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Rotatable Blocks

Rotatable Blocks

FORMAT & MIN ENGINE VERSION 1.21.70

This tutorial assumes a basic understanding of blocks, including block states and block traits. Check out the blocks guide before starting.

Rotation Types ​

  • Cardinal Direction ​

    • Used by carved pumpkins and furnaces
    • 4 directions - 'north', 'south', 'east' and 'west'.

  • Facing Direction ​

    • Used by dispensers and observers
    • 6 directions - 'down', 'up', 'north', 'south', 'east' and 'west'.

  • Block Face ​

    • Used by ladders and item frames
    • 6 attachments - 'down', 'up', 'north', 'south', 'east' and 'west'.

  • Log/Pillar Rotation ​

    • Used by logs and basalt
    • 3 axis-aligned directions

  • Precise Rotation ​

    • Used by skulls, signs and banners
    • 16 directions (22.5 degree multiples)
    • 4 cardinal side-attached directions

Cardinal Direction Rotation ​

Trait ​

To set the state which determines the block's direction, we will use the minecraft:placement_direction block trait with the minecraft:cardinal_direction state enabled.

minecraft:block
json
"description": {
    "identifier": "wiki:cardinal_direction_example",
    // Block traits are defined here
    "traits": {
        "minecraft:placement_direction": {
            "enabled_states": ["minecraft:cardinal_direction"], // Can be used in queries e.g. `q.block_state('minecraft:cardinal_direction') == 'north'`
            "y_rotation_offset": 180 // Face towards player
        }
    }
}

Permutations ​

Rotation makes use of block permutations. Each permutation contains the minecraft:transformation component, which allows for cardinal rotation by checking the minecraft:cardinal_direction state and applying an appropriate rotation.

The below rotation values assume that the front of your model is facing north.

minecraft:block
json
"permutations": [
  // Facing north
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:cardinal_direction') == 'north'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [0, 0, 0] }
    }
  },
  // Facing west
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:cardinal_direction') == 'west'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [0, 90, 0] }
    }
  },
  // Facing south
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:cardinal_direction') == 'south'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [0, 180, 0] }
    }
  },
  // Facing east
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:cardinal_direction') == 'east'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [0, -90, 0] }
    }
  }
]

Facing Direction Rotation ​

Trait ​

To set the state which determines the block's direction, we will use the minecraft:placement_direction block trait with the minecraft:facing_direction state enabled.

minecraft:block
json
"description": {
    "identifier": "wiki:facing_direction_example",
    // Block traits are defined here
    "traits": {
        "minecraft:placement_direction": {
            "enabled_states": ["minecraft:facing_direction"], // Can be used in queries e.g. `q.block_state('minecraft:facing_direction') == 'north'`
        }
    }
}

Permutations ​

Rotation makes use of block permutations. Each permutation contains the minecraft:transformation component, which allows for cardinal rotation by checking the minecraft:facing_direction state and applying an appropriate rotation.

The below rotation values assume that the front of your model is facing north.

minecraft:block
json
"permutations": [
  // Facing down
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:facing_direction') == 'down'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [-90, 0, 0] }
    }
  },
  // Facing up
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:facing_direction') == 'up'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [90, 0, 0] }
    }
  },
  // Facing north
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:facing_direction') == 'north'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [0, 0, 0] }
    }
  },
  // Facing west
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:facing_direction') == 'west'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [0, 90, 0] }
    }
  },
  // Facing south
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:facing_direction') == 'south'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [0, 180, 0] }
    }
  },
  // Facing east
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:facing_direction') == 'east'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [0, -90, 0] }
    }
  }
]

Block Face Rotation ​

Trait ​

To set the state which determines the block's attachment, we will use the minecraft:placement_position block trait with the minecraft:block_face state enabled.

minecraft:block
json
"description": {
    "identifier": "wiki:facing_direction_example",
    // Block traits are defined here
    "traits": {
        "minecraft:placement_position": {
            "enabled_states": ["minecraft:block_face"], // Can be used in queries e.g. `q.block_state('minecraft:block_face') == 'north'`
        }
    }
}

Permutations ​

Rotation makes use of block permutations. Each permutation contains the minecraft:transformation component, which allows for cardinal rotation by checking the minecraft:block_face state and applying an appropriate rotation.

The below rotation values assume that the front of your model is facing north.

minecraft:block
json
"permutations": [
  // Facing down
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:block_face') == 'down'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [-90, 0, 0] }
    }
  },
  // Facing up
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:block_face') == 'up'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [90, 0, 0] }
    }
  },
  // Facing north
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:block_face') == 'north'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [0, 0, 0] }
    }
  },
  // Facing west
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:block_face') == 'west'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [0, 90, 0] }
    }
  },
  // Facing south
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:block_face') == 'south'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [0, 180, 0] }
    }
  },
  // Facing east
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:block_face') == 'east'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [0, -90, 0] }
    }
  }
]

Log Rotation ​

Block rotation identical to how vanilla logs rotate.

Trait ​

To set the state which determines the block's attachment, we will use the minecraft:placement_position block trait with the minecraft:block_face state enabled.

The state contains more values than we need for log rotation, so some permutations will look identical.

minecraft:block
json
"description": {
    "identifier": "wiki:log_rotation_example",
    // Block traits are defined here
    "traits": {
        "minecraft:placement_position": {
            "enabled_states": ["minecraft:block_face"], // Can be used in queries e.g. `q.block_state('minecraft:block_face') == 'north'`
        }
    }
}

Permutations ​

Rotation makes use of block permutations. Each permutation contains the minecraft:transformation component, which allows for cardinal rotation by checking the minecraft:block_face state and applying an appropriate rotation.

minecraft:block
json
"permutations": [
  // X axis
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:block_face') == 'west' || q.block_state('minecraft:block_face') == 'east'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [0, 0, 90] }
    }
  },
  // Y axis
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:block_face') == 'down' || q.block_state('minecraft:block_face') == 'up'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [0, 0, 0] }
    }
  },
  // Z axis
  {
    "condition": "q.block_state('minecraft:block_face') == 'north' || q.block_state('minecraft:block_face') == 'south'",
    "components": {
      "minecraft:transformation": { "rotation": [90, 0, 0] }
    }
  }
]

Contributors

Edit Rotatable Blocks on GitHub

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Code samples on this page are licensed under the MIT License