Map in Minecraft
Navigation tool
Yes (up to 64)
0-4 (128 to 2048 blocks)
Yes (cartography table or crafting table)
- New maps to the ancient city, mineshaft, desert pyramid, ocean ruins and abandoned camps. You only find them in camp chests.
- Older explorer maps have new names. For example, the Woodland Explorer Map is now the Woodland Mansion Map.
- Explorer maps and buried treasure maps can no longer be zoomed out.
Table of contents
What a map is in Minecraft
A map is a navigation item that draws a bird's-eye view of the terrain around you. Unlike a compass, which points to a single spot, a map shows you a literal picture of the land: biomes, water, buildings, trees and other structures. It is the oldest cartography tool in the game, around since Beta 1.6.
Minecraft has several types of maps. In Java Edition, a map made with the compass recipe always shows a player marker. In Bedrock Edition the same recipe gives a locator map, while an empty map made from paper alone draws terrain without a marker. Explorer maps lead to specific structures. You buy them from a cartographer or find them in chests, and since version 26.3 also in abandoned camps. There is also the buried treasure map, found in shipwrecks and ocean ruins, which leads to a buried chest.
A map covers a fixed area of terrain (it doesn't follow the player like a minimap from a mod). When you go beyond its edges, you have to activate a new map in the new location. You can combine individual maps on a wall to make a huge mosaic map of your world.
Map crafting recipes
The recipes differ between the editions. Java Edition has one recipe for a map, Bedrock Edition has two:
Map with a compass (Java and Bedrock)
8 paper + 1 compass at a crafting table (compass in the middle, paper all around). In Java Edition the result is an empty map, in Bedrock Edition an empty locator map. Once activated, the marker shows your position and the direction you are facing.
Empty map without a marker (Bedrock only)
In Bedrock Edition, 9 paper at a crafting table gives an empty map that draws terrain but doesn't show your position. At a cartography table, 1 paper is enough, and paper with a compass gives an empty locator map. Java Edition doesn't have these recipes. The only recipe is 8 paper and a compass, and you can also buy an empty map from a cartographer (Novice, 7 emeralds).
Activating and drawing a map
A freshly crafted map is empty, so you have to activate it by right-clicking while holding it. At the moment of activation the map locks onto the terrain grid and starts drawing the surrounding land.
The map draws in real time as you walk around with it in your hand (or in your off hand). The parts of the terrain you visit fill in with biome colors. The places you haven't visited stay empty (a brown paper background).
Zoom levels
A map has 5 zoom levels, from 0 (the most detailed) to 4 (the widest). Each level covers an area 4 times bigger than the previous one, but loses detail.
To zoom a map out, use a cartography table (map + 1 paper) or a crafting table (map in the middle + 8 paper). Each operation raises the level by 1. Start at level 0 and zoom out as needed. In Java Edition, zooming out creates a new map with a new number, so you have to explore the terrain again.
#minecraft:extendable_maps). Before that, starting in version 1.14, explorer maps could be zoomed out at a cartography table.
Cartography table
The cartography table is a specialized block added in version 1.14 that makes working with maps easier. You craft it from 4 planks and 2 paper. In Java Edition it has three functions, and in Bedrock Edition it also makes empty maps:
- Zooming out (map + paper) - zooms the view out by 1 level. Cheaper than at a crafting table (1 paper instead of 8). It doesn't work on explorer maps or buried treasure maps from 26.3 on.
- Cloning (map + empty map) - makes a copy of the map. The two maps are synchronized.
- Locking (map + glass pane) - freezes the map. It doesn't update, even when the terrain changes. Useful for archiving.
- Bedrock only: 1 paper gives an empty map, and paper with a compass gives an empty locator map.
The cartography table is also the job site block of the cartographer villager. An unemployed villager that gets access to a cartography table becomes a cartographer and will offer explorer maps.
Explorer maps
An explorer map leads to a specific structure. It immediately shows a simplified outline of the terrain around the target and an icon of the structure, so all you have to do is walk toward it. In version 26.3 (the Wilderness Bound update, September 15, 2026) every explorer map became a separate item with its own icon and name. The table describes Java Edition 26.3.
Village maps depend on the biome of the village where the cartographer lives, and they never lead to a village of the same type. A plains cartographer might sell maps to a savanna village and a taiga village, for example. At each level a villager gets only 2 offers from the pool, so not every cartographer has every map. You can read more about trades in the guide to trading with villagers.
Maps from abandoned camps
Version 26.3 added abandoned camps, and with them a new source of maps. A camp's hidden chest, tucked under gravel or under a barrel, always rolls one of 7 maps: to an ancient city, trial chambers, a mineshaft, a desert pyramid, a jungle pyramid, ocean ruins or a woodland mansion. A regular chest gives a map to another camp. There are 8 variants (Bamboo Jungle, Cherry Grove, Birch Forest, Dappled Forest, Flower Forest, Pale Garden, Swamp and Windswept Forest), and the map never points to a camp in the same biome as the chest it is in.
If the game can't find a target within the search range, the map doesn't end up in the chest at all. The buried treasure map works the same way. Before 26.3, an ordinary empty map sat in the chest in that situation.
The ancient city map: where it came from
Before version 26.3, the game had no map to the ancient city at all. It first showed up in snapshot 7 of 26.3 as the Ancient City Map, and in snapshot 8 it was renamed the Buried Ancient City Map, along with a new item ID. In Bedrock Edition it went through the same steps in Preview 26.50.24 and 26.50.25. The cartographer doesn't sell it, so the only source is the hidden chest of a camp.
New names for older maps
Along with the new items, the older explorer maps got new names. Maps from existing worlds turn into the new items by themselves when the world loads.
Other changes from 26.3: the regular map and the empty map have new icons, you can't pull an explorer map out of the Creative inventory, and a copy made at a crafting table keeps the map type. In Bedrock Edition the five new maps arrived in version 26.50 (the same update, September 15, 2026). The new names for the older maps will reach Bedrock only in version 26.60, which is still in Preview testing.
The woodland mansion generates in dense forest, often thousands of blocks from spawn. A map is the easiest way to find it without commands or outside tools. The cartographer only sells it at Master level, but you can roll the same map from a hidden camp chest. Evokers wait inside the mansion, and they drop totems of undying.
Cloning and locking maps
Cloning
At a cartography table, combine an activated map with an empty map. The same works at a crafting table (map + empty map), and from 26.3 a copy of an explorer map stays an explorer map. The two copies are synchronized: when you uncover new terrain on one, the change shows up on the other. Clones share the same map ID.
Cloning is especially handy on multiplayer servers. Every player can carry a copy of a shared base map, and the explored parts of the terrain sync automatically between all the copies.
Locking
At a cartography table, combine the map with a glass pane. A locked map doesn't update: even if someone changes the terrain, the map shows the state from the moment it was locked. Useful for archiving or for making historical maps of your world.
Maps on a wall
Maps in item frames are one of the most popular decorations in the game. A map placed in a frame fills it completely, making a 1x1 block panel on the wall.
You can put many maps next to each other to make a huge mosaic. For example, a 4x4 grid of level 3 maps covers an area of 4096x4096 blocks, an impressive sight on the wall of a great hall.
How to build a map wall
- Decide on the grid size (for example 3x3 or 4x4) and the zoom level (levels 2-4 look best on walls).
- Prepare the right number of empty maps.
- Activate each map in a different square of the grid. You have to physically walk to the area of each section.
- Place item frames on the wall in a grid and put the maps in them.
- The maps line up by themselves, and neighboring sections form a continuous picture.
Markers and banners on maps
In Java Edition you can add custom markers to a map. Right-click a placed banner while holding an activated map, and a colored marker appears on the map at the banner's location. If the banner has been named at an anvil, the name is displayed on the map.
It is a powerful organizing tool. You can mark a farm, a Nether portal, a zombie spawner, a village, an ocean monument, anything you like. Each banner is a separate colored marker visible on the map.
- The marker disappears from the map when you destroy the banner.
- You can add many markers to one map.
- The marker's color matches the banner's color.
- This feature works only in Java Edition.
Tips
Hold the map in your off hand (the F key). It draws as usual, and your main hand stays free for digging, fighting and building.
The fastest way to fill a map is to fly with an elytra and the map in your off hand. In a few minutes you can fill a level 4 map (2048x2048 blocks).
A map in the Nether shows the bedrock ceiling, which isn't very useful. The one exception: in Java Edition, Nether maps let you mark banners, so you can map your portal waypoints.
Advanced players make map art: giant pixel pictures built on the game's terrain that look like works of art on level 0 maps. Each map pixel corresponds to 1 block on the ground.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
How do you make a map in Minecraft?
At a crafting table, surround 1 compass with 8 paper. In Java Edition you get an empty map that shows a player marker once you activate it. In Bedrock Edition this recipe gives an empty locator map, and an empty map without a marker is made from 9 paper or from 1 paper at a cartography table.
How do you zoom out a map in Minecraft?
At a cartography table, combine the map with 1 paper, or at a crafting table surround the map with 8 paper. Each operation zooms the map out by 1 level. A map has 5 levels (0-4), from 128x128 to 2048x2048 blocks. Since version 26.3 in Java Edition you can't zoom out explorer maps or buried treasure maps.
How do you clone a map?
At a cartography table or a crafting table, combine an existing map with an empty map. The two maps will be identical and synchronized: changes to the terrain that show up on one appear on the other. You can clone as many times as you like.
What is an explorer map?
An explorer map leads to a specific structure. The cartographer sells maps to villages, jungle pyramids, swamp huts, ocean monuments, buried trial chambers and woodland mansions. Since version 26.3, maps to the ancient city, mineshaft, desert pyramid and ocean ruins can only be found in the hidden chest of an abandoned camp.
Where do you get a map to the ancient city?
The Buried Ancient City Map has existed since version 26.3 and the cartographer doesn't sell it. The only source is the hidden chest of an abandoned camp. That chest always rolls one of 7 explorer maps, as long as the game finds a target within the search range.
How do you hang a map on a wall?
Place an item frame on a wall, then right-click it while holding the map. The map fills the whole frame. Put many frames next to each other to build a huge mosaic map for your wall.
Does a map work in the Nether?
Yes, a map works in the Nether, but it only shows the bedrock ceiling at Y 127. It doesn't draw tunnels, lava or fortresses. In practice a Nether map is of limited use, and you are better off relying on coordinates (F3). In the End the map works normally.
Related pages
- Compass in Minecraft - navigation and the lodestone
- Paper in Minecraft - crafting and uses
- Items and blocks - the full database
- Trading with villagers - the cartographer and explorer maps
- Abandoned camp - chests with maps to 7 structures
- Structures in Minecraft - where explorer maps lead
- Crafting recipes - graphic layouts