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How to make a Piston in Minecraft

This Minecraft tutorial explains how to craft a piston with screenshots and step-by-step instructions.

In Minecraft, pistons are one of the many mechanisms that you can make.

piston

Let's explore how to make a piston.

Supported Platforms

A piston is available in the following versions of Minecraft:

Platform	Supported (Version*)
Java Edition (PC/Mac)	Yes
Pocket Edition (PE)	Yes (0.15.0)
Xbox 360	Yes
Xbox One	Yes
PS3	Yes
PS4	Yes
Wii U	Yes
Nintendo Switch	Yes
Windows 10 Edition	Yes (0.15.0)
Education Edition	Yes (1.0)

* The version that it was added or removed, if applicable.
NOTE: Pocket Edition (PE), Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Windows 10 Edition are now called Bedrock Edition. We will continue to show them individually for version history.

Where to find a Piston in Creative Mode

Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac)

Here is where you can find a piston in the Creative Inventory menu:

Platform	Version(s)	Creative Menu Location
Java Edition (PC/Mac)	1.8 - 1.19	Redstone
Java Edition (PC/Mac)	1.19.3 - 1.20	Redstone Blocks

Minecraft Pocket Edition (PE)

Here is where you can find a piston in the Creative Inventory menu:

Platform	Version(s)	Creative Menu Location
Pocket Edition (PE)	0.15.0 - 1.1.3	Tools
Pocket Edition (PE)	1.2 - 1.19.83	Items

Minecraft Xbox Editions

Here is where you can find a piston in the Creative Inventory menu:

Platform	Version(s)	Creative Menu Location
Xbox 360	TU35 - TU69	Redstone and Transportation
Xbox One	CU23 - CU43	Redstone and Transportation
Xbox One	1.2.5 - 1.19.83	Items

Minecraft PS Editions

Here is where you can find a piston in the Creative Inventory menu:

Platform	Version(s)	Creative Menu Location
PS3	1.26 - 1.76	Redstone and Transportation
PS4	1.26 - 1.91	Redstone and Transportation
PS4	1.14.0 - 1.19.83	Items

Minecraft Nintendo

Here is where you can find a piston in the Creative Inventory menu:

Platform	Version(s)	Creative Menu Location
Wii U	Patch 3 - Patch 38	Redstone and Transportation
Nintendo Switch	1.04 - 1.11	Redstone and Transportation
Nintendo Switch	1.5.0 - 1.19.83	Items

Minecraft Windows 10 Edition

Here is where you can find a piston in the Creative Inventory menu:

Platform	Version(s)	Creative Menu Location
Windows 10 Edition	0.15.0 - 1.1.3	Tools
Windows 10 Edition	1.2 - 1.19.83	Items

Minecraft Education Edition

Here is where you can find a piston in the Creative Inventory menu:

Platform	Version(s)	Creative Menu Location
Education Edition	1.0 - 1.0.18	Tools
Education Edition	1.0.21 - 1.17.30	Items

Definitions

Platform is the platform that applies.
Version(s) is the Minecraft version numbers where the item can be found in the menu location listed (we have tested and confirmed this version number).
Creative Menu Location is the location of the item in the Creative Inventory menu.

Required Materials to make a Piston

In Minecraft, these are the materials you can use to craft a piston:

3 Spruce Planks

3 Jungle Planks

3 Acacia Planks

3 Dark Oak Planks

3 Mangrove Planks

3 Bamboo Planks

3 Crimson Planks

3 Warped Planks

3 Cherry Planks

1 Redstone Dust

TIP: You can use any type of wood planks! You don't have to gather them all.

How to craft a Piston in Survival Mode

1. Open the Crafting Menu

First, open your crafting table so that you have the 3x3 crafting grid that looks like this:

3x3 crafting area

2. Add Items to make a Piston

In the crafting menu, you should see a crafting area that is made up of a 3x3 crafting grid. To make a piston, place 3 wood planks, 4 cobblestones, 1 iron ingot, and 1 redstone dust in the 3x3 crafting grid.

When crafting with wood planks, you can use any kind of wood planks, such as oak, spruce, birch, jungle, acacia, dark oak, mangrove, bamboo, crimson, warped or cherry planks. In our example, we are using oak planks.

When making a piston, it is important that the wood planks, cobblestones, iron ingot, and redstone dust are placed in the exact pattern as the image below. In the first row, there should be 3 wood planks. In the second row, there should be 1 cobblestone in the first box, 1 iron ingot in the second box, and 1 cobblestone in the third box. In the third row, there should be 1 cobblestone in the first box, 1 redstone dust in the second box, and 1 cobblestone in the third box. This is the Minecraft crafting recipe for a piston.

