Structure

A mineshaft generating across a large cave.

This page lists structures (also known as generated structures or structure features) in Minecraft. A structure is defined as what is disabled when the "Generate structures" world creation option is turned off. Features, such as monster rooms and desert wells, do still generate with this option turned off; however, they are listed on this page in § Structure-like features due to them having the appearance of an artificial structure as opposed to a natural formation.

Overworld

The Overworld contains numerous structures, at a wide variety of scales.

Underground structures

These structures can generate only underground in vanilla default Overworlds.

Structure	Biome(s)	Description
Ancient City	Deep Dark	Long corridors made of deepslate and wool, connecting to a central building with a frame like structure made of reinforced deepslate. The central structure resembles a warden. Small ruins can be found scattered around the ancient city containing loot chests inside. Since this structure generates in the deep dark biome, it contains many sculk sensors, shriekers, and catalysts.
Mineshaft	Any Overworld biomes except Deep Dark	A maze of corridors supported by wooden beams, with incomplete rail systems on which minecarts with chests can generate. Cave spider spawners may generate here heavily surrounded by cobwebs. In badlands biomes, they use dark oak planks instead of oak planks, and may generate close to the surface.
Stronghold	Any Overworld biomes	Maze-like stone bricks structures containing many rooms, including one with a usually unactivated end portal. In Java Edition, they have a specific, fixed way of generating, and a maximum of 128 can generate in a single world.
Trail Ruins	Jungle Old Growth Birch Forest Old Growth Pine Taiga Old Growth Spruce Taiga Snowy Taiga Taiga	A group of ruined buildings meant to resemble small, ancient settlements. The entire structure is buried underground except for the tip of the tower, which is exposed to the surface. The structure can contain suspicious gravel.
Trial Chambers	Any Overworld biomes except Deep Dark	A large underground structure made of copper and tuff-related blocks, featuring trial spawners and vaults. It is the only place where the breeze is found. This is also the only area besides swamps in which bogged can spawn.
Buried Treasure	Beach Snowy Beach Stony Shore‌ Mushroom Field Shore‌(Unused)	A hidden chest containing valuable loot that spawn in beach/shore biomes. They are found using treasure maps located in shipwrecks and occasionally ocean ruins.

Aboveground structures

These structures generate only aboveground.

Structure	Biome(s)	Description
Desert Pyramid	Desert Desert Hills‌(Unused)	Large sandstone buildings containing four chests with loot in an underground room hidden beneath terracotta. The chests are trapped with TNT that detonates when a stone pressure plate in the center is stepped on, destroying the chests and their contents. Also contains suspicious sand in a buried side room. Sometimes called Desert Temple.
Igloo	Snowy Plains Snowy Taiga Snowy Slopes	Snow buildings that may have a basement hidden under a carpet. The igloo itself contains little of value, but the basement has a villager and a zombie villager held captive behind iron bars. A sign near them asks to cure the zombie villager. To cure the zombie villager, use the splash potion of weakness found on the brewing stand together with the golden apple in the loot chest. After weakening and feeding the zombie villager, it displays golden particle effects and eventually converts to a regular villager.
Jungle Pyramid	Jungle Bamboo Jungle‌ Jungle Hills‌(Unused)	Overgrown cobblestone structures containing two loot chests, with one trapped with two dispensers firing arrows by redstone and the other hidden behind a lever puzzle. Setting the correct combination for the lever puzzle moves a block on the main floor, revealing a hidden cavity and the chest.
Pillager Outpost	Plains Desert Savanna Taiga Snowy Plains Grove Meadow Cherry Grove Frozen Peaks Jagged Peaks Stony Peaks Snowy Slopes Snowy Taiga‌ Sunflower Plains‌ Taiga Hills‌(Unused) Snowy Taiga Hills‌(Unused)	An assortment of structures spawning pillagers. The main feature of interest is the watchtower: a tall structure built with wood and cobblestone that generates a loot chest on the top. Located around the watchtower are up to four small structures, including tents, target scarecrows, and wooden cages sometimes containing an iron golem or a couple of allays.
Swamp Hut	Swamp	Also known as witch huts. They are small wooden buildings on top of log stilts containing a cauldron and crafting table. Each Swamp Hut spawns witches. Upon their generation, one black cat and one witch occupy the structure's area and the mobs do not despawn naturally. The huts can be used to create a witch farm, as replacement witches spawn automatically.
Village	Plains Meadow Desert Savanna Taiga Snowy Plains Snowy Taiga‌ Sunflower Plains‌ Taiga Hills‌(Unused) Snowy Taiga Hills‌(Unused)	A town full of houses and job sites inhabited by villagers with random professions and up to two iron golems defending the village. They are constructed with a wide variety of materials, depending on the biome that they generate in. Although village buildings do not have variants for jungle and swamp biomes, villagers wear different outfits when spawning in said biomes.
Abandoned Village	Plains Meadow Desert Savanna Taiga Snowy Plains Snowy Taiga‌ Sunflower Plains‌ Taiga Hills‌(Unused) Snowy Taiga Hills‌(Unused)	Also known as a "Zombie Village". A variant of the regular village, however it is run down. Houses no longer have torches, some blocks are broken and replaced with cobwebs, all glass panes are replaced with brown stained glass panes and all the villagers are zombified. No iron golems spawn, however, cats still spawn with generation of the structure.
Woodland Mansion	Dark Forest Pale Garden Dripstone Caves‌ Lush Caves‌ Dark Forest Hills‌(Unused)	Massive, systematically-generated buildings constructed with dark oak and a cobblestone foundation. They contain many rooms (some hidden) and loot chests in their three floors, and are inhabited by vindicators and evokers that do not naturally despawn or respawn when defeated. Allays can sometimes be found in prison cells.

Aboveground and underground structures

These structures generate both aboveground and underground.

Structure	Biome(s)	Description
Ruined Portal	Any Overworld biomes except Deep Dark	An incomplete nether portal constructed with various types of stone or blackstone materials when generating in the Overworld or the Nether respectively. They can generate in varying sizes and positions. A netherrack platform underneath, as well as a loot chest and a few gold blocks, often generates.

Underwater structures

These structures generate below the sea level i.e. y=64 and in the Ocean biomes.

Note that ocean ruins and shipwrecks sometimes generate above water on shores, and icebergs are partially above and below water.

Structure	Biome(s)	Description
Ocean Ruins	Deep Ocean Deep Frozen Ocean Deep Cold Ocean Deep Lukewarm Ocean Ocean Frozen Ocean Cold Ocean Warm Ocean Lukewarm Ocean Deep Warm Ocean‌(Unused)	A collection of small structures made of stone bricks or sandstone. Drowned may spawn naturally here. Can contain suspicious sand or suspicious gravel. Suspicious sand in warm ocean ruins is the only way to get the sniffer egg.
Shipwreck	Deep Ocean Deep Frozen Ocean Deep Cold Ocean Deep Lukewarm Ocean Ocean Frozen Ocean Cold Ocean Warm Ocean Lukewarm Ocean Beach Snowy Beach Mushroom Field Shore‌(Unused)	Wooden structures resembling sunken ships in varying states of deterioration, containing up to three loot chests.
Ocean Monument	Deep Ocean Deep Frozen Ocean Deep Cold Ocean Deep Lukewarm Ocean Deep Warm Ocean‌(Unused)	Massive prismarine temples inhabited by guardians, as well as three elder guardians in fixed positions. Wet sponges, along with eight blocks of gold as treasure, also generate naturally here. The interior structure is randomly generated, resembling a maze of sorts.

The Nether

The Nether, though equally vast, contains far fewer biomes and structures than the Overworld.

Structure	Biome(s)	Description
Nether Fortress	Any Nether biomes	Towering castles made of nether bricks that contain blaze monster spawners and nether wart farms. They are divided into open-air ramparts and winding interior corridors, some of which contain loot chests. Wither skeletons and blazes exclusively spawn here.
Bastion Remnant	Nether Wastes Crimson Forest Warped Forest Soul Sand Valley	Enormous, castle-like blackstone structures housing piglins and piglin brutes. They can generate in various forms (bridges, housing units, hoglin stables, and treasure rooms) and chest loot varies from one form to the next.
Nether Fossil	Soul Sand Valley	Fossil variants that are more incomplete and purely composed of bone blocks. In Bedrock Edition, it is a feature rather than a structure feature.
Ruined Portal	Any Nether biomes	An incomplete nether portal constructed with various types of stone or blackstone materials when generating in the Overworld or the Nether respectively. They can generate in varying sizes and positions. A netherrack platform underneath, as well as a loot chest and a few gold blocks, often generates.

