How to Crawl in Minecraft (1-Block Spaces)

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Crawling is automatic: close a trapdoor over yourself, or swim or fly into a 1-block-high gap, and your character drops to a 0.625-block-tall crawl that fits through single-block spaces. There is no crawl key - the pose triggers whenever your head would hit a block.

What you need

A trapdoor (any wood) for the classic crawl trigger
Optional: a piston or fence gate as alternatives
Swift Sneak leggings to crawl faster

Step by step

Place a trapdoor on the floor-level block at the entrance of your 1-block gap and flip it open vertically.
Walk into the trapdoor and close it over yourself (right-click): your character instantly drops into the crawling pose.
Move forward into the 1-block space. You travel at sneaking speed and fit anywhere a single block of air exists.
Other triggers: swim into a 1-block gap (you stay prone), fly in with an elytra, throw an ender pearl into the gap, or have a piston push a block over you.
To stop crawling, move into a space at least 1.5 blocks high: you stand up automatically.
Crawl faster: Swift Sneak leggings (ancient city loot) raise crawl speed - at Swift Sneak III you crawl nearly at walking pace.
Uses: 1-block mob-proof tunnels, secret bases, strip mining with a 1x1 profile, and reaching items under slab floors.

Java vs Bedrock

Both editions crawl automatically now. Java triggers are slightly more generous (more block types force the pose); the trapdoor method works everywhere.

Versions: Crawling became an automatic mechanic in Java 1.14 (it started as a swimming side-effect in 1.13). Bedrock added proper crawling in the 1.20 updates.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a crawl button?

No. Crawling is not a keybind like sneaking - your character crawls only when a block forces the pose, and stands up when there is headroom again.

Can mobs follow me into a 1-block tunnel?

Most cannot: zombies and skeletons are too tall. Baby zombies, silverfish, endermites and cave spiders fit - light the tunnel and you are safe from everything else.

Does crawling make you slower than sneaking?

Same base speed as sneaking. Swift Sneak enchantments speed both up, which is why they are the best leggings enchantment for tunnel networks.