Sandbox survival · PC · PlayStation · Xbox · Switch · Mobile

Minecraft controls & keybinds

Minecraft's Java and Bedrock editions share the same core keys on PC: WASD, Space to jump, Shift to sneak, Ctrl to sprint and the number row for the hotbar. Consoles use a standard layout with the hotbar on the bumpers.

The keys people look up first

Minecraft controls at a glance

Default bindings for the actions searched for most. The full lists, the settings that change how they feel and the printable layout are below.

Action	PC	PlayStation	Xbox
Crouch	`Left Shift`	`R3 (press)`	`RS (press)`
Jump	`Space`	`Cross`	`A`
Interact		`L2`	`LT`
Inventory	`E`	`Square`	`X`
Chat / voice	`T`	`D-pad Right`	`D-pad Right`
Screenshot	`F2`

The rest of this game, drawn

Two pages, and they are not interchangeable: this is the reference you look a binding up in, the other measures the hand pressing it. Both figures below are counted from what each page holds.

39 bindings keyboard23controller16settings10 in 3 MC controls You are here 1 input type keyboardyescontrollernotouchscreenno MC input lab Times your clicking against the attack cooldown and maps which hotbar slots you reach.

LMBAttack / destroyRMBUse item / place blockMMBPick blockM4unboundM5unboundScroll ↑Cycle hotbarScroll ↓Cycle hotbar

Highlighted keys carry a default action; hover or tap a key for every action bound to it.

Action	Default key
Movement
Move	`W / A / S / D`
JumpHold in water or while flying to rise.	`Space`
SneakStops you falling off edges and hides your name tag.	`Left Shift`
SprintDouble-tapping W also sprints.	`Left Ctrl`
Interaction
Attack / destroy	`Mouse 1`
Use item / place block	`Mouse 2`
Pick blockSelects the block you look at if it is in your inventory (creative: any block).	`Mouse 3`
Drop itemCtrl + Q drops the whole stack.	`Q`
Swap item with off-hand	`F`
Interface
Inventory	`E`
Hotbar slots	`1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9`
Cycle hotbar	`Scroll Up / Scroll Down`
Chat	`T`
CommandOpens chat with a slash already typed.	`/`
Player listHold on multiplayer servers.	`Tab`
Advancements	`L`
Social interactions	`P`
Camera & debug
Toggle perspective	`F5`
Hide HUD	`F1`
Screenshot	`F2`
Debug screen (coordinates)F3 + G shows chunk borders; F3 + B shows hitboxes.	`F3`
Cinematic camera	`F8`
Fullscreen	`F11`

Show

Action	PlayStation	Xbox	Switch
Movement
Move	`L3`	`LS`	`L3`
Look	`R3`	`RS`	`R3`
Jump	`Cross`	`A`	`B`
Sneak	`R3 (press)`	`RS (press)`	`R3 (press)`
Sprint	`L3 (press)`	`LS (press)`	`L3 (press)`
Interaction
Attack / destroy	`R2`	`RT`	`ZR`
Use item / place	`L2`	`LT`	`ZL`
Pick block	`D-pad Down`	`D-pad Down`	`D-pad Down`
Drop item	`Circle`	`B`	`A`
Swap off-hand	`Triangle`	`Y`	`X`
Interface
Inventory	`Square`	`X`	`Y`
Hotbar left / right	`L1 / R1`	`LB / RB`	`L / R`
Chat	`D-pad Right`	`D-pad Right`	`D-pad Right`
Toggle perspective	`D-pad Up`	`D-pad Up`	`D-pad Up`
Pause	`Options`	`Menu`	`+`
Player list	`Touchpad`	`View`	`Touchpad`

Switch labels are derived from the PlayStation and Xbox layouts where the game uses the standard mapping; games without a Switch release show the equivalent position only.

Settings that change how the bindings feel

Recommended starting settings

Minecraft's controls menu has grown quietly. Sneak and sprint have had a toggle for years; attack and use now have one too, and there is a slider measured in ticks that governs the double-tap sprint everybody assumes is fixed.

