A piston is a block capable of pushing blocks, players, and mobs when given a redstone pulse.

A sticky piston has the same function as a piston but can also pull the block on its face back when it retracts, unlike the regular piston, which leaves the pushed block in place.

Obtaining [ edit ]

Breaking [ edit ]

A piston can be broken using any tool with equal efficiency, and always drops itself. In Java Edition, it is faster to break them with a pickaxe. The pickaxe is the preferred tool for the head also, despite it being made almost completely of wood.[1]

Block Piston Hardness 1.5 Tool Breaking time[note 1] Default 2.25 Wooden 1.15 Stone 0.6 Iron 0.4 Diamond 0.3 Netherite 0.25 Golden 0.2

↑ Times are for unenchanted tools in seconds. For more information, see Breaking § Speed

Natural generation [ edit ]

Three sticky pistons generate as part of each jungle temple.

Crafting [ edit ]

Usage [ edit ]

Pistons are always placed facing toward the player. When powered, the piston's wooden surface (the "head") starts extending immediately;‌[Java Edition only] or 2 game ticks (1 redstone tick or 0.1 seconds) later or 1 gametick later, depending on how it was powered.‌[Bedrock Edition only] When it extends, it pushes at most 12 blocks. The piston makes a sound that can be heard within a 31×31×31 cube centered on the activating piston. Any entities in the path of the extending head are pushed with the blocks. If there is no place for the entities to go, the block pushes inside them, suffocating mobs if the block is not transparent when pushed into the eye height of the mob.

When a piston loses power, its head retracts. Like extending, this retraction starts immediately in Java Edition; or after 1 redstone tick or 2 redstone ticks, depending on how it was powered in Bedrock Edition. It finishes retracting 2 game ticks or 1 redstone ticks (0.1 seconds) after it starts. A sticky piston also pulls the block attached to its head, but not any of the other blocks it may have pushed.

Sticky pistons stick to a block only when retracting, so a block next to the piston head can be pushed aside by another piston and sticky pistons cannot hold falling blocks horizontally against gravity. In Java Edition, pistons finish extending early and start retracting if given a pulse shorter than 3 gameticks (1.5 redstone ticks, 0.15 seconds barring lag). These shorter pulses cause sticky pistons to "drop" their block, leaving it behind when trying to push it with a short pulse. Also, this causes the block to end up in it's final position earlier.

A piston that pushes a slime block bounces any entity that it displaces in the direction the piston is facing. In addition, when a slime block is moved by a piston, any movable blocks adjacent (not diagonally) to the slime block also moves. See the "usage" section below for more details.

In Bedrock Edition, blocks that stick to walls (such as levers) can be placed on pistons or sticky pistons.

Limitations [ edit ]

Pistons can push most blocks, and sticky pistons can pull most blocks, except those listed in the table below. Sticky pistons simply leave a block behind if it cannot pull it.

Pistons cannot push blocks into the void or beyond the top of the map. They also cannot push more than 12 blocks. If the requirements for a block to be pushed are not met, the piston simply does not extend.

Pistons do not move blocks that are "attached to a block", as they detach and drop as an item.

Exceptions [ edit ]

Rails : as long as they remain on top of a solid face of a block in their new position, and that block isn't moving at the same time. An exception is when the rail and block supporting it are on two parallel extended pistons at which the rail remains attached. Trying to move both on the same piston using slime blocks does not work, nor does moving them on perpendicular pistons (although the latter temporarily appears to work because of a bug ). Rails re-orient themselves after being pushed, similar to when placed manually.

: as long as they remain on top of a solid face of a block in their new position, and that block isn't moving at the same time. Carpets

Powering pistons [ edit ]

Pistons powered by one line of redstone.

Pistons can be powered in various ways:

If a redstone wire is in a line shape toward the piston. In Java Edition , the wire does not automatically curve to the piston.

, the wire does not automatically curve to the piston. Pistons can be powered by a powered block directly adjacent to them, whether it is strongly powered or weakly powered.

Pistons can be powered by a redstone torch directly adjacent to them.

In Java Edition , pistons can be powered by any powered block one block above and to the side, including the "activated space" above it (if a piston, both sticky and normal were to be facing up and a block of redstone placed on its head, it extends when powered, but doesn't retract when the power it receives from the side or back turns off). However, the piston doesn't extend or retract until it receives a block update. This property is called quasi-connectivity and can be used to make a BUD switch.

