How to Make a Nether Portal in Minecraft in 2026

If you’ve searched for how to build a portal in Minecraft, you’re about three steps away from the Nether: get obsidian, arrange it into a frame, and light it with flint and steel. That’s the whole trick. But the details — how much obsidian you actually need, how to get it without a diamond pickaxe, and why your portal sometimes drops you in the wrong spot — are where most beginners get stuck.

This guide covers the full process from scratch, confirmed against the current Java Edition 26.2 and Bedrock Edition 26.30 builds, so nothing here is outdated. Nether portals haven’t changed their core mechanics since they were added to the game back in 2010, but a few details (like frame size limits and linking math) still trip people up every day.

Quick Answer: How to Make a Nether Portal

1. Collect at least 10 obsidian blocks (14 if you want a full frame with corners).
2. Craft a Flint and Steel (1 iron ingot + 1 flint).
3. Arrange the obsidian into a 4-block-wide, 5-block-tall standing rectangle.
4. Right-click (or use) the Flint and Steel on any interior block of the frame.
5. Step into the purple portal and wait about 4 seconds to teleport.

Now let’s go through each step properly, including how to get obsidian if you don’t have a diamond pickaxe yet.

Table of Contents

• What You Need to Build a Nether Portal
• How to Get Obsidian
• Step-by-Step: Building the Portal Frame
• How to Light a Nether Portal
• Minimum and Maximum Nether Portal Size
• How Nether Portal Linking Actually Works
• Java vs. Bedrock Portal Differences
• Nether Portal Design Ideas
• Safety Tips Before You Step Through
• FAQs

What You Need to Build a Nether Portal

You only need two things: obsidian and a way to light it.

Item	Amount	Notes
Obsidian	10 minimum, 14 for a full framed look	Corners are optional — the game doesn’t check them
Flint and Steel	1	Crafted from 1 iron ingot + 1 flint
Fire Charge (optional)	1	Alternative to flint and steel, useful for redstone setups

To craft Flint and Steel: smelt iron ore into an iron ingot at a furnace, then dig up gravel until flint drops (flint has roughly a 10% drop chance per gravel block, or guaranteed with a Fortune-enchanted or Silk Touch shovel). Combine the iron ingot and flint on a crafting table to get your Flint and Steel.

How to Get Obsidian

This is the part that stalls most new players, so here are your two real options.

Method 1: Mine It With a Diamond or Netherite Pickaxe

Obsidian only breaks with a diamond or netherite pickaxe — anything weaker just bounces off it. Natural obsidian generates around lava lakes, in ravines, and occasionally in underground caves, so keep an eye out while mining. If you already have a diamond pickaxe, this is the fastest route: just mine 10–14 blocks and move on to building the frame.

Method 2: Make Your Own With Lava and Water (No Pickaxe Needed)

If you haven’t found diamonds yet, you can manufacture obsidian yourself. Obsidian forms whenever a water source block touches a lava source block.

1. Find or bucket a lava source block into a flat spot.
2. Pour a water bucket directly onto the lava source.
3. The lava instantly turns to obsidian.
4. Pick the water back up so you don’t waste your bucket, then repeat.

You can even mine this self-made obsidian with a wooden pickaxe or better in some setups by pouring water only over the specific blocks you need, though a diamond pickaxe is still required to actually pick up finished obsidian blocks. Note that crying obsidian (used for respawn anchors) does not work for Nether portals — you need standard obsidian.

Step-by-Step: Building the Portal Frame

The minimum working frame is 4 blocks wide and 5 blocks tall, with a 2×3 empty interior where the purple portal effect appears. Corner blocks aren’t required — Minecraft only checks the straight edges.

Minimalist frame (10 obsidian, no corners):

.  X  X  .
X  P  P  X
X  P  P  X
X  P  P  X
.  X  X  .

Full frame with corners (14 obsidian):

X  X  X  X
X  P  P  X
X  P  P  X
X  P  P  X
X  X  X  X

X = obsidian, P = the empty interior where the portal ignites, . = optional/empty corner.

To build it:

1. Place two obsidian blocks on the ground as your base pillars, one block apart.
2. Stack three more obsidian blocks on top of each, so you have two 4-block-tall columns two blocks apart.
3. Connect the tops with two obsidian blocks to close the rectangle.
4. Optionally fill in the four corners for a cleaner look — this doesn’t affect function.

If you’re struggling to reach the top row, place a temporary block underneath yourself to stand on, then break it once you’re done.

How to Light a Nether Portal

Once the frame is complete, select your Flint and Steel in your hotbar and use it on any obsidian block on the interior edge of the frame (right-click on PC, tap on mobile, or the equivalent trigger/bumper on console). The interior should immediately fill with a swirling purple texture — that’s your active portal.

You can also light a portal with a Fire Charge, which is handy if you want to automate the process with a dispenser and redstone, since dispensers can fire charges but can’t use flint and steel directly.

To travel, walk into the purple area and stand still for about 4 seconds in Survival mode (Creative mode teleports almost instantly). You’ll hear the portal’s ambient sound and fade into the Nether.

Minimum and Maximum Nether Portal Size

A lot of guides only mention the minimum size, but Nether portals can go much bigger:

• Minimum size: 4×5 blocks (2×3 interior) — 10 obsidian without corners.
• Maximum size: 23×23 blocks (21×21 interior) — hundreds of obsidian, but it makes for a dramatic centerpiece if you’re building a Nether hub or a themed base.

