Types of command blocks and their uses in Minecraft

In Minecraft, command blocks are blocks that effectively make almost anything possible in the game. Using command blocks, players have been able to set up working computers and even run different video games inside the video game itself.

There are three types of command blocks currently available: chain, impulse and repeat. These can give players access to a range of abilities that would otherwise be impossible. Here's what each of them does and how to use them.

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How to use the different command blocks in Minecraft

Command blocks cannot be naturally obtained in a world. They can't be crafted, they don't spawn naturally and they're not in Creative, either.

The only way to get them in vanilla Minecraft is through the use of commands (which may or may not be considered vanilla).

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Impulse command block

In Minecraft, this is the default command block that many players might be familiar with. This block will execute only once when activated. Players can obtain this block by using the command: "/give @s minecraft:command_block".

Impulse command block (Images via Minecraft Wiki)

These blocks are considered to run on the rising surge of redstone and will only work once when they are actived. Even if they remain powered, the command will only execute once.

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Chain command block

When a chain command block is triggered (if it has properly been activated with redstone), it will then determine whether it is in "Conditional" mode. It will also determine if the command block directly behind it has or has not been activated successfully.

If it hasn't, the command block will execute the command and then trigger the other chain command block that it is facing.

There might be a delay for Bedrock Edition players if the "Delay in Ticks" setting is anything but zero.

This can be used to create a sequence of commands being activated as they are triggered one after the other.

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Repeating command block

The repeating command block will execute once every tick as long as it is activated. This means players can set the redstone charge on it and be done. The command will continue to execute every tick, which is about .05 seconds.

This helps when players are trying to automate things that are either not possible or very difficult to do manually.