How to Make a Map in Minecraft: Recipe, Zoom & Lock Guide

Wondering how to make a map in Minecraft? You only need 8 paper and 1 compass. Place the compass in the center of a crafting table, surround it with the paper and take the map from the result slot. Hold it and use it once and it starts recording the area around you.

This guide covers how to make a map in Minecraft for both Java and Bedrock, plus how to zoom out, clone and lock a map and what to do when your map stays blank.

How to Make a Map in Minecraft: Recipe and Steps

Here is how to make a map in Minecraft: you need 8 paper and 1 compass. Both are easy to craft, so gather them first.

• Paper: Place 3 sugar cane in a horizontal row on a crafting table to get 3 paper. Since the map recipe needs 8, you will need 3 batches. If you are short on paper, check our guide on how to make paper in Minecraft. It covers sugar cane farms and the chests where paper generates.

• Compass: Place 4 iron ingots in a plus shape (top, bottom, left and right), with 1 redstone dust in the center.

Once you have both, follow these map crafting steps:

1. Open a crafting table.

2. Put the compass in the center slot.

3. Fill the other 8 slots with paper.

4. Take the map from the result slot.

That is the full process of how to make a map in Minecraft, but the map you just crafted is blank. It stays that way until you hold it and use it. We cover that in the How to Use a Map and Fill It In section below.

Minecraft Map Recipe: Java vs Bedrock

The basic recipe for how to make a map in Minecraft is the same in both editions, 8 paper around 1 compass. Bedrock just gives you a few extra ways to get a map.

Not sure which edition you play? Java Edition runs on PC (Windows, Mac and Linux). Bedrock Edition runs on Windows PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and mobile. Our Java vs Bedrock Minecraft guide covers the wider differences.

A locator map is simply a map that shows where you are. Java maps show your position by default, so Java has no separate locator item. Recipes can change between versions, so check your version if a recipe does not appear.

How to Use a Map and Fill It In

Once you know how to make a map in Minecraft, using it is simple. Hold the map and use it (right-click on Java, the use button on Bedrock) and it starts drawing the area around you.

The map only fills in where you walk, so keep it in your hand while you explore. It records terrain within 128 blocks of you in the Overworld and the End and 64 blocks in the Nether. 

A map shows terrain, not exact numbers, so turn on coordinates in Minecraft and write down your base location before you head out. North is always at the top of the map.

How Maps Work in Minecraft

A Minecraft map is not centered on you. The world is split into a fixed grid, and the map shows the grid square you were standing in when you first used it. That means two fresh maps used in the same square look identical. To map a new area, walk outside the edge of the first map before you use the next one.

A new map covers 128 by 128 blocks, and each pixel is one block. The map shows terrain from above and land looks lighter or darker depending on its height. Small details can disappear when you zoom out.

A map does not update changes on its own. If you build or dig somewhere, walk back through that area with the map in your hand. In the Nether, maps behave differently and the player marker spins, so they are poor for navigation there.

How to Make a Map Bigger (Zoom Out)

After you learn how to make a map in Minecraft, you can zoom it out up to four times. Each zoom covers more ground but shows less detail. The cheapest way is a cartography table, which costs 1 paper per zoom level.

To craft a cartography table, use 2 paper and 4 planks of any wood type. Then follow these steps:

1. Place your map in the top slot of the cartography table.

2. Place 1 paper in the slot below it.

3. Take the zoomed map from the result slot.

Repeat these steps for each zoom level you want, up to 4 times.

Before you zoom, use the map once so it is active because an empty map cannot be zoomed out. Zooming also resets what the map has drawn, so you have to explore the area again. To save time, zoom a new map to the level you want first, then start exploring.

You cannot zoom a map back in, so craft a new one if you want more detail. Locked maps cannot be zoomed out either.

Map Zoom Levels and Paper Cost

Here is how much each zoom level covers and what it costs in paper.

The cost adds up quickly. A level 4 map starts with 8 paper and a compass, then needs 4 more paper at a cartography table. 

That is 12 paper in total, or 14 if you count the table itself. At a crafting table the same map needs 32 more paper, which makes 40 paper in total. So the cartography table is the better choice.

Build a Minecraft Map Wall

A map wall is a great way to show off a big area once you learn how to make a map in Minecraft at several zoom levels. Maps snap to the same grid at every zoom level, so neighboring maps of the same level line up neatly in item frames. For example, a 2 by 2 wall of level 2 maps covers the same 1024 x 1024 area as one level 3 map, but with more detail.

For a 3 by 3 wall, make all nine maps at the same zoom level and explore neighboring areas. Walk outside the edge of one map before you use the next, so each one covers a new square. Then place them side by side in item frames.

How to Clone, Lock and Mark a Map

Clone a map. Put the map and an empty map in a cartography table to get two identical copies. Cloned maps stay linked, so exploring with one fills in the other. The link breaks if you zoom one of them out.

Lock a map. Put the map and a glass pane in a cartography table to make a locked copy that never changes, even if the terrain does. Use a plain glass pane, