How to Make a Trapdoor in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Craft 2 wooden trapdoors with 6 matching planks filling two rows of the crafting grid. An iron trapdoor uses 4 iron ingots in a 2x2 square and only opens with redstone power.

What you need

6 matching planks (makes 2 wooden trapdoors) OR 4 iron ingots (makes 1 iron trapdoor)

Step by step

Turn logs into 6 matching planks of one wood type (or smelt 4 iron ingots).
Open a crafting table.
Fill the middle row and the bottom row completely with the 6 planks (for iron: 4 ingots in a 2x2 square).
Take the 2 trapdoors from the output.
Place a trapdoor on the top or bottom half of a block opening; right-click to flip it open or shut.
Power iron trapdoors with a button, lever or pressure plate.

Java vs Bedrock

The trapdoor recipes are the same in Java and Bedrock: 6 planks give 2 wooden trapdoors and 4 iron ingots give 1 iron trapdoor, and copper trapdoors exist with the usual oxidation stages. Wooden trapdoors open by hand and redstone; iron ones only by redstone. Trapdoors are everywhere in advanced play: they make crawl entrances in Java (open, close onto yourself to start crawling), hide vertical ladders, shade water streams in farms, and act as cheap shutters and shutters for windows. Underwater, an open trapdoor blocks water flow while letting players through.

Versions: javabedrock

Frequently asked questions

How do you crawl in Minecraft Java?

Place a trapdoor at ground level, open it, walk onto the block, then close it onto yourself: you are forced into the 1-block-tall crawling pose and can move through 1-block-high gaps.

Can mobs open trapdoors?

Wooden trapdoors can be opened by hand, but mobs do not use them intentionally; villagers cannot pathfind through closed ones. Iron trapdoors need redstone, so they are fully mob-proof.

Do trapdoors block water?

A closed trapdoor blocks water flow, and an open one can hold water back while players slip through sideways. This makes trapdoors the cheapest water gates in farms and aquariums.