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How to Craft Torch in Minecraft

Torch in Minecraft, drawn from the game's own item texture. Light source with level 14.

You need 1 Coal and 1 Stick, plus a Crafting Table to assemble them on. On the grid you want a single Coal in the top-middle cell and a single Stick in the bottom-middle cell. You end up with 4 Torches each time.

Torch Item ID and Give Command

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

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

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

Overview

Torches provide light level 14 and prevent hostile mob spawns in a wide area around them. Torch uses a shaped recipe: the ingredients only work in the pattern shown.

The torch 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 coal (mine coal ore or smelt logs) and stick (craft from planks).

One Stack, Counted

One stack is 64 goes at 1 coal each, which totals 256 torches. The recipe wants 64 sticks beside it. It divides evenly, no coal left over.

Materials Needed

ItemAmountWhere to Find
CoalCoalCoal1xMine coal ore or smelt logs
StickStickStick1xCraft from planks

Gather Coal (mine coal ore or smelt logs) and Stick (craft from planks), then take the lot to a Crafting Table.

The Full Chain

2 Planks makes 4 Stick, the one part of this you craft rather than gather. All in: 1 Coal and 2 Planks.

  1. 1
    2StickStick4Stick
  2. 2
    TorchTorchTorchthis page

Gather this first

CoalCoalCoal2Planks

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. 1

    CoalCoalCoal

  2. 2

    StickStickStick

  3. 3

    4x Torch

Minecraft crafting recipe for Torch: 1 x Coal, 1 x Stick in a crafting table, making 4 Torch.

Tips & Notes

  • The whole pattern fits inside a 2x2 box, so you can make Torch in the four crafting slots of your own inventory without placing a Crafting Table.
  • Line up 1x Coal and 1x Stick before you open the Crafting Table. Coal: mine coal ore or smelt logs.
  • Each craft yields 4 Torch, so a full stack of 64 takes 16 crafts.

Uses for Torch

  • Light source with level 14
  • Preventing mob spawns
  • Melting snow and ice

What Torch Goes Into

2 other recipes list Torch as an ingredient.

Jack o'LanternCrafting TableLanternLanternLanternCrafting Table

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

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I need to craft a Torch in Minecraft?
The list for a Torch is short: 1 Coal and 1 Stick, worked at a Crafting Table. Lay them out exactly as the grid above shows, and one craft produces 4 Torches.
What do you need to make a Torch from scratch?
From raw materials only, a Torch comes down to 1 Coal and 2 Planks. The rest you make yourself, and it takes 2 crafts to get there.
What can you make with Torch?
Torch is an ingredient in 2 other recipes on this site, including Jack o'Lantern and Lantern. The section above links to each of them.
Where do you find the materials for a Torch?
Each ingredient in a Torch has its own source. Coal: mine coal ore or smelt logs. Stick: craft from planks.
How many Torches do you get from one craft?
The Torch recipe makes 4 Torches in a single craft.
What is the item ID for Torch in Minecraft?
The Torch item ID is minecraft:torch, and in a command you can drop the namespace and write torch on its own. Checked against Java 26.2.
Is the Torch recipe the same in Java and Bedrock Edition?
Java and Bedrock agree on a Torch: both want 1 Coal and 1 Stick at a Crafting Table in the layout above, and both give 4 at a time.
What version of Minecraft added the Torch?
The files run out before the torch does. Minecraft Beta 1.0 is the oldest language file Mojang publishes and torch was listed in it. Today the game builds it from 1 Coal and 1 Stick, as shown above.

Sources

Grid, ingredients and yield
1 Coal and 1 Stick in, 4 Torches 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: 4 Torches per craft against the stack size.

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