Nether Portal (block)

Nether Portal

Java Edition

Bedrock Edition

Renewable	Yes
Stackable	Yes (64) ‌[BE only] N/A ‌[JE only]
Tool	None
Blast resistance	0
Hardness	-1
Luminous	Yes (11)
Transparent	Yes
Flammable	No
Catches fire from lava	No
Map color	0 NONE
Note block instrument	Default (Harp)

The Nether portal block is the translucent part of the Nether portal that teleports the player to and from the Nether.

Obtaining

The Nether portal block cannot be obtained as an item even by using the /give command. The item form is completely non-existent in Java Edition, but it can be obtained through add-ons, external editors or by using bugs in Bedrock Edition.

This block cannot be picked up using pick block, similar to the End portal block.

The Nether portal block can be placed using commands such as /fill or /setblock.

Post-generation

When a Nether portal is lit by placing fire in any manner inside the portal frame, the Nether portal blocks are generated, with one of them replacing the fire.

Nether portal blocks with the portal structure itself can also generate when an entity goes through a portal and there's no other active portal within 128 blocks of the matching coordinate.

Nether portal blocks cannot generate in the End and can only be placed using commands.

Usage

Nether portal blocks can stably exist only within a Nether portal structure, unlike End portal blocks. When the block is updated and detects that it is not part of such a structure, it is destroyed. However, using update suppression glitches, it is possible to obtain a standalone portal block without a frame, but the portal is destroyed once it receives an update, i.e., placing a block next to the portal or moving a piston next to or into the portal.

Nether portal blocks can be used to teleport entities between the Nether and the Overworld. When a player in the Overworld or the Nether stands in a Nether portal block for 4 seconds, the player is taken to the other dimension. While in the Nether portal block, the player can neither open their inventory nor interact with blocks with a GUI. The player can step out of a portal before it completes its animation to abort the teleport. However, in Creative mode there is no wait time—the player immediately transfers between dimensions. If there is already an active portal within range (125 blocks) in the other world, the player appears in that portal. Otherwise, a portal is created at or near the corresponding coordinates. If a single portal block is placed using commands, it can still be used to travel to the Nether.

Nether portal blocks make distinctive sounds and emit the same purple particles produced by endermen, endermites, and ender chests. Portal blocks emit a light level of 11, dimmer than a torch.

Falling block entities can be teleported through a portal, but a piston cannot push a block through.

Much like water or lava, portal blocks cannot be broken by tools except in Creative. However, portal blocks can be destroyed by explosions (even weak ones) and can be replaced by placing water or lava sources in the same block (can also be done by dispensers). If any portal block is destroyed, the whole portal is deactivated as adjacent portal blocks are updated and detect that the portal structure is no longer complete.

While Nether portals themselves cannot be lit in the End, a portal block set in the End and in custom dimensions behaves exactly like in the Overworld, calculating coordinates in the Nether with the same 1:8 ratio. They teleport players to the Nether in Java Edition, and to the Overworld in Bedrock Edition. However, once teleported to the Overworld from the End, the player is in a glitched state where they can no longer interact with the world or load chunks during that session. After reloading the world, the player spawns on a new End platform at the same coordinates in the End as where the Nether portal was.

Piston interactivity

Nether portal blocks cannot be pushed by pistons. They also cannot be pushed or pulled by sticky pistons.

Sounds

Generic

Java Edition:

glass sound type
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	​Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	block.glass.break	subtitles.block.generic.break​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block placed​[until: JE 26.4]	Blocks	When the block is placed	block.glass.place	subtitles.block.generic.place​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	block.glass.hit	subtitles.block.generic.hit​	0.25	0.5	16
	​Something falls on a block	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	block.glass.fall	subtitles.block.generic.fall​	0.5	0.75	16
	​Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	block.glass.step	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.15	1.0	16

Bedrock Edition:

glass sound type
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch
	​Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	random.glass	subtitles.block.generic.break​	1.0	0.8–1.0
	​Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	place.stone	subtitles.block.generic.place​	1.0	0.8–1.0
	​Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	hit.stone	subtitles.block.generic.hit​	0.4	0.6
	​Footsteps	Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	fall.stone	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.4	1.0
	​Footsteps	Players	Walking on the block	step.stone	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.3	1.0
	​Footsteps	Blocks	Jumping from the block	jump.stone	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.12	1.0
	​Footsteps	Blocks	Falling on the block without fall damage	land.stone	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.22	1.0

Unique

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	Block tags	Translation key
Nether Portal	nether_portal	Block	hoglin_repellents portals	block.minecraft.nether_portal

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	Form	Item ID[i 1]	Translation key
Nether Portal	portal	90	Block & Ungiveable Item[i 2]	Identical[i 3]	tile.portal.name

Block states

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

History

History of the block itself

Java Edition

Java Edition Alpha
v1.2.0			preview				Added the Nether portal block.
							It currently cannot be destroyed by flowing fluids.
Java Edition Beta
1.6			Test Build 3				Nether portal blocks no longer have a top face.
Java Edition
1.0.0			Beta 1.9 Prerelease 6				Nether portal blocks are no longer affected by smooth lighting.[1]
			RC1				It is no longer possible to break portal blocks with water or lava. Both stop before hitting the portal and act as if the portal were a solid block; placing water instead of fire in the portal automatically deactivates the portal anyway.
1.2.1			12w08a				The player can now (again) break a block portal in Creative by punching it. It makes the same sound as glass being destroyed.
1.3.1			12w24a				Fixed missing nether portal sounds.
1.5			13w02a				Blocks can now be displayed inside of a minecart via commands or map editing. If a nether portal is set as such a block, it appears opaque and as a full cube rather than a thin cuboid.
1.7.2			13w41a				Nether portals, water and ice are now visible through each other.
							This also makes the rear planes visible from the front planes.
			13w42a				Nether portals no longer show their back face.[2]
1.8			14w18a				Nether portals no longer have side faces.
1.21.5			25w04a				Nether portals now no longer teleport entities if they are within its block space but do not intersect with its hitbox.[3]
1.21.6			25w16a				Reverted the previous teleportation changes.[4]

Bedrock Edition

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.12.1			build 1				Added Nether portal blocks.

Legacy Console Edition

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU1	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added Nether portal blocks.
TU25	CU14	1.17	1.17	1.17			Nether portals no longer show their back face.

History of the block's effects

Data history

Java Edition
1.5			13w02a				Nether portal blocks now use a texture file in resource packs: textures/blocks/portal.png.
1.7.2			13w37a				Nether portal blocks now use block data values (later changed to block state) to determine their orientation. Due to these changes, Nether portals created in 1.6.4 and earlier have a tendency to close when upgrading.
							Metadata value 1 corresponds to a portal that reaches the west and east sides of the block, and 2 corresponds to one that touches the north and south sides. 0, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15 also appear as north/south and 5, 9 and 13 as east/west; however, they appear to be unused.
			13w37b				Nether portal blocks with metadata values 3, 7, 11 and 15 now have a vertical post appearance rather than the pane or sheet appearance of other states.
1.8			14w03a				Nether portal blocks with data values 3, 7, 11 and 15 now appear as north-south connected again.
1.13			17w47a				Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 90.
			pre5				The block ID of Nether portals has been changed to nether_portal.

Issues

Issues relating to "Nether portal" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

References