What is the debug stick in Minecraft?

An exclusive item found within Minecraft: Java Edition through commands such as /give or /item, the debug stick is capable of editing the states of blocks present within a Minecraft world.

A block state in Minecraft is additional information that determines the nature and behavior of a given block. For example, block states are responsible for dictating whether fence blocks stand on their own or connect to adjacent blocks.

Block states can also be observed by the placement of stair blocks, which change their block states based on nearby blocks that they come in contact with. For example, stair blocks placed together in a corner shape will form together, this is all due to different block states.

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Minecraft: Obtaining and using a debug stick

Blocks in various states as edited by the debug stick (Image via Mojang)

Obtaining a debug stick in Minecraft: Java Edition comes down to using the command console in a mod-less vanilla build of the game. This means players will have to ensure that cheats are enabled on their world or server before entering the command into their chat console.

To obtain one debug stick, players can enter the command "/give @s minecraft:debug_stick" without quotations into their chat console. Doing so with cheats enabled in Java Edition should provide the Minecraft player who entered the command with a debug stick.

Using the debug stick in Minecraft is simple and straightforward. Hitting a block with the stick will cycle through its available states.

If a player is sneaking while interacting with a block in this way, they can cycle through the states and keys in the reverse order. This is helpful in case they pass by a desired block state and wish to backtrack.

It is also worth noting that using the debug stick directly on an interactable block will simply use the block instead of activating the former's effects. This is worth keeping in mind when working on blocks such as furnaces, crafting tables, and similar blocks that the player can interact with personally.

As a final note, the debug stick will only apply its effects in Creative Mode with cheats enabled. Using the item in other modes such as Survival or Hardcore Mode will essentially render it as if it were a regular stick and its extra capabilities will not apply.