-based finder may provide stronghold coordinates, but exact results depend on the world seed, edition, and game version. Minecraft Tools’ finder notes version and Bedrock caveats; treat its results as edition- and version-dependent rather than a universal guarantee. Open the Minecraft Tools Stronghold Finder.
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