, pistons can be powered by any powered block one block above and to the side, including the "activated space" above it (if a piston, both sticky and normal were to be facing up and a block of redstone placed on its head, it extends when powered, but doesn't retract when the power it receives from the side or back turns off). However, the piston doesn't extend or retract until it receives a block update. This property is called quasi-connectivity and can be used to make a BUD switch. A repeater cannot transfer power through a piston, as pistons are a transparent block.

An upward-facing piston can't be powered by a block above it, unless it is extended In Java Edition .

. In Bedrock Edition a redstone torch attached to a piston turns off whenever the piston is powered.

Slime blocks [ edit ]

A B Piston A may extend because the slime block ignores the adjacent obsidian. Piston B may not extend because the diamond block is prevented from moving by the obsidian and so the slime block also refuses to move.

When a slime block is pushed or pulled by a piston, while moving, adjacent blocks also move with the slime block, unless a non-piston movable block stops the blocks that are "grabbed" by the slime blocks. These blocks may in turn push other blocks, not just the blocks in the line in front of the piston. For example, a slime block sitting on the ground attempts to move the ground block underneath itself, which in turn has to push additional ground blocks in the direction of motion just as if it were being pushed directly by a piston.

Glazed terracotta is an exception; it does not move when adjacent slime blocks are moved.

The same occurs when a slime block is moved by an adjacent Slime Block. For example, a 2×2×2 cube of Slime Blocks may be pushed or pulled as a unit by a single piston acting on any of the blocks in the cube.

A slime block adjacent to a block that cannot be moved by pistons ignores the immobile block. But if an adjacent block could be moved but is prevented by the presence of an immobile block, the slime block is prevented from moving.

Slime blocks are not pulled by a non-sticky piston, nor are they moved if an adjacent (non-Slime) block is moved by a piston.

The maximum of 12 blocks moved by a piston still applies. For example, a 2×2×3 collection of Slime Blocks may be pushed or pulled by a sticky piston as long as no other movable blocks are adjacent to it.

A piston cannot move itself via a "hook" constructed of slime blocks, but self-propelled contraptions can be created with multiple pistons. For that, see the article Tutorials/Flying machines.

Technical components [ edit ]

Piston Head [ edit ]

The piston head is a technical block used as the second block of an extended piston. A block state defines whether it is a normal or a sticky piston head. It can be placed using the /setblock command or with the debug stick, though if not part of a proper piston, it disappears after receiving any block tick, such as when a block is placed next to it unless the player uses the debug stick. Drops nothing.

In Java Edition, the normal and sticky piston heads are distinguished by a block state. In Bedrock Edition, they used separate block IDs.

Block states [ edit ]

Java Edition:

Name Default value Allowed values Description facing north down

east

north

south

up

west The direction the piston head is pointing. short false false

true If true, the piston arm is shorter than usual, by 4 pixels. type normal normal

sticky The type of piston head.

Bedrock Edition:

Name Default value Allowed values Description facing_direction 0 0

1

2

3

4

5 The direction the piston head is pointing.

Moving Piston [ edit ]

Moving Piston Tool None Blast resistance 0 Hardness ? Luminant No Transparent Yes Flammable No Lava susceptible No

The moving piston (sometimes referred to by players as Block 36, by its old block ID) is an unobtainable technical block that contains part of a piston head, and/or part of one or two blocks that the piston is carrying into or out of the grid cell (including blocks carried indirectly via slime blocks). Since moving blocks vary in how much of each grid cell they occupy, they can't be stored as normal blocks and are instead stored as block entities. It is overwritten with air, the piston head or the carried block at the end of the piston stroke; but if it is placed through editing and no piston is connected, it remains indefinitely.

It is invisible and non-solid in Java Edition, and cannot be broken without the use of commands or TNT. Although it is non-solid, fluids cannot pass through it. It also prevents players from building at its location. Mobs can see through it, but cannot walk through it. The game treats the block as a stone block when it comes to the player's footstep sounds. It is similar to Invisible Bedrock in properties with the exception that the player can walk through the moving piston but not invisible bedrock.

Block states [ edit ]

Java Edition:

Name Default value Allowed values Description facing north down

east

north

south

up

west The direction the block is being pushed by the piston. type normal normal

sticky What piston base this has.

