TRIPWIRE HOOK
Placed in pairs with string between them. Outputs signal strength 15 when an entity passes through the string. Can span up to 40 blocks.
Crafting Recipe
1 Iron Ingot + 1 Stick + 1 Wooden Plank → 2 Tripwire Hooks
Signal Behavior
Input
Entity crossing the tripwire string
Output
OutputSignal strength 15 when triggered
Max Signal Strength
15
Delay
DelayNone (instant activation)
Modes
- Triggered when entity passes through string
How to craft Tripwire Hook: the grid and ingredient cost
To craft Tripwire Hook you place 1 Iron Ingot, 1 Planks and 1 Stick in the shape below, which fills a 1x3 corner of the grid. The recipe hands back 2 at a time, so a single Tripwire Hook really costs you 1.50 items.
The planks slot is a whole family, not one block, so any wood type crafts the same Tripwire Hook.
Tripwire Hook crafting pattern, 1x3
| Ingredient for Tripwire Hook | Amount per craft |
|---|---|
| Iron Ingot | 1 |
| Planks (any variant) | 1 |
| Stick | 1 |
| Tripwire Hook you get per craft | 2 |
The Tripwire Hook recipe as it stands in Java Edition 26.2.
Tripwire Hook, in one place: what it is and what it does
Placed in pairs with string between them. Outputs signal strength 15 when an entity passes through the string. Can span up to 40 blocks.
As a power source it sits at the start of a circuit, generating the signal that everything downstream reacts to. Paired across a run of string, it forms the cheapest long-range entity tripwire in the game.
Since 1.3.1 the Tripwire Hook has been part of redstone, and Java Edition 26.2 is the version described here.
Inside the Tripwire Hook: what the signal actually does
Input for the Tripwire Hook means entity crossing the tripwire string, and the output is signal strength 15 when triggered.
Two hooks placed facing each other and joined by string output signal 15 the instant any entity touches the string. The string may span up to 40 blocks between the hooks. Cutting or breaking the string also fires the hooks once.
It acts instantly with no redstone-tick delay of its own, so it adds nothing to the timing of a circuit.
Strength 15 at the source means the last powered piece of dust sits 15 blocks away from the Tripwire Hook, and the one after it stays dark.
These are the modes you can put the Tripwire Hook into, and each one changes what comes out: triggered when entity passes through string.
How to set up the Tripwire Hook
- 1Craft the Tripwire Hook: 1 Iron Ingot + 1 Stick + 1 Wooden Plank → 2 Tripwire Hooks.
- 2Set the Tripwire Hook down facing the way the signal has to travel, on a block that will actually hold it in place, with the dust already run out on the far side.
- 3Run redstone dust away from it toward the component you want to control, remembering the signal will fall by 1 per block.
- 4Before it goes anywhere near a real build, run the Tripwire Hook on its own a few times over and check every result against the timing figures listed above this step.
Where the Tripwire Hook earns its keep
- ▸Long-range detection
- ▸Hidden traps
- ▸Doorway detection
- ▸Perimeter alarms
Tips & common mistakes
- !String must connect two hooks facing each other
- !Breaking string triggers the hook
- !Max 40 blocks between hooks
- !The two hooks must point directly at each other and the string must be unbroken end to end, or the line simply will not arm.
Questions people ask about the Tripwire Hook
What do redstoners actually build with the Tripwire Hook in Minecraft?
The Tripwire Hook is most often used for long-range detection, hidden traps, doorway detection, and perimeter alarms. As a power source it sits at the start of a circuit, generating the signal that everything downstream reacts to.
How far does the Tripwire Hook push a signal?
Up to 15 out of the Tripwire Hook, and not a level more than that. Signal strength 15 when triggered.
How do you craft the Tripwire Hook?
1 Iron Ingot + 1 Stick + 1 Wooden Plank → 2 Tripwire Hooks. It was introduced in 1.3.1.
What is the most common mistake with the Tripwire Hook?
String must connect two hooks facing each other. Breaking string triggers the hook.
Components that connect to Tripwire Hook
Follow Tripwire Hook further into the site through these 6 component pages:
Trapped Chest, needs 1 Tripwire Hook in its own recipe
Lever, grouped with Tripwire Hook, 13 of them in total
Stone Button, grouped with Tripwire Hook, 13 of them in total
Wooden Button, one of the 13 in the same group
Stone Pressure Plate, grouped with Tripwire Hook, 13 of them in total
Wooden Pressure Plate, grouped with Tripwire Hook, 13 of them in total
The block behind Tripwire Hook: hardness, resistance and light
Tripwire Hook breaks the instant you touch it: hardness 0, so your bare hand is as fast as any tool.
Tripwire Hook resists explosions to 0, the same as its hardness, which means TNT clears it. No light comes off Tripwire Hook, so torch the area around it if that matters.
| Tripwire Hook | Tripwire Hook in Java Edition |
|---|---|
| Tripwire Hook hardness | 0 |
| Tripwire Hook blast resistance | 0 |
| Fastest tool on Tripwire Hook | no tool in particular |
| Light out of Tripwire Hook | 0 |
