How to Make an End Portal

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: In Survival you can't craft one - End portal frames are unobtainable, so you must find and fill the portal in a stronghold. In Creative, place 12 End portal frames in a ring around an open 3x3 square while standing in the center (so they all face inward), then put an eye of ender in each frame.

What you need

12 End portal frames (Creative only)
12 eyes of ender
Survival alternative: find a stronghold

Step by step

Survival route. End portal frames can't be crafted or mined - find a stronghold with eyes of ender and fill the 12 frames of its portal room. That is the only way in Survival.
Creative build. Open the Creative inventory and grab End Portal Frames and Eyes of Ender.
Stand in one spot. This is the step everyone gets wrong: place all 12 frames while standing in the middle, rotating around, so every frame faces the center. Frames placed from outside face the wrong way and the portal won't activate.
Make the ring. Build a 5x5 ring of 12 frames leaving a 3x3 hole in the middle (4 frames per side, corners of the 5x5 empty).
Add the eyes. Insert an eye of ender into every frame. If all frames face inward, the 3x3 center instantly fills with the starry portal - jump in to reach the End.

Java vs Bedrock

Identical in Java and Bedrock. A Creative-built portal works in any dimension. In Survival the only working portal is the one generated in each stronghold's portal room.

Versions: End portals were added in Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3 (2011) inside stronghold portal rooms, with the frames and eyes made available in Creative. The mechanic has been unchanged since.

Frequently asked questions

Why won't my End portal activate?

Almost always orientation: every frame must face the center. Break the frames, stand in the middle of the 3x3 hole, and place them again while rotating around yourself.

Can I get End portal frames in Survival?

No - they are unbreakable like bedrock and have no recipe. Silk touch doesn't work. The stronghold portal is the only option.

Can I build it in the Nether?

A Creative-built portal activates in any dimension, including the Nether and the End itself.