Anything in between works too, as long as the width and height stay within those bounds and the shape remains a rectangle — Minecraft doesn’t support curved or irregular portal frames in vanilla.

How Nether Portal Linking Actually Works

This is the part that confuses almost everyone the first time their portal doesn’t lead where they expected.

The Overworld and the Nether share a coordinate system at an 8:1 ratio. One block moved in the Nether equals eight blocks in the Overworld. So if you enter a portal at Overworld coordinates (800, 64, 400), the game calculates a target of roughly (100, 64, 50) in the Nether.

From that target point, the game searches for an existing active portal:

• In the Nether: it searches within a 128-block radius.
• In the Overworld: it searches within a 1,024-block radius (equivalent to that same 128-block Nether radius, scaled by 8).

If it finds a portal in range, you’re linked to it. If not, the game generates a brand-new portal near that spot — which is why two portals sometimes end up close together but not actually connected, or why a portal you built manually in the Nether doesn’t line up with your Overworld one.

Practical tip: if you want a Nether portal to link exactly where you intend (say, next to a Nether Fortress you’ve already found), divide your Overworld X and Z coordinates by 8, then build your portal manually at those Nether coordinates instead of letting the game auto-generate one.

Java vs. Bedrock Portal Differences

The core building steps are identical across editions, but the linking math differs slightly between them. If you’re not sure which edition you’re on or how the two compare more broadly, our breakdown of Minecraft Bedrock vs. Java Editioncovers the bigger differences that affect portals, redstone, and crossplay. The short version for portals specifically: Java searches a wider 1,024-block radius from the Overworld side, while Bedrock uses a consistent 128-block radius in both dimensions, so portal networks that work perfectly on one edition can behave differently on the other.

Nether Portal Design Ideas

A functional portal is just a rectangle, but plenty of players build something more elaborate around it. A few directions worth trying:

• Frame it into a build. If you’re already working on a base, our list of things to build in Minecraft has plenty of ideas for turning a plain portal into a proper Nether hub with storage, an obsidian generator, and a safe landing platform.
• Give it a village context. Portals look great tucked into the corner of a themed settlement — check our Minecraft village build ideas if you want the portal to feel like part of a larger layout rather than a lone frame in a field.
• Automate the ignition. Wiring a dispenser loaded with fire charges to a lever or pressure plate lets you light the portal without ever pulling out flint and steel. If that sounds interesting, our guide to useful Minecraft redstone builds walks through similar dispenser-and-trigger setups.
• Upgrade the visuals. The portal’s purple swirl looks noticeably better with the right lighting mod. See our picks for the best Minecraft shaders if you want the glow to actually light up the surrounding area.
• Start near a ready-made one. Some worlds generate with ruined portals close to spawn, saving you the obsidian hunt entirely. Our list of best Minecraft seeds flags a few worlds where you’ll stumble onto one early.

Safety Tips Before You Step Through

The Nether is significantly more dangerous than the Overworld, so a few precautions before you activate that portal:

• Bring a way back. Note your Overworld coordinates before you leave, or build your exit portal carefully so you don’t get stranded.
• Watch for mobs near the portal. Portal light isn’t bright enough to stop hostile spawns, so zombified piglins, ghasts, and other Nether mobs can gather around an unprotected frame. Wall it off if you’re planning to use it repeatedly.
• Pack basic gear. A stack of cobblestone, some food, a weapon, and armor go a long way before your first Nether trip — there’s no water to extinguish fire damage down there.
• Never place a portal near lava carelessly. It sounds obvious, but placing your frame too close to an open lava pool is one of the most common early deaths.

FAQs

How many obsidian blocks do I need for a Nether portal? Ten is the true minimum if you skip the four corners. Fourteen gives you a fully framed rectangle if you want a cleaner look, though it doesn’t change how the portal functions.

Can you make a Nether portal without a diamond pickaxe? Yes. Pour a water bucket onto a lava source block to instantly create obsidian. You’ll still need a diamond or netherite pickaxe to mine and carry the finished blocks, but you don’t need one to generate the obsidian itself.

Can you light a Nether portal with something other than flint and steel? Yes — a fire charge works too, and it’s the only option compatible with dispensers if you want to automate the ignition with redstone.

Why does my Nether portal take me to the wrong place? Your portal is linking to the nearest existing active portal within the search radius (128 blocks in the Nether, up to 1,024 in the Overworld on Java) rather than generating a fresh one. Build your destination portal manually at the correctly converted coordinates to avoid this.

Can zombified piglins or other mobs spawn inside an active portal? Mobs can walk into an active portal and be teleported through it just like players, so an unprotected portal near a mob-heavy area can bring unwanted company with it. Enclosing the frame prevents this.

What’s the biggest Nether portal you can build? 23×23 blocks on the outside, with a 21×21 interior — far more obsidian than you’d ever need functionally, but a popular choice for large Nether hub builds.

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Once your portal is lit, the Nether opens up blaze rods, nether wart, ancient debris, and everything else needed to push toward the End. From here, it’s worth exploring what else 2026’s updates have added to the game, and browsing more building and survival guides on 8BitToast’s Minecraft coverage to plan your next project.