The End

The End is the final and most barren dimension. After defeating the ender dragon, gateways to the outer islands are created.

Structure	Biome(s)	Description
End City	The End‌ End Midlands‌ End Highlands‌	Sprawling, well-connected towers built from purpur blocks, end stone bricks, and magenta stained glass. They are inhabited by shulkers that guard valuable loot chests, and may generate an end ship holding a pair of elytra.

Structure-like features

These worldgen features have similarities to structures but they are not true structures. Instead, they are coded and generated the same way as trees or ores. This is why they generate even when the "Generate structures" world option is disabled, and also cannot be located with the /locate command.

Features	Biome(s)	Description
Monster Room	All Overworld Biomes	A small cobblestone room containing a monster spawner, which spawns zombies, skeletons, or spiders, as well as up to two loot chests. They are typically connected to underground caves but may generate above ground or intersected with true structures such as mineshafts or strongholds.
Desert Well	Desert	Small sandstone feature holding water in their center cavity. They do not generate gold or treasure as part of their generation but the water can be used as an infinite water source. Contains suspicious sand blocks that can be brushed.
Bonus Chest	Anywhere, near the spawnpoint.	A chest with additional loot, that spawns near the player's spawnpoint if the feature was toggled on when creating the world.
Amethyst Geode	All Overworld Biomes	Large, hollow spherical rocks composed of outer layers of smooth basalt and calcite with an inner layer of amethyst blocks. This is the only place where budding amethyst and amethyst blocks can be found. They come in many sizes, including open geodes and entirely encased geodes.
Fossil	Mangrove Swamp Desert Swamp	Usually buried feature made of bone blocks and coal or diamond ore depending on the Y level.
Exit portal	The End	A feature that looks like a fountain. It becomes a portal and a dragon egg spawns on it after the player defeats the ender dragon.
End gateway	End Midlands‌ End Highlands‌ The End	A 1-block portal that activates after the ender dragon is defeated. Using an ender pearl, the player can teleport to the outer regions of the End.
End Spike	The End	Tall obsidian pillars that hold the end crystals. Some of them also have iron bars.
End Platform	The End	Obsidian platform on which the player spawns when they enter the End.
Void start platform‌	The Void	A platform made of stone with a cobblestone block in the center. They can spawn only in superflat worlds with "The Void" preset selected. Only available in Java Edition.

Removed structures

These are structures that have been removed or exist only in older versions of Minecraft.

Structure	Biome(s)	Description
Brick Pyramid	Anywhere, since biomes did not exist at the time.	A giant pyramid that had no interior and was made solely out of bricks. The official name for this structure is unknown. Was removed in Java Edition Infdev 20100327.
Glass Pillar	Any Overworld biome.	A tall, 1×1 glass pillar that stretched from the end portal room in the stronghold all the way to the build limit. According to Jeb, it was a debug feature that he forgot to remove. It was removed in the version Java Edition Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4.
Starting House	Anywhere on the Java Edition Indev world.	It used to serve as the spawn location for the player during the Indev phase. The first edition of this house was made of mossy cobblestone, but later it was changed to wooden planks. It also included two chests with various items, which was later removed.
Monolith	Anywhere during Infdev.	These were chunk-sized patches of terrain that would generate up to the height limit. They were never intended to be in the game as they were just a "glitch". Monoliths were patched in the version Alpha v1.2.0 Preview.
Nether Reactor‌	Anywhere, as it's built by the player.	It's a player-built structure that would turn into the "Nether Spire", and would give the player access to unobtainable items. The reason for its addition is because the Nether did not exist in Pocket Edition back then. It was then removed after the addition of the Nether in Pocket Edition.
Nether Spire‌	Anywhere where the nether reactor was built.	It was a tall and round structure that spawned over the nether reactor. It was made out of obsidian, which was later changed to netherrack. It would spawn various zombie pigmen and items from the Nether. Its purpose was to enable the players on Pocket Edition to obtain certain items, since the Nether was not implemented yet.
Obsidian Wall	Anywhere, since it stretched toward every direction.	A 2 block tall obsidian wall that was present during some versions of the Infdev phase. It started in the middle of the world, and stretched toward north, south, west and east. This structure doesn't have an official name.

Generation

Structures are generated for a given chunk after the terrain has been formed. The chunk format includes a tag called TerrainPopulated that indicates whether structures whose "point of origin" is in that chunk have been generated. If it is false or missing, it generates again. Structure generation is based on what is already in the chunk, so (for example) flagging a chunk that has already been populated for repopulation approximately doubles the amount of ore in it. When structures are generated, they can spill over into neighboring chunks that have been previously generated.

Data values

ID

The following table lists configured structure features' IDs in Java Edition and structure features' IDs in Bedrock Edition. These IDs can be used in /locate command.

Structure name	Java Edition	Bedrock Edition	Dimension
Ancient City	ancient_city	ancientcity ancient_city	Overworld
Bastion Remnant	bastion_remnant	bastionremnant bastion_remnant	The Nether
Buried Treasure	buried_treasure	buriedtreasure buried_treasure	Overworld
End City	end_city	endcity end_city	The End
Nether Fortress	fortress	fortress	The Nether
Woodland Mansion	mansion	mansion	Overworld
Mineshaft	mineshaft mineshaft_mesa	mineshaft	Overworld
Ocean Monument	monument	monument	Overworld
Nether Fossil	nether_fossil	Not a Structure	The Nether
Ocean Ruins	ocean_ruin_cold ocean_ruin_warm	ruins	Overworld
Pillager Outpost	pillager_outpost	pillageroutpost pillager_outpost	Overworld
Ruined Portal	ruined_portal ruined_portal_desert ruined_portal_jungle ruined_portal_mountain ruined_portal_nether ruined_portal_ocean ruined_portal_swamp	ruinedportal ruined_portal	Overworld, The Nether
Shipwreck	shipwreck shipwreck_beached	shipwreck	Overworld
Stronghold	stronghold	stronghold	Overworld
Desert Pyramid	desert_pyramid	temple	Overworld
Igloo	igloo
Jungle Pyramid	jungle_pyramid
Swamp Hut	swamp_hut
Trail Ruins	trail_ruins	trail_ruins	Overworld
Trial Chambers	trial_chambers	trial_chambers	Overworld
Village	village_desert village_plains village_savanna village_snowy village_taiga	village	Overworld

Tags

In Java Edition, there are some structure tags in vanilla game.

Tag	Structure(s)
#cats_spawn_as_black #cats_spawn_in	Swamp hut
#dolphin_located	Shipwreck Ocean ruins
#eye_of_ender_located	Stronghold
#mineshaft	Mineshaft
#ocean_ruin	Ocean ruins
#on_ocean_explorer_maps	Ocean monument
#on_treasure_maps	Buried treasure
#on_trial_explorer_maps	Trial chambers
#on_woodland_explorer_maps	Woodland mansion
#ruined_portal	Ruined portal
#shipwreck	Shipwreck
#village	Village

Achievements

[hide]
Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other
		Ahoy!	Find a shipwreck	—	20	Silver
		Me Gold!	Dig up a buried treasure	Open a buried treasure chest.	30	Silver

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	A Terrible Fortress	Break your way into a Nether Fortress	Enter a nether fortress.
	Eye Spy	Follow an Eye of Ender	Enter a stronghold.
	Minecraft: Trial(s) Edition	Step foot in a Trial Chamber	—
	The City at the End of the Game	Go on in, what could happen?	Enter an end city.
	Those Were the Days	Enter a Bastion Remnant	—

History

[hide]Java Edition Infdev
20100625-1917							Added dungeons.
[hide]Java Edition Beta
1.8			Pre-release				Added mineshafts.
							Added villages.
							Added strongholds.
[hide]Java Edition
1.0.0			Beta 1.9 Prerelease				Added nether fortresses.
1.2.1			12w04a				Added desert wells.
1.3.1			12w21a				Added desert pyramids.
			12w22a				Added jungle pyramids.
1.4.2			12w40a				Added swamp huts.
1.8			14w25a				Added ocean monuments.
1.8.1			pre1				Swamp huts can now spawn witches at levels 64 to 71, enabling three spawning floors for witches.
1.9			15w31a				Added end cities.
			15w43a				Added igloos.
1.10			16w20a				Added fossils.
			16w21a				Blacksmith job sites in villages now generate with cobblestone in all biomes, rather than acacia logs in savannas and sandstone in deserts.
			pre1				Zombie villagers generated in zombie villages no longer despawn.
							Wooden fences are now substituted with the biome’s corresponding wood type.
							Paths no longer replace most blocks, preventing them from generating in treetops or bridging ravines.
1.11			16w39a				Added woodland mansions.
							Added the /locate command that shows the coordinates of the nearest structures.
			16w42a				Witches that spawn upon the generation of witch huts no longer despawn.
1.13			17w43a				Structures using structure files can now be modified, with the addition of data packs.
			17w47a				Flower pots in swamp huts now contain mushrooms; they were previously empty.
			18w09a				Added ocean ruins.
			18w10a				Added buried treasure chests.
			18w11a				Added shipwrecks.
1.14			18w47a				Added pillager outposts.
			18w48a				Overhauled villages.
1.16			20w06a				Added nether fossils.
			20w16a				Added bastion remnants and ruined portals.
1.17			20w45a				Added amethyst geodes.
1.19			Deep Dark Experimental Snapshot 1				Added ancient cities.
			22w11a				Removed ancient cities.
			22w13a				Re-added ancient cities.
1.20			23w12a				Added trail ruins.
1.20.3 Experiment Update 1.21			23w45a				Added trial chambers.
[hide]Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.9.0			build 1				Added villages, abandoned mineshafts, strongholds, dungeons, and desert wells.
v0.10.0			build 1				Abandoned mineshafts now generate on ground level in badlands biomes.
v0.11.0			build 1				Added desert wells.
v0.12.1			build 1				Added the Nether along with nether fortresses.
v0.13.0			build 1				Added desert pyramids.
v0.14.0			build 1				Added swamp huts.
							Cauldrons in swamp huts are filled with a random potion.
v0.15.0			build 1				Added jungle pyramids.
							Added savanna and taiga village variants.
							Villages can now generate in cold taiga and ice plains biomes, where village buildings are constructed with spruce wood like in taiga villages.
							Villages have a slim chance to generate as abandoned villages, which spawn zombie villagers. Cobwebs and moss stone replace some blocks in the buildings of such villages.
v0.16.0			build 1				Added ocean monuments.
[hide]Pocket Edition
1.0.0			alpha 0.17.0.1				Added the End and along with end cities.
							Added igloos.
1.1.0			alpha 1.1.0.0				Added woodland mansions.
1.1.3			alpha 1.1.3.0				Added fossils.
[hide]Bedrock Edition
1.4.0			beta 1.2.14.2				Added shipwrecks.
							Added buried treasure chests.
			beta 1.2.20.1				Added ocean ruins.
1.10.0			beta 1.10.0.3				Added pillager outposts.
							Overhauled villages.
1.16.0			beta 1.16.0.57				Added nether fossils, bastion remnants, and ruined portals.
1.17.0			beta 1.17.0.50				Added amethyst geodes.
1.18.30			beta 1.18.30.32				Added ancient cities.
1.19.80 Experiment Next Major Update			Preview 1.19.80.22				Added trail ruins.
1.20.60 Experiment Update 1.21			Preview 1.20.60.20				Added trial chambers.
[hide]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 dungeons.
TU5							Added villages, abandoned mineshafts, and strongholds.
TU12							Added desert wells.
TU14		1.04					Added jungle and desert pyramids.
TU19	CU7	1.12	1.12	1.12			Added swamp huts.
TU31	CU19	1.22	1.22	1.22	Patch 3		Added ocean monuments.
TU43	CU33	1.36	1.36	1.36	Patch 13		Added fossils and igloos.
TU46	CU36	1.38	1.38	1.38	Patch 15		Added end cities.
TU54	CU44	1.52	1.52	1.52	Patch 24	1.0.4	Added woodland mansions.
TU69		1.76	1.76	1.76	Patch 38		Added shipwrecks, ocean ruins, icebergs, and buried treasure chests.
			1.91				Added pillager outposts, and plains, desert, savanna, taiga, snowy tundra, and snowy taiga villages.

Issues

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

See also

• Biome
• Generated structures data file format
• Jigsaw Block
• Structure Block
• Air

External links

• Rare Structures in Minecraft – Minecraft Help Center