How to Use the Give Command – Wiki Guide

This Minecraft tutorial explains how to use the /give command with screenshots and step-by-step instructions.

You can give a player any item whenever you want using the /give command in Minecraft. Let’s explore how to use this cheat (game command).

Requirements

To run game commands in Minecraft, you have to turn cheats on in your world.

Give Command

Give Command in Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac)

In Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.13, 1.14, 1.15, 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19 and 1.20, the syntax to give a player an item is:

/give <targets> <item> [amount] [dataTag]

In Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11 and 1.12, the syntax to give a player an item is:

/give <player> <item> [amount] [data] [dataTag]

Definitions

• targets or player is the name of the player (or a target selector) to give the item to.
• item is the name of the item to give (See Minecraft Item Names).
• amount is optional. It is the amount of the item that you want to give. If you don’t specify an amount, the player will be given 1 of the item.
• data is optional. It identifies the variation of the block if more than one type exists for that Item ID (See Minecraft Data Values). Use a value of 0 if no data value exists for the item.
• dataTag is optional. It is the data tag that you want to set for the item being given. It is a compound NBT tag such as {Potion:harming} or {EntityTag:{id:Creeper}}.

Examples

Example in Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.13, 1.14, 1.15, 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19 and 1.20

To give 1 block of gold to the player named 9Minecraft in Minecraft 1.13, 1.14, 1.15, 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19 and 1.20:

/give 9Minecraft gold_block

To give 4 blocks of gold to the player named 9Minecraft:

/give 9Minecraft gold_block 4

To give 2 jungle planks to the nearest player:

/give @p jungle_planks 2

Example in Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.11 and 1.12

To give 2 jungle planks to the nearest player in Minecraft 1.11 and 1.12:

/give @p planks 2 3

How to Enter the Command

1. Open the Chat Window

The easiest way to run a command in Minecraft is within the chat window. The game control to open the chat window depends on the version of Minecraft:

• For Java Edition (PC/Mac), press the T key to open the chat window.
• For Pocket Edition (PE), tap on the chat button  at the top of the screen.
• For Xbox One, press the D-Pad (right)  on the controller.
• For PS4, press the D-Pad (right)  on the controller.
• For Nintendo Switch, press the right arrow button  on the controller.
• For Windows 10 Edition, press the T key to open the chat window.
• For Education Edition, press the T key to open the chat window.

2. Type the Command

We will cover examples of how to use the /give command to give an item to a player as well as more than one item to a player at a time. We will also explore how to use the DataValue parameter in the /give command to specify a variation of a block.

Give an Item

In the first example, we want to give the player named 9Minecraft a block of gold with the following command:

/give 9Minecraft gold_block

Type the command in the chat window. As you are typing, you will see the command appear in the lower left corner of the game window. Press the Enter key to run the command.

Once the cheat has been entered, the gold block will be added to the player’s inventory.

You will see the message “Given [Block of Gold] x 1 to 9Minecraft” appear in the lower left corner of the game window. You have now given 1 block of gold to the player called 9Minecraft.

Give Multiples of Item

In the first example, we did not enter the Amount parameter so only one gold block was given. If want to give multiple blocks at once, you need to specify an Amount in the /give command. The amount goes after the Item that you are giving.

For example, you can give 9Minecraft 4 blocks of gold with the following command:

/give 9Minecraft gold_block 4

Type the command in the chat window and press the Enter key to run the command.

In this example, you have specified an amount of 4 in the /give command.

You will see the message “Given [Block of Gold] x 4 to 9Minecraft” appear in the lower left corner of the game window. Now 9Minecraft will be given 4 blocks of gold that is added to the player’s inventory.

Give Variation of an Item

The last example that we want to cover is how to give an item to player when the minecraft name refers to more than one variation of the block. For example, planks is the name assigned to all 6 types of wood planks (oak, acacia, birch, dark oak, jungle, and spruce). If you just specify planks in the /give command, you will always be given oak planks.

But how can you give a player jungle planks instead of oak planks? Easy enough, just add a DataValue to the end of the /give command. Sometimes, people will refer to the DataValue as damage value or data value.

For example, you can give 2 jungle planks to the nearest player with the following command:

/give @p planks 2 3

Type the command in the chat window and press the Enter key to run the command.

In this example, we have used a DataValue of 3 to specify the variation of planks that we want to give (ie. 3=Jungle Planks). See a complete list of Minecraft IDs that is interactive and searchable.

Item	Description (Minecraft ID Name)	Minecraft DataValue
	Oak Planks (planks)	0
	Spruce Planks (planks)	1
	Birch Planks (planks)	2
	Jungle Planks (planks)	3
	Acacia Planks (planks)	4
	Dark Oak Planks (planks)	5

You will see the message “Given [Jungle Wood Planks] x 2 to 9Minecraft” appear in the lower left corner of the game window. Now the nearest player (9Minecraft) will be given 2 jungle planks that are added to the player’s inventory.

Congratulations, you have learned how to use the /give command in Minecraft.