How To Use The /Worldborder Command in Minecraft Java Edition

Hey everyone! Today I’ll be showing you how to use the world border command, so let’s get straight into it!

Setting Up Your World

First, create a new world — I’ll just call mine “World Border.” Make sure you set it to Creative mode and that cheats are enabled so you can use commands. Once your world is created, we’re good to go!

Getting a Command Block

Before we dive in, if you don’t know how to get a command block, here’s how: Type the following into chat:

/give @a command_block

Make sure you include the underscore between “command” and “block” — it will not work without it! Hit enter and it should give you a command block. We’ll be using this in the second part, so hold onto it.

Setting the World Border

By default, you won’t be able to see the world border anywhere, and walking to it would take you years — it’s incredibly far away. So instead, we’ll bring it to us. Start by centering the world border at your location:

/worldborder center ~ ~

Those two squiggly lines (~ ~) set the center to your current position. Hit enter, then run:

/worldborder set 60000000

Note: Be careful typing this number — entering it incorrectly could cause issues with your world. The default maximum world border size is 60,000,000 blocks.

You’ll notice your screen flashes red — that’s okay! It just means the world border has been reset. Now let’s add a smaller border:

/worldborder add 10

As you can see, you now have a world border and you can’t go outside of it. Everything beyond the barrier is kind of frozen — mobs can’t walk, water stops moving, you can’t mine outside of it. It’s pretty wild!

Expanding the World Border

You can add more blocks to the border using the same command:

/worldborder add 10

You can also add a second number to specify how long the expansion should take (in seconds). For example, to expand by 10 blocks over 20 seconds:

/worldborder add 10 20

When the border starts expanding it will glow green, and once it finishes it will turn blue. Personally, I love the green — it looks really cool!

Shrinking the World Border

You can also shrink the border by using a negative value. For example, to shrink by 10 blocks over 10 seconds:

/worldborder add -10 10

That’s roughly one block per second, which is a little slow, but you can clearly see the barrier closing in. If you’re in Survival mode, staying outside the border while it shrinks will start damaging you.

Adjusting the Damage

Speaking of damage, you can control how much health you lose outside the border using:

/worldborder damage amount 0.1

Setting it to 0.1 means you’ll only lose 0.1 hearts per second when just outside the border. The further outside the barrier you go, the more damage you take.

Note: There is a safe zone of approximately 3 blocks just outside the border before damage begins.

Using a Command Block to Automate It

Now here’s where the command block comes in! You can use a command block set to Always Active and Repeat mode to continuously run the world border command. This will keep the border expanding (or shrinking) on a loop — and it will stay that satisfying blue colour the whole time. As the border expands, watch all the animals come back to life as they’re freed from the barrier — it’s a really cool effect! You can also do the opposite and slowly shrink the border over time — kind of like Fortnite’s storm closing in! Try running to the middle before it traps you. If the border gets down to just one block, you’ll be stuck in that single block space until you change the world border again.

Wrapping Up

And that’s basically how you use the world border command in Minecraft Java Edition! I hope you found this helpful. If you did, please leave a like, subscribe, and I hope to see you in the next one!