Dirt

Dirt
Renewable	Yes
Stackable	Yes (64)
Tool
Blast resistance	0.5
Hardness	0.5
Luminous	No
Transparent	No
Flammable	No
Catches fire; from lava	No
Map color (JE)	; 10 DIRT

Dirt is a block found abundantly in most biomes under a layer of grass blocks at the top of the Overworld as well as in patches underground.

Obtaining

Breaking

Dirt drops as an item when broken with any tool or by hand, but a shovel is the quickest way to break it.

Block
Hardness	0.5
Tool
Breaking time (sec)^[A]
Default	0.75
Wooden	0.4
Stone	0.2
Copper	0.15
Iron	0.15
Diamond	0.1
Netherite	0.1
Golden	0.1
Options
Efficiency	000
Haste	001 1JEBE

Legend

incorrect tool, drops nothing
correct tool, drops nothing or something other than the block itself
correct tool, drops the block itself
italicized can be instant mined

↑ These durations ignore other influential factors (e.g. Mining Fatigue), and are measured in seconds. For more information, see Breaking § Speed.

Farmland, dirt paths, grass blocks, mycelium, and podzol drop dirt if broken without Silk Touch. Farmland and dirt paths‌ drop dirt even if broken with Silk Touch.

Natural generation

Dirt comprises the majority of the upper terrain layers in most Overworld biomes, bridging the gap between stone and grass blocks in various thicknesses.

There are approximately 1,850 dirt blocks per chunk in plains, forest, snowy plains, jungle, and windswept hills biomes. In villages, dirt generates naturally as part of several different structures. In woodland mansions, dirt generates in several types of rooms. Four blocks of dirt generates as part of each ancient city near the center. Dirt can also generate in trail ruins and at the base of trees in trial chambers entrances.

Dirt can generate in the Overworld in the form of ore blobs. Dirt attempts to generate 7 times per chunk in blobs of size 0–160 at Y=0–160, in all biomes. It can replace stone, granite, andesite, diorite, polished granite‌, polished andesite‌, polished diorite‌, tuff‌, and deepslate‌.

Mob loot

An enderman that picks up and hold a dirt block drops it upon death

Post-generation

Farmland turns into dirt if either a mob jumps on it, a solid block is placed over it, or nothing is planted on it and it is not within four blocks of water.

A dirt path immediately turns into dirt if a solid block is placed over it.

Coarse dirt can be tilled with a hoe to become dirt.

Tilling rooted dirt with a hoe turns it into normal dirt and yields a hanging roots item.

Grass blocks and mycelium can die under various circumstances (Most often when a solid, opaque block is placed on top of them). When they die, they turn into dirt.

Renewability

By tilling coarse dirt, the player can convert gravel into dirt. Two blocks each of gravel and dirt become four blocks of coarse dirt, which can then be placed and tilled. Since gravel is renewable through bartering with piglins, this makes a renewable source of dirt.

Another way to obtain renewable dirt makes use of moss blocks. Azalea converts the moss block below it into rooted dirt when grown into a tree. In Bedrock Edition, most saplings will convert the moss directly below it into dirt, sometimes a minute after it's grown into a tree. In Java Edition, large spruce trees convert up to about 100 moss blocks into podzol when grown. Since moss can be converted from stone using bone meal, and stone can be renewably generated with water and lava, dirt can be renewably created as long as there is access to water, lava and moss blocks.

A third way to obtain renewable dirt is by buying podzol or rooted dirt from wandering traders. However, only 18 blocks of podzol or 10 blocks of rooted dirt can be purchased from each trader, so this method cannot be performed on a large scale.

Usage

Dirt's primary use is for farming, but due to its abundance, it can also be used as a highly available building block or as temporary scaffolding.

Crafting ingredient

Name	Ingredients	Crafting recipe
Coarse Dirt	+ Gravel	4

Farming

Dirt has the ability to grow saplings, sugar cane, mushrooms, sweet berries, and bamboo, which can be planted directly in dirt under appropriate conditions.

Using a hoe on dirt turns it into farmland, enabling wheat seeds, pumpkin seeds, melon seeds, potatoes, carrots, beetroot seeds, pitcher pods, and torchflower seeds to be planted on it.

Dirt path

Using a shovel on dirt turns it into a dirt path.

Grass and mycelium spreading

When a dirt block is adjacent to a grass block and is exposed to a light level of at least 4, it is eventually converted into a grass block at random intervals.

Mycelium spreads in a similar fashion, but requires a light level of at least 9.

Mud

Using a water bottle, splash water bottle or lingering water bottle will convert the dirt into mud.

Sounds

Generic

Java Edition:

v t e `gravel` sound type
Sound	Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	`block.gravel.break`	`subtitles.block.generic.break`	1.0	0.8	16
	Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	`block.gravel.place`	`subtitles.block.generic.place`	1.0	0.8	16
	Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	`block.gravel.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.gravel.fall`	`subtitles.block.generic.fall`	0.5	0.75	16
	Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	`block.gravel.step`	`subtitles.block.generic.footsteps`	0.15	1.0	16

Bedrock Edition:

v t e `gravel` sound type
Sound	Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
	Blocks	Once the block has broken	`dig.gravel`	1.0	0.8-1.0
	Blocks	When the block is placed	`dig.gravel`	1.0	0.8-1.0
	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	`hit.gravel`	0.17	0.5
	Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	`fall.gravel`	0.4	1.0
	Players	Walking on the block	`step.gravel`	0.3	1.0
	Blocks	Jumping from the block	`jump.gravel`	0.1	1.0
	Blocks	Falling on the block without fall damage	`land.gravel`	0.17	1.0

Unique

Java Edition

Sounds
Sound	Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	Splashing	Blocks	When a player creates a mud block	`entity.generic.splash`	`subtitles.entity.generic.splash`	1.0	1.0	16
	Bottle empties	Blocks	When a player or dispenser creates a mud block	`item.bottle.empty`	`subtitles.item.bottle.empty`	1.0	1.0	16
	Shovel flattens	Blocks	When a shovel creates a dirt path	`item.shovel.flatten`	`subtitles.item.shovel.flatten`	1.0	1.0	16

Bedrock Edition:

Sounds
Sound	Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
	Players	When a dispenser creates a mud block^{[sound 1]}	`random.splash`	1.0	0.6-1.4
	Sound	When a player creates a mud block	`bottle.empty`	1.0	1.0
	Blocks	When a shovel creates a dirt path	`use.grass`	1.0	0.8

↑ MCPE-155358

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	Block tags	Translation key
Dirt	`dirt`	Block & Item	`bamboo_plantable_on` `dirt` `dripstone_replaceable_blocks` `dry_vegetation_may_place_on` `enderman_holdable` `lush_ground_replaceable` `mineable/shovel` `moss_replaceable` `sniffer_diggable_block`	`block.minecraft.dirt`

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Alias ID	Numeric ID	Form	Item ID^{[i 1]}	Translation key
Dirt	`dirt`	`dirt / 0`	`3`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.dirt.default.name`

↑ ID of block's direct item form, which is used in savegame files and addons.
↑ Available with /give command.
↑ The block's direct item form has the same ID as the block.

History

Java Edition pre-Classic
rd-20090515							Added dirt.
							Grass spreads to dirt when under light.
							The bottom texture of dirt is mirrored vertically.
Java Edition Classic
0.24 SURVIVAL TEST							Grass blocks and dirt now drop dirt when broken.
October 22, 2009							Notch uses the Dirt block model as a test for half-height blocks (modern-day slabs), creating "dirt slabs". They would ultimately never be added to the game.
Java Edition Indev
?							Dirt now uses a sound distinct from grass block.
20100206-2034							Dirt can now be tilled with a hoe into farmland.
Java Edition Infdev
20100617-1531							Dirt and gravel now generate naturally as ore features underground.
Java Edition Beta
1.8			Pre-release				Dirt now generates naturally in villages and mineshafts.
Java Edition
1.0.0			Beta 1.9 Prerelease				Mycelium has been introduced, and now spreads to dirt.
1.0.0			Beta 1.9 Prerelease 5				The texture of dirt has been changed. Dirt now has a slightly different arrangement of grains around the sides.
1.1			12w01a				Dirt is now generating in Superflat world type.
1.2.1			12w07a				Player is now unable to till dirt with hoe when there is a block on top of the dirt.
1.4.2			12w38a				Dirt has been given new sounds for being placed and walked upon.
1.8			14w25a				Dirt can now be used to craft coarse dirt.
1.8			14w27b				Dirt's textures now rotate randomly due to the addition of arrays to the block model format.
1.11			16w39a				Dirt now generates in woodland mansions.
1.14			19w05a				Dirt is now renewable due to the wandering trader selling podzol.
1.16			20w07a				As gravel has become renewable through bartering with piglins, dirt can be more easily and renewably obtained through crafting and tilling coarse dirt.
1.17			20w45a				A shovel can now be used on dirt to create a dirt path block.
			21w06a				The height limit was expanded down to Y=-64. Dirt blobs are temporary generating from Y=-64 instead of Y=0.
			21w07a				Dirt ore features no longer generate below Y=0, but more common than in pre 21w06a versions.
			21w15a				All the changes to dirt blob generation in the previous 1.17 snapshots have been reverted, but they can be re-enabled with the Caves & Cliffs Prototype Data Pack.
1.18			Experimental Snapshot 1				Dirt blob once again generates the way it did in the 1.17 snapshots without the use of a data pack.
			21w37a				Dirt no longer generates as part of the starting room in mineshafts.^[1]^[2]
			21w39a				Dirt blobs no longer generate above Y=160, and becomes rarer than before. Before, the spawn attempt is 15 times per chunk.
1.19			22w11a				Using a water bottle, splash water bottle or lingering water bottle now converts dirt into mud.
1.19			22w13a				Dirt now generates as part of ancient cities.
1.19.4 Experiment Update 1.20			23w07a				Sniffers can now dig dirt.
1.20			23w12a				Dirt now generates in trail ruins.
			23w16a				The amount of dirt in trail ruins has been tweaked.
			23w16a				The game's application icon has been changed from crafting table to dirt (for snapshots).
1.20.3 Experiment Update 1.21			23w45a				Dirt can now generate in the entrances of trial chambers.
Pocket Edition Alpha
Pre-release							Added dirt.
v0.2.0							The texture of dirt has been changed.
v0.4.0							Dirt can now be hoed into farmland.
v0.8.0			build 1				The textures of dirt are now randomly rotated.
v0.9.0			build 1				Grassless dirt has been added.
v0.11.0			build 1				Dirt can now be obtained by breaking grass path blocks.
Pocket Edition
1.1.0			alpha 1.1.0.0				Dirt now generates in woodland mansions.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.0			beta 1.2.0.2				Grassless dirt has been replaced with coarse dirt.
1.10.0			beta 1.10.0.3				Dirt is now renewable.
1.18.0			beta 1.18.0.20				Dirt blob generation has now been tweaked to be in parity with Java Edition.
1.18.0			beta 1.18.0.21				Dirt blobs no longer generate above Y=160, and becomes rarer than before. Before, the spawn attempt is 15 times per chunk.
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 dirt.
TU3	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1		The texture of dirt has been changed.
TU31	CU19	1.22	1.22	1.22	Patch 3		Dirt can now be used to craft coarse dirt.
TU54	CU44	1.52	1.52	1.52	Patch 24	1.0.4	Dirt now generates in woodland mansions.
			1.91				Dirt is now renewable due to the wandering trader selling podzol.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added dirt.

Data history

Java Edition

1.8 14w06a Dirt now uses the newly-implemented model json file models/block/cube.json; previously the geometry was defined in the game code itself.

14w10a Dirt with numerical metadata variants 3 through 15, which are inaccessible through normal gameplay, now have no model rather than appearing identical to dirt.

14w25a

Dirt and its variants are now defined via block states rather than by numerical metadata. Prior to this version, the numerical metadata variants of dirt were as follows: