Before the Aquatic update in 2018, crawling wasn’t possible in Minecraft. It was introduced (apparently by accident) to solve the issue of players choking when their head was suddenly in collision with another block. That was surely a nuisance and it’s not a problem anymore, but crawling can also be useful. A few examples are:
- it can be part of creative obstacle courses
- some secret rooms in your buildings could be made accessible only by crawling
- it can be used to make particular in-game screenshots, useful for video thumbnails for example
That being said, let’s see how to crawl in Minecraft.
How crawling works
Crawling doesn’t work exactly the same way in Java and Bedrock editions, but the concept is the same. When the player is in an area that is less than 1.5 blocks high, their stance changes from normal (or crouched) to crawling.
As you can see from the screenshot at the beginning of this article, it looks exactly like when you are sprint swimming in water, another mechanic that was introduced in the Aquatic update (see also How to swim in Minecraft).
There is not a button that lets you automatically crawl, so the only way to do it is to force your character in that position. There are several ways to do that in both Java and Bedrock edition.
Keep in mind that if you are playing a version of the game that is older than the 1.14 you will not be able to crawl (without mods).
How to crawl in Minecraft Java edition
Before listing all the ways to do it we are going to see how to do it with a Trapdoor in details. To craft a Trapdoor you will need 6 Wooden Planks and place them in the Crafting Table this way:
First you need to place a Trapdoor at your head level, it has to be horizontal.
Then go under the Trapdoor and right-click on it. The Trapdoor will now be vertical and it will occupy the block where your head was.
And you will be crawling.
You will keep being in this position as long as you will be in an area that is less than 1.5 blocks high. Once you will be in a more open space your character will be back standing on their feet.
Let’s now see the other ways to obtain the same results. You can use the following items the same way you would use Trapdoors:
- Fence Gates (related: Can Villagers open Fence Gates?)
- Pistons
- Trees (you need to wait for it to grow and force you in less than 1.5 blocks high. Not the fastest method, but it’s worth mentioning)
There are also other ways:
- exiting swimming or Elytra mode in a space less than 1.5 blocks high
- throwing an Ender Pearl into a space less than 1.5 blocks high
- using a Shulker Box above a slab to push down your character
- dismounting a Pig with Saddle into a space less than 1.5 blocks high
- having a Boat falling onto your character
How to crawl in Minecraft Bedrock edition
One quick note: in the pocket edition you will need to activate the split-control option to be able to mine while crawling.
In the Bedrock edition, the only way to crawl is by going from swimming to a space that is less than 1.5 blocks high. A simple way to do that is to make a 1 block tunnel:
Then place one water source block at the beginning.
Dig the block under the water block so you can enter the tunnel.
You will have to sprint swim to enter.
Then just go through the tunnel until there is no more water. Like in Java edition, once you will be in a more open space your character will be back standing on their feet.
There are many other ways to go out of swimming mode in a 1 block space, so you just have to experiment and find out which one you prefer.