Block entity [ edit ]

The moving piston has a block entity associated with it that holds additional data about the block.

Block entity data Tags common to all block entities see Template:Nbt inherit/blockentity/template blockState : The moving block represented by this block entity. Name : The namespaced ID of the block. Properties : Optional. The block states of the block. Name : The block state name and its value. facing : Direction that the piston pushes (0=down, 1=up, 2=north, 3=south, 4=west, 5=east). progress : How far the block has been moved. extending : 1 or 0 (true/false) – true if the block is being pushed. source : 1 or 0 (true/false) – true if the block represents the piston head itself, false if it represents a block being pushed.

Block entity data

Sounds [ edit ]

Java Edition:

Data values [ edit ]

ID [ edit ]

Java Edition:

Name Namespaced ID Block tags (JE) Item form? Translation key Piston piston None Yes block.minecraft.piston Sticky Piston sticky_piston None Yes block.minecraft.sticky_piston Piston Head piston_head None No block.minecraft.piston_head Moving Piston moving_piston dragon_immune

wither_immune No block.minecraft.moving_piston

Name Namespaced ID Block entity piston

Bedrock Edition:

Name Namespaced ID Numeric ID Translation key Piston piston 33 tile.piston.name Sticky Piston sticky_piston 29 tile.sticky_piston.name Piston Head pistonArmCollision 34 tile.pistonArmCollision.name Sticky Piston Head stickyPistonArmCollision 472 tile.stickyPistonArmCollision.name Moving Block movingblock 250 tile.movingblock.name

Name Savegame ID Block entity ?

Block data [ edit ]

In Bedrock Edition, pistons use the following data values:

Bits Values 0x0 facing down 0x1 facing up 0x2 facing north 0x3 facing south 0x4 facing west 0x5 facing east 0x6, 0x7 6-sided piston 0x8 (bit flag) When 1, the piston is extended.

Block states [ edit ]

The piston and sticky_piston blocks use following block states:

Java Edition:

Name Default value Allowed values Description extended false false

true If true, the piston is extended. facing north down

east

north

south

up

west The direction the piston head is pointing.

The opposite from the direction the player faces while placing the piston.

Bedrock Edition:

Name Default value Allowed values Description facing_direction 0 0

1

2

3

4

5 The direction the piston head is pointing.

The opposite from the direction the player faces while placing the piston.

Achievements [ edit ]

Icon Achievement In-game description Actual requirements (if different) Gamerscore earned Trophy type (PS) Inception Push a piston with a piston, then pull the original piston with that piston. — 20G Silver

Video [ edit ]

History [ edit ]

This page would benefit from the addition of isometric renders. Please remove this notice once you've added suitable isometric renders to the article.

The specific instructions are:

First screenshot of pistons.

Issues [ edit ]

Issues relating to "Piston" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia [ edit ]

When toggled between on and off rapidly with a gravity affected block (such as sand) above it, a piston can eventually break the block, which can be picked up as a resource. However, gravel broken this way never drops flint.

Mobs can spawn inside the piston head block.

Carpet can be placed on the piston extension block, and remains even if it is replaced with a solid block using /setblock .

. In Bedrock Edition, the piston head is invisible and non-solid when placed with commands.

Piston head extend animations are different in Java Edition from those in Bedrock Edition.

from those in Bedrock Edition. The piston heads in Bedrock Edition look slightly different than the ones in all other versions.

If a 2-gametick or shorter pulse briefly activates a sticky piston, the sticky piston head does not bring the block back with it when it retracts.‌ [ Java Edition only ]

If a piston is at the top of a world and is facing the top or is at the bottom and is facing the bottom, it cannot extend. [4]

A piston cannot push another piston that is activated.

The moving_piston is transparent and does not emit light. If a light-emitting block is moved, the player can see it turn dark briefly. If an opaque block is moved, the player may see light passing through it.

is transparent and does not emit light.

Gallery [ edit ]

Notch's explanation on how the rod (a full block long when extended) fits into the piston box (whose depth is a block minus the face's thickness). [5]

Fundamental logic gates, implemented purely with pistons and redstone repeaters, clockwise from upper left: AND, OR, XOR, and NOT.

Slow clock generator with pistons and redstone.

An example of a piston-controlled waterflow.

An example of sticky piston use with glass panes.

See also [ edit ]

Notes [ edit ]