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How to Craft TNT in Minecraft

TNT in Minecraft, drawn from the game's own block model. Explosive block for mining and traps.

With a Crafting Table placed, 5 Gunpowder and 4 Sand are what a TNT needs. Read it row by row: two Gunpowder in the left and right columns and Sand in the middle column, then two Sand in the left and right columns and Gunpowder in the middle column, then two Gunpowder in the left and right columns and Sand in the middle column. You end up with 1 TNT each time.

TNT Item ID and Give Command

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

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

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

Overview

TNT is an explosive block that destroys nearby blocks and deals damage to entities. It can be activated by fire, redstone, or flaming arrows. TNT uses a shaped recipe: the ingredients only work in the pattern shown.

The tnt 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 gunpowder (kill creepers or ghasts) and sand (dig sand).

One Stack, Counted

Stack sum: 64 over 5 is 12 crafts, times 1 is 12 tnt. You supply 48 sand to go with it. The box keeps 4 gunpowder.

Materials Needed

ItemAmountWhere to Find
GunpowderGunpowderGunpowder5xKill creepers or ghasts
Sand4xDig sand

For TNT: 5x Gunpowder (kill creepers or ghasts) and 4x Sand (dig sand), brought to a Crafting Table.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. 1

    GunpowderGunpowder5x Gunpowder

  2. 2

    4x Sand

  3. 3

    TNT

Minecraft crafting recipe for TNT: 5 x Gunpowder, 4 x Sand in a crafting table, making 1 TNT.

Tips & Notes

  • One craft costs 5x Gunpowder and 4x Sand. Start with the Gunpowder: kill creepers or ghasts.

Uses for TNT

  • Explosive block for mining and traps
  • Activated by fire, redstone or projectiles

What TNT Goes Into

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

Minecart with TNTMinecart with TNTMinecart with TNTCrafting Table

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

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I need to craft a TNT in Minecraft?
The list for a TNT is short: 5 Gunpowder and 4 Sand, worked at a Crafting Table. Lay them out exactly as the grid above shows, and one craft produces one TNT.
Can you craft a TNT without a crafting table?
You need a table for a TNT. It is laid out as five Gunpowder and four Sand, and that takes 3 rows, more than the 2x2 grid in your inventory can hold.
Where do you find the materials for a TNT?
The parts of a TNT do not all come from one place. Gunpowder: kill creepers or ghasts. Sand: dig sand.
How many TNTs do you get from one craft?
The TNT recipe makes one TNT per craft.
What is the item ID for TNT in Minecraft?
In Java 26.2 the TNT goes by minecraft:tnt; tnt without the namespace does the same job in a command.
Can you farm everything you need for a TNT?
TNT needs nothing you have to go find: gunpowder from creepers and sand from a wandering trader. Set those up once and you can keep making TNT.
What is the give command for TNT?
The command for TNT is /give @p tnt. Add a number for more than one, so /give @p tnt 64 hands you a full stack, and it only runs with cheats enabled.
Is the TNT recipe the same in Java and Bedrock Edition?
Yes, the TNT recipe is the same in both editions. Java and Bedrock both build a TNT from 5 Gunpowder and 4 Sand at a Crafting Table, in the same layout, one at a time.
Which material does a TNT need the most of?
A TNT needs more Gunpowder than anything else: 5 Gunpowder out of 9 items in total. Gather that first and the rest of the recipe follows easily.
What version of Minecraft added the TNT?
The files run out before the tnt does. Minecraft Beta 1.0 is the oldest language file Mojang publishes and tnt was listed in it. That pattern above is still the one the game uses.

Sources

Grid, ingredients and yield
5 Gunpowder and 4 Sand in, 1 TNT 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 TNT per craft against the stack size.

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