Crafting recipe for piston

Now that you have filled the crafting area with the correct pattern, the piston will appear in the box to the right.

piston

3. Move the Piston to Inventory

Once you have crafted a piston, you need to move the new item to your inventory.

Completed piston

Congratulations, you have made a piston in Minecraft!

Item ID and Name

Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac)

In Minecraft, a piston has the following Name, ID and DataValue:

Item	Description (Minecraft ID Name)	Data Value	Stack Size	Platform	Version(s)
	Piston (minecraft:piston)	0	64	Java	1.8 - 1.12
	Piston (minecraft:piston)		64	Java	1.13 - 1.20.2

Minecraft Pocket Edition (PE)

In Minecraft, a piston has the following Name, ID and DataValue:

Item	Description (Minecraft ID Name)	Data Value	Stack Size	Platform	Version(s)
	Piston (minecraft:piston)	0	64	PE	1.0 - 1.20.0

Minecraft Xbox One

In Minecraft, a piston has the following Name, ID and DataValue:

Item	Description (Minecraft ID Name)	Data Value	Stack Size	Platform	Version(s)
	Piston (minecraft:piston)	0	64	Xbox One	1.6.0 - 1.20.0

Minecraft PS4

In Minecraft, a piston has the following Name, ID and DataValue:

Item	Description (Minecraft ID Name)	Data Value	Stack Size	Platform	Version(s)
	Piston (minecraft:piston)	0	64	PS4	1.14.0 - 1.20.0

Minecraft Nintendo Switch

In Minecraft, a piston has the following Name, ID and DataValue:

Item	Description (Minecraft ID Name)	Data Value	Stack Size	Platform	Version(s)
	Piston (minecraft:piston)	0	64	Switch	1.6.0 - 1.20.0

Minecraft Windows 10 Edition

In Minecraft, a piston has the following Name, ID and DataValue:

Item	Description (Minecraft ID Name)	Data Value	Stack Size	Platform	Version(s)
	Piston (minecraft:piston)	0	64	Windows	1.0 - 1.20.0

Minecraft Education Edition

In Minecraft, a piston has the following Name, ID and DataValue:

Item	Description (Minecraft ID Name)	Data Value	Stack Size	Platform	Version(s)
	Piston (minecraft:piston)	0	64	Education	1.0 - 1.18.32

Definitions

Description is what the item is called and (Minecraft ID Name) is the string value that is used in game commands.
Data Value (or damage value) identifies the variation of the block if more than one type exists for the Minecraft ID.
Stack Size is the maximum stack size for this item. While some items in Minecraft are stackable up to 64, other items can only be stacked up to 16 or 1. (NOTE: These stack sizes are for vanilla Minecraft only. If you are running a mod, some mods may change the stack size for an item.)
Platform is the platform that applies.
Version(s) is the Minecraft version numbers that the Minecraft ID and Name are valid for.

Block States for Piston

Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac)

In Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac), the block states for Piston are:

Block State	Value	Default	Required	Example	Description
extended	false	Yes	No	[extended:false]	Item is not extended
extended	true	No	No	[extended:true]	Item is extended
facing	north	Yes	No	[facing:north]	Item is facing North
facing	south	No	No	[facing:south]	Item is facing South
facing	east	No	No	[facing:east]	Item is facing East
facing	west	No	No	[facing:west]	Item is facing West
facing	down	No	No	[facing:down]	Item is facing Down
facing	up	No	No	[facing:up]	Item is facing Up

Minecraft Pocket Edition (PE)

In Minecraft Pocket Edition (PE), the block states for Piston are:

Block State	Value	Default	Required	Example	Description
facing_direction	0	Yes	No	["facing_direction"=0]	Item is facing Down
facing_direction	1	No	No	["facing_direction"=1]	Item is facing Up
facing_direction	2	No	No	["facing_direction"=2]	Item is facing South
facing_direction	3	No	No	["facing_direction"=3]	Item is facing North
facing_direction	4	No	No	["facing_direction"=4]	Item is facing East
facing_direction	5	No	No	["facing_direction"=5]	Item is facing West

Minecraft Xbox One

In Minecraft Xbox One, the block states for Piston are:

Block State	Value	Default	Required	Example	Description
facing_direction	0	Yes	No	["facing_direction"=0]	Item is facing Down
facing_direction	1	No	No	["facing_direction"=1]	Item is facing Up
facing_direction	2	No	No	["facing_direction"=2]	Item is facing South
facing_direction	3	No	No	["facing_direction"=3]	Item is facing North
facing_direction	4	No	No	["facing_direction"=4]	Item is facing East
facing_direction	5	No	No	["facing_direction"=5]	Item is facing West

Minecraft PS4

In Minecraft PS4, the block states for Piston are:

Block State	Value	Default	Required	Example	Description
facing_direction	0	Yes	No	["facing_direction"=0]	Item is facing Down
facing_direction	1	No	No	["facing_direction"=1]	Item is facing Up
facing_direction	2	No	No	["facing_direction"=2]	Item is facing South
facing_direction	3	No	No	["facing_direction"=3]	Item is facing North
facing_direction	4	No	No	["facing_direction"=4]	Item is facing East
facing_direction	5	No	No	["facing_direction"=5]	Item is facing West

Minecraft Nintendo Switch

In Minecraft Nintendo Switch, the block states for Piston are:

Block State	Value	Default	Required	Example	Description
facing_direction	0	Yes	No	["facing_direction"=0]	Item is facing Down
facing_direction	1	No	No	["facing_direction"=1]	Item is facing Up
facing_direction	2	No	No	["facing_direction"=2]	Item is facing South
facing_direction	3	No	No	["facing_direction"=3]	Item is facing North
facing_direction	4	No	No	["facing_direction"=4]	Item is facing East
facing_direction	5	No	No	["facing_direction"=5]	Item is facing West

Minecraft Windows 10 Edition

In Minecraft Windows 10 Edition, the block states for Piston are:

Block State	Value	Default	Required	Example	Description
facing_direction	0	Yes	No	["facing_direction"=0]	Item is facing Down
facing_direction	1	No	No	["facing_direction"=1]	Item is facing Up
facing_direction	2	No	No	["facing_direction"=2]	Item is facing South
facing_direction	3	No	No	["facing_direction"=3]	Item is facing North
facing_direction	4	No	No	["facing_direction"=4]	Item is facing East
facing_direction	5	No	No	["facing_direction"=5]	Item is facing West

Definitions

Block State is the internal name for the block state.
Value is the value for the block state.
Default indicates that it is the default, if omitted.
Required indicates that it must be included in command to properly identify this item/block.
Example shows how to format the block state to be used in the /fill, /setblock, /clone, or /testforblock command.

Give Command for Piston

Give Command in Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac)

In Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.13, 1.14, 1.15, 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19, 1.20 and 1.20.2, the /give command for Piston is:

/give @p piston 1

In Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11 and 1.12, the /give command for Piston is:

/give @p piston 1 0

Give Command in Minecraft Pocket Edition (PE)

In Minecraft Pocket Edition (PE) 1.12.0, 1.13.0, 1.14.0, 1.16.0, 1.17.0, 1.18.0, 1.19.0 and 1.20.0, the /give command for Piston is:

/give @p piston 1 0

Give Command in Minecraft Xbox One

In Minecraft Xbox One 1.12.0, 1.13.0, 1.14.0, 1.16.0, 1.17.0, 1.18.0, 1.19.0 and 1.20.0, the /give command for Piston is:

/give @p piston 1 0

Give Command in Minecraft PS4

In Minecraft PS4 1.14.0, 1.16.0, 1.17.0, 1.18.0, 1.19.0 and 1.20.0, the /give command for Piston is:

/give @p piston 1 0

Give Command in Minecraft Nintendo Switch

In Minecraft Nintendo Switch 1.12.0, 1.13.0, 1.14.0, 1.16.0, 1.17.0, 1.18.0, 1.19.1 and 1.20.0, the /give command for Piston is:

/give @p piston 1 0

Give Command in Minecraft Windows 10 Edition

In Minecraft Windows 10 Edition 1.12.0, 1.13.0, 1.14.0, 1.16.0, 1.17.0, 1.18.0, 1.19.0 and 1.20.0, the /give command for Piston is:

/give @p piston 1 0

Give Command in Minecraft Education Edition

In Minecraft Education Edition 1.12.0, 1.12.60, 1.14.31, 1.17.30 and 1.18.32, the /give command for Piston is:

/give @p piston 1 0

Things to Make with Pistons

You can use pistons to make items in Minecraft such as:

How to make a Sticky Piston

Things to Do with Pistons

Here are some activities that you can do with pistons in Minecraft:

Build an Automatic Farm using an Observer

Build a Flying Machine using an Observer

How to make a Dragon Egg

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