How to Make a Campfire in Minecraft

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The complete guide to creating and using a campfire

Co-authored by Zac Churchill and Janice Tieperman

Last Updated: July 9, 2024 Fact Checked

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Minecraft Campfire Recipe

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Minecraft Campfire Uses

Campfires are a handy tool in Minecraft, as they can offer light, cook food, and provide helpful smoke signals. But how exactly do you craft this multi-purpose tool in your own world? Keep reading to learn the exact recipe for a Minecraft campfire, along with all the different ways you can use this item.

Things You Should Know

Layer 3 wood blocks, 3 sticks, and 1 piece of coal or charcoal on a crafting table to make a campfire.
Alternatively, use 1 block of soul sand or soul soil instead of coal or charcoal to make a soul campfire.
Use a campfire to create light, cook food, create smoke signals, repel bees, and more.

Section 1 of 2:

Minecraft Campfire Recipe

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1
Place 3 wood blocks on the bottom row of a crafting table. Build a crafting table and place 3 wood blocks in the bottom 3 slots of the 3 by 3 crafting interface. Stems and stripped logs can also work for this base layer.
- Any type of wood works for this—it doesn’t have to be a specific type.
If you don’t have any coal on hand, use your furnace to smelt a piece of wood into charcoal.

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3
Place a triangle of sticks around the piece of coal or charcoal. Put your first 2 sticks to the left and right of the coal/charcoal. Then, place your 3rd stick on top of the coal/charcoal.
- Don’t have any sticks? Put a few wood planks in the center spot of the crafting table, and then put planks in the slot directly underneath it.
- Alternative: Use a piece of soul sand or soul soil to make a soul campfire. These items can be acquired in the Nether, which can be reached by making a Nether Portal . Soul campfires largely do the same thing as campfires, though their flames are a little less bright (but twice as damaging).
4
Grab the finished campfire and place it on the ground. After your sticks, charcoal, and wood blocks are in place, a campfire appears in the output box of the crafting table. Take the campfire so it goes directly into your inventory. Then, set your campfire in a spot where it could be useful, like a place where you’re setting up camp for the night.
- Campfires light automatically when you place them on the ground.

Section 2 of 2:

Minecraft Campfire Uses

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In Minecraft, luminosity is rated on a scale of 0 to 15, with 15 being the highest. ^{[1]
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Research source} Campfires have a level 15 luminosity, making them a great source of light to use in the game.
Campfires hurt you and any other mobs that walk on top of the flames (a normal campfire does 1 damage, while soul campfires do 2). To protect yourself from any flame damage, create a potion of fire resistance.
While holding a piece of meat, right-click your mouse or press LT on your controller to place the meat on the campfire. Do this up to 4 times—in about 30 seconds, each piece of meat will be cooked and ready to eat.
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Making a smoke signal Worried about losing track of your location? Set down a campfire to create a smoke signal that drifts 10 blocks in the air before vanishing. To make the smoke trail even more powerful, put the campfire on top of a hay bale when you first place it down.
- Using a hay bale with a campfire makes the smoke trail 24 blocks high.
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Keeping bees and piglins away Set the campfire directly beneath a bees’ nest if you’re aiming to collect honeycomb or honey without getting attacked/stung. If you’re camping out in the Nether, set out a soul campfire to keep nearby Piglins from attacking you.
- Wearing a gold item in the Nether also prevents Piglins from automatically attacking.
Make a hopper and place it directly beneath your campfire. If any mobs are caught in the campfire throughout the night, the hopper will collect their drops.
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Making musical sounds If you’ve recently found or created a note block , set your campfire beneath it to produce a low, bass-like sound.
- Don’t have a note block? Make your own by creating an “O” of wood planks around your crafting table and putting redstone dust in the center.