Minecraft Nether Portal: Build One With Just 10 Obsidian

The smallest Nether portal needs 10 obsidian and flint and steel. Build the frame upright, ignite the inside, and step through. Before wandering off, make sure you can find your way back.

Gather supplies · Build the frame · Light and enter · Troubleshooting

Gather supplies

• 10 obsidian: let water flow onto a lava source, then mine the resulting obsidian with a diamond or netherite pickaxe. There can still be lava underneath; work from a safe position and watch that the mined block doesn't burn.
• Flint and steel: craft it from one iron ingot and one flint. Gravel can drop flint when broken. Take the tool through the portal so you can relight it if necessary.
• For your first trip: bring food, a weapon, armor, a pickaxe and a stack of nonflammable blocks such as cobblestone. A piece of gold armor can help with ordinary piglins, but other threats remain.

This guide covers the mined-obsidian route. Without a diamond or netherite pickaxe, obtain one before following these steps; casting a frame is outside this guide.

Build the frame

Make the frame vertical, four blocks wide and five high, with an empty opening two blocks wide and three high. The corners are optional: leaving them out uses ten obsidian. Fill all four corners if you prefer the look, for fourteen total.

□ ■ ■ □
■ · · ■
■ · · ■
■ · · ■
□ ■ ■ □

■ is obsidian, · is empty space, and □ is an optional corner. Place two blocks along the bottom, three up each side and two across the top. Temporary blocks at the corners can support the top row while you place it; remove them afterward.

Light and enter

Use flint and steel on the inside bottom of the frame. A purple surface fills the opening when it works. Stand in the portal and wait to travel; the use control depends on your device and settings.

Pause as soon as you arrive. The exit may be near a drop, lava or hostile mobs. Protect your footing with blocks, note where the portal is, and secure a return route before exploring. Lava spreads quickly in the Nether, and an ordinary water bucket won't be a reliable fire counter there. Don't try to sleep in a bed there either.

Troubleshooting

1. Check that the opening is two wide by three high, the frame is upright and no required obsidian is missing.
2. Clear blocks from the opening and use flint and steel inside the bottom edge. You don't need to fill the corners.
3. If the Nether-side portal goes out, relight an intact frame with your flint and steel. Repair any broken frame blocks first.

Sources

Minecraft: Visit the Nether! · Minecraft: Portal dimensions · Minecraft: Flint and Steel