How to Use the /locate Command

Use /locate structure <id> to find a structure, /locate biome <id> to find a biome and /locate poi <id> to find a point of interest. The answer is the nearest match with clickable coordinates. If you want the coordinates without cheats or without exploring, enter your seed in our structure finder instead.

Java Edition syntax

Command	Finds
/locate structure <structure>	Villages, strongholds, temples, ancient cities, camps and other structures
/locate biome <biome>	The nearest biome of that type
/locate poi <poi>	Points of interest such as job sites and bee homes

All three accept a tag with #. For example, /locate structure #minecraft:village covers every kind of village, and the village points of interest use the same idea.

The answer looks like this: "The nearest village is at [x ~ z] (n blocks away)". For biomes the message includes a Y value. Click the coordinates and the game puts /tp @s x ~ z into your chat box. The distance is horizontal.

Bedrock Edition syntax

Bedrock has /locate structure <structure> and /locate biome <biome>. There is no poi form. Biome ids need the namespace, for example minecraft:plains. You need cheats enabled. Bedrock structure positions often differ from Java for the same seed, as explained in Java vs Bedrock seeds.

Useful structure ids

These ids work on Java 26.3. We use them in our own accuracy tests on the official server.

Structure	Command id
Village (any)	#minecraft:village
Pillager outpost	minecraft:pillager_outpost
Stronghold	minecraft:stronghold
Trial chambers	minecraft:trial_chambers
Ancient city	minecraft:ancient_city
Woodland mansion	minecraft:mansion
Ocean monument	minecraft:monument
Trail ruins	minecraft:trail_ruins
Buried treasure	minecraft:buried_treasure
Abandoned camp (any biome)	#minecraft:abandoned_camp
Nether fortress	minecraft:fortress
Bastion remnant	minecraft:bastion_remnant
End city	minecraft:end_city

Structures in the Nether and the End need you to stand in that dimension, or to run the command with execute in. For example: /execute in minecraft:the_nether run locate structure minecraft:fortress.

Biome ids

Biome ids use the same snake case as the in-game names, such as minecraft:cherry_grove, minecraft:mushroom_fields or minecraft:dappled_forest. The Minecraft Wiki says biome searches cover an area of 12,801 by 12,801 blocks and use a resolution of 32 blocks horizontally, so a very narrow biome can be missed. To see every match of a biome at once, use our biome finder.

How far does it search?

The wiki explains the structure search in units of the structure's own spacing: the game checks a 201 by 201 area of those units. That is why a woodland mansion, which has a spacing of 80 chunks, can be found up to 128,000 blocks away, and why strongholds have no maximum distance. Point-of-interest searches cover a sphere with a 256-block radius.

Why does /locate fail or give a strange result?

• Wrong dimension. A fortress will never be found from the Overworld.
• Wrong id. A typo returns an "unknown" error. Use tab completion to see valid ids.
• Too far. The search area is large but finite. Travel and try again.
• Not the nearest. The wiki notes that structures with larger spacing may be preferred, so the result is not always the closest.

A seed map has none of these limits. It computes every position from the seed, so you can see all structures at once and plan a route.

/locate without cheats

On a server or a world with cheats off, you cannot run the command. Use a seed tool. Enter the seed in the seed map, turn on the structures you want and copy the /tp command. If you do not know your seed, see how to find your seed.

Quick answers

• Structure: /locate structure #minecraft:village
• Biome: /locate biome minecraft:cherry_grove
• Permission: level 2 on Java, cheats on for Bedrock.
• Stronghold help: how to find a stronghold.
• New in 26.3: how to find an abandoned camp.