How to Make a Compass in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Craft a compass from iron ingots and redstone dust. It points horizontally toward the Overworld's spawn point. Use it on a lodestone to get a lodestone compass that points to that lodestone, even in the Nether or the End.

What you need

4 iron ingots
1 redstone dust
For a lodestone compass: a lodestone (8 chiseled stone bricks around 1 iron ingot)

Step by step

Craft the compass: 4 iron ingots in a plus shape (top, left, right and bottom) around 1 redstone dust in the center.
Read it: it points in the horizontal direction of the Overworld's spawn point. It does so in the inventory, in your hand or in an item frame.
If its target is in a different dimension, or is a broken lodestone, it spins in random directions. That is why a plain compass is useless in the Nether and the End.
Craft a lodestone from 8 chiseled stone bricks around 1 iron ingot, or find one: bastion remnant bridge chests (100%) and ruined portal chests (66.7%, 1 to 2).
Use the compass on the lodestone. It now points to that lodestone, shown by an enchantment glint, and this works in the End and the Nether too.
If the lodestone breaks, or you are in another dimension, the compass spins randomly again.
You can also loot compasses: village cartographer's chests (26.3%), ancient city chests (16.5%), stronghold library chests (10.9% Java, 10.5% Bedrock), shipwreck map chests (7.7%) and trial chambers intersection barrels (5.9%).

Java vs Bedrock

Both editions use the same compass and lodestone behavior. In Bedrock, the compass also points at its target in the crafting table preview. The stronghold chest chance differs slightly (10.9% Java, 10.5% Bedrock).

Versions: Describes the current Java and Bedrock releases. See the edition note above for differences.

Frequently asked questions

What does a compass point to?

The horizontal direction of the Overworld's spawn point.

Why does my compass spin in the Nether?

Its target is in a different dimension, so it spins randomly. Link it to a lodestone in that dimension.

How do I make a lodestone?

Craft it from chiseled stone bricks and an iron ingot, or loot it in bastion remnants and ruined portals.

Where can I find a compass?

In village cartographer's chests, ancient cities, strongholds, shipwrecks and trial chambers, among others.