Options → Controls

Sneak Mobility Hold HoldToggle

Toggle is the single best change a builder can make: sneaking is how you place a block on the edge of a drop without walking off it, and on a long build that is a little finger held down for hours. PC

Sprint Mobility Hold HoldToggle

Toggle here removes the other long hold. The double-tap on W still works either way, which is what the window below governs. PC

Sprint Window Mobility 7 ticks 0 – 20 ticks

How long the game waits for the second W of a double-tap sprint, counted in ticks rather than milliseconds — seven of them is 350 ms. Raise it if the double tap keeps failing you, lower it if walking forward turns into sprinting by accident. Almost nobody knows this slider exists and it is the direct fix for both complaints. PC

Time your own double tap

Attack/Destroy Mobility Hold HoldToggle

Toggle turns mining into a press to start and a press to stop. On a strip mine that is thousands of held clicks removed, and it is the only setting on this page that does the same job as an auto-clicker without being one. PC

Use Item/Place Block Mobility Hold HoldToggle

The same saving on the right button — eating, bow-drawing, bridging. Newer than the sneak and sprint pair and still missing from most control guides. PC

Auto-Jump Mobility Off OnOff

On, the game steps up a block for you. It also steps you off a ledge you were walking along and ruins any jump you were timing, which is why it is off by default and why turning it on is a genuine accessibility win rather than a beginner setting.

Right Click Emulation Off OnOff

A macOS-only row that makes Control plus left click count as a right click. It exists for trackpads, and it is the reason a Mac player's Control-click sometimes places a block when they meant to sneak. PC

Options → Controls → Mouse Settings

Sensitivity 60 – 100% 0 – 200%

100% is the default and 200% is labelled Hyperspeed by the game itself, which tells you where the useful range ends. PvP players sit below the default for the same reason shooter players do: a slower hand aims better than a faster one. PC

Discrete Scrolling Off OnOff

On, every scroll event moves exactly one hotbar slot no matter how hard the wheel was spun. That is the fix for a free-spinning or high-resolution wheel that jumps three slots when you wanted one. PC

See what your wheel actually sends

Options → Accessibility Settings

View Bobbing Visual On OnOff

The walk sway. Off is the first thing to try if Minecraft makes you motion sick, and it costs nothing but the feel of walking.

Reach check · your keyboard, this game

Can your board actually play Minecraft?

Every default bind, re-scored against the keyboard you own. Distance is measured from the left hand resting on WASD, because that is where it stays while you play.

On a 60% board Minecraft loses 6 keys. F5, F1, F2, F3, F8 and F11 are not on that board at all — so toggle perspective, hide hud, screenshot, debug screen (coordinates) and 2 more have nowhere to live until you rebind them. Do that before the first match rather than during it. How that compares with every other game.

W / A / S / D Move
Space Jump
Left Shift Sneak
Left Ctrl Sprint
Mouse 1 Attack / destroy
Mouse 2 Use item / place block
Mouse 3 Pick block
Q Drop item
F Swap item with off-hand
E Inventory
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 Hotbar slots
Scroll Up / Scroll Down Cycle hotbar
T Chat
/ Command
Tab Player list
L Advancements
P Social interactions
F5 Toggle perspective
F1 Hide HUD
F2 Screenshot
F3 Debug screen (coordinates)
F8 Cinematic camera
F11 Fullscreen

On the keys: your hand is already there
Comfortable: a finger moves, the hand does not
Stretch: the hand lifts, movement wobbles
Off movement: you let go of A and D to press it
Not on this board: the key does not physically exist

Reach uses the same key geometry as BindIQ, which can rebuild the whole layout for you once you know what is out of reach. Mouse buttons always count as reachable — your right hand is already there.

How that compares

6 keys missing 60%6 gone65%6 gonetenkeylessall there 60% keyboard check 25 of the 70 games we score lose a key on a 60%, and this is one of them.

Minecraft control lab

Shift and Ctrl do not do what you think

Two things about Minecraft's controls trip up everyone who arrives from another game. The first is that sneak and sprint are on the opposite keys from every shooter. The second is stranger and more useful: holding a modifier here usually changes how much of something happens rather than what happens, and almost none of it is written down in the controls menu.

Key	On its own	With Shift held	With Ctrl held
`W / A / S / D`	Walk	Sneak: you cannot walk off an edge, and your name tag hides	Sprint — and double-tapping W does the same thing
`Q`	Drop one item	Nothing extra	Drop the entire stack
`Mouse 1 in a chest`	Pick up the stack under the cursor	Move the whole stack straight to the other container	Nothing extra
`Mouse 2 on a chest`	Open it	Place the block in your hand against it instead of opening	Nothing extra
`Space`	Jump	Descend, while flying or in water	Nothing extra
`Mouse 3`	Pick block: puts the block you are looking at in your hand	Nothing extra	Nothing extra

Sneak is Shift and sprint is Ctrl, which is the reverse of every shooter — that single swap is behind most of the confusion, and switching Sneak and Sprint from Hold to Toggle in Options → Controls spares your little finger if you build for hours. The rest of the table is worth reading once and never looking up again: Shift-clicking to move a full stack and Shift-right-clicking to place a block against a chest instead of opening it are the two that save the most time, and neither appears anywhere in the game's own controls list.

One line per question

How to do the things people search for in Minecraft

Generated from the default bindings above, so an action and its key can never disagree.

How to crouch in Minecraft on PC and controller?

To crouch in Minecraft, press Left Shift on PC, R3 (press) on PlayStation and RS (press) on Xbox. Stops you falling off edges and hides your name tag.

How to jump in Minecraft on PC and controller?

To jump in Minecraft, press Space on PC, Cross on PlayStation and A on Xbox. Hold in water or while flying to rise.

How to interact or pick things up in Minecraft on controller?

To interact or pick things up in Minecraft, press L2 on PlayStation and LT on Xbox.

How to open the inventory in Minecraft on PC and controller?

To open the inventory in Minecraft, press E on PC, Square on PlayStation and X on Xbox.

How to open chat in Minecraft on PC and controller?

To open chat in Minecraft, press T on PC, D-pad Right on PlayStation and D-pad Right on Xbox.

How to take a screenshot in Minecraft on PC?

To take a screenshot in Minecraft, press F2 on PC.

Quick answers

How do I see coordinates in Minecraft?

Press F3 on Java Edition for the debug screen; XYZ shows your position. On Bedrock, turn on Show Coordinates in World Settings and they appear in the top-left corner.

How do I sprint in Minecraft?

Hold Left Ctrl while moving forward, or double-tap W. On controller press the left stick while moving. Sprinting drains hunger faster.

What does pick block do?

Middle mouse copies the block you are looking at into your hand if you have it in your inventory; in Creative it gives you any block, including ones with data.

How do I drop a full stack?

Hold Ctrl and press Q with the stack selected, or drag it out of the inventory window. Plain Q drops one item.

How do I switch to third person?

F5 cycles first person, third person behind and third person front. On controller press D-pad Up.

Why does double-tap sprint not work in Minecraft?

The window is a setting almost nobody finds. Options › Controls › Sprint Window is measured in ticks — seven of them, or 350 ms, by default. Raise it if the double tap keeps failing, lower it if walking keeps turning into a sprint.

Can you hold down mining in Minecraft without an auto-clicker?

Yes. Options › Controls › Attack/Destroy has a Toggle option: one press starts mining and one press stops it. Use Item/Place Block has the same, for eating, drawing a bow and bridging.

Where to go from here

Next steps for Minecraft

Sensitivity converterBring the cm/360 you already trust into MC instead of guessing a number.Nether Portal CalculatorOverworld coordinates to the Nether and back — where to build the portal on the other side.eDPI calculatorWork out where your MC sensitivity sits and what it becomes if you change DPI.Gamepad testerSee every button, trigger and stick of your controller live, before blaming the game.Controller deadzone tunerFind the smallest deadzone that hides drift without swallowing slow aim in MC.Stick drift testFive-second resting sample, so a wandering camera is not blamed on the game.