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How to Craft Compass in Minecraft

Compass in Minecraft, drawn from the game's own item texture. Points to world spawn point.

A Compass comes from 4 Iron Ingots and 1 Redstone Dust, worked on a Crafting Table. From the top down: an Iron Ingot in the middle column; then two Iron Ingots in the outer columns and Redstone Dust in the middle column; then an Iron Ingot in the middle column. Done once, that is 1 Compass.

Compass Item ID and Give Command

The item ID for Compass is minecraft:compass. In commands the namespace may be left off, so compass works too. Checked against Minecraft Java 26.2.

Give yourself one
/give @p compass
Give a full stack of 64
/give @p compass 64
Give it to a named player
/give Steve compass 1

Cheats have to be on for Compass to appear this way, and the same command works on Bedrock Edition, where the name is written the same.

Overview

A Compass points toward the world spawn point. It can be combined with a lodestone to point to that lodestone instead. Compass uses a shaped recipe: the ingredients only work in the pattern shown.

The compass was already in the game in Minecraft Beta 1.0, the oldest release with an English language file to read, so this recipe is at least that old.

The materials come together from a few sources: you will be working with iron ingot (smelt iron ore) and redstone dust (mine redstone ore).

Stack Maths

Counted per stack: 64 iron ingots, 16 crafts, 16 compass. You supply 16 redstone dust to go with it. Craft 16 empties the box exactly.

Materials Needed

ItemAmountWhere to Find
Iron IngotIron IngotIron Ingot4xSmelt iron ore
Redstone DustRedstone DustRedstone Dust1xMine redstone ore

For Compass: 4x Iron Ingot (smelt iron ore) and Redstone Dust (mine redstone ore), brought to a Crafting Table.

The Full Chain

4 Iron Ore makes 4 Iron Ingot, the one part of this you craft rather than gather. All in: 1 Redstone Dust and 4 Iron Ore.

  1. 1
    4Iron IngotIron Ingot4Iron IngotFurnace, repeat 4x
  2. 2
    CompassCompassCompassthis page

Gather this first

Redstone DustRedstone DustRedstone Dust4Iron Ore

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. 1

    Iron IngotIron Ingot4x Iron Ingot

  2. 2

    Redstone DustRedstone DustRedstone Dust

  3. 3

    Compass

Minecraft crafting recipe for Compass: 4 x Iron Ingot, 1 x Redstone Dust in a crafting table, making 1 Compass.

Tips & Notes

  • One craft costs 4x Iron Ingot and 1x Redstone Dust. Start with the Iron Ingot: smelt iron ore.

Uses for Compass

  • Points to world spawn point
  • Crafting maps and recovery compasses
  • Locating lodestone when paired

What Compass Goes Into

One other recipe on this site lists Compass as an ingredient.

MapMapMapCrafting Table

View detailed item stats, durability and properties for Compass on the Astroworld Items Database.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I need to craft a Compass in Minecraft?
To craft a Compass you need 4 Iron Ingots and 1 Redstone Dust at a Crafting Table. Copy the grid above cell for cell, and one craft produces one Compass.
What do you need to make a Compass from scratch?
Counting all the way down, a Compass comes to 1 Redstone Dust and 4 Iron Ore, spread over 2 crafts.
What can you make with Compass?
Compass is an ingredient in 1 other recipe on this site, including Map. The section above links to each of them.
How many Compasses do you get from one craft?
The Compass recipe makes one Compass per craft.
What is the item ID for Compass in Minecraft?
Compass is registered as minecraft:compass. Commands accept the short form compass as well, and Bedrock spells it the same. Checked against Java 26.2.
What is the give command for Compass?
/give @p compass gives you a Compass. Swap @p for a player name to hand it to someone else, and put 64 on the end for a whole stack.
Is the Compass recipe the same in Java and Bedrock Edition?
No difference to worry about: a Compass takes 4 Iron Ingots and 1 Redstone Dust at a Crafting Table on Java and on Bedrock alike, one at a time.
What version of Minecraft added the Compass?
The compass was older than we can prove: already there in Minecraft Beta 1.0, and that is the oldest language file Mojang still publishes, so the trail simply stops. The Compass recipe above matches the current release.

Sources

Grid, ingredients and yield
4 Iron Ingots and 1 Redstone Dust in, 1 Compass out, Crafting Table. Java 26.2, .
That Bedrock agrees
Bedrock 1.26.40.05, same 2 ingredients.
How far back it goes
Present in Minecraft Java Beta 1.0, the oldest release that exists to check. From all 163 released Java clients, rd-132211 to 26.2.
That the ingredients come back
What drops, what villagers trade and what farms regrow in Minecraft Java, followed through the recipes to see what those ingredients can be turned into.
Stack size
The Astroworld Items Database, built from the same jar.
The recipe book unlock
What unlocks it in the recipe book. Java 26.2.
The stack sum
Counted, not played: 1 Compass per craft against the stack size.

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