How to clone builds in Minecraft

One of the biggest reasons for Minecraft ending up as the single best-selling game of all time is the nearly unlimited building potential afforded to players by the huge selections of blocks with different combinations of colors and textures. There's truly no shortage of creative potential, with the community making mods, map art, redstone creations, and more over the years as a means of expression.

With how important building is to the identity of the game, it should come as no surprise that some of Minecraft's most useful console commands are directly intended to make construction easier. One of the best examples of this is the clone command, described below, which can be used to copy and paste builds around.

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How to use the clone command to copy Minecraft builds

1) Find a build or structure to copy

Basic natural structures are a good choice for testing the clone command (Image via Mojang)

The first thing you'll need to do is find something to copy. For the first few attempts, using a random structure or village house is recommended, as that way, accidents won't potentially ruin a custom build. The clone command normally ensures that source blocks can't be overridden, but it is best to not need to rely on that failsafe to begin with.

Using a village to test the clone command would also give players a perfect time to mess around with any upcoming Minecraft 1.21 content, as the latest snapshots have a cartographer trade for a map straight to upcoming trial chambers.

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2) Select the first corner

Finding the lowest starting position is recommended, but not required (Image via Mojang)

Next, you'll want to find the first corner you're selecting for the clone command. Three sets of coordinates are ultimately needed. The first one needs to have the lowest X, Y, and Z coordinates. This is where the clone command starts from, so finding that corner now will allow for precise control over the orientation the clone command outputs in.

Use Minecraft Java's always useful f3 menu, or the toggleable coordinate option on Bedrock, to find this lowest coordinate. Then, while selecting the block with the cursor, enter chat and type "/clone " before selecting the provided coordinates.

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3) Select the second corner

Use temporary blocks to help set the opposing corner if needed (Image via Mojang)

Then, fly over to the opposing corner of the build in 3d space. Use the incomplete command started above, and add on the coordinates of this second Minecraft block. Now, the only set of coordinates needed is the desired location to clone to.

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4) Paste the build

Getting the orientation of the final paste is the hardest part of using the clone command (Image via Mojang)

This is set much the same way. Take this incomplete Minecraft command and add a third set of coordinates, this time representing the lowest X, Y, and Z coordinates of the final location. The build will then be copied into the new location.

Keep in mind that the clone command will always start copying a build from the lowest set of X, Y, and Z coordinates, rather than the first coordinates selected. This might result in a build trying to clone itself in an unexpected orientation. If you found the corner with the lowest coordinates earlier as recommended, this should already be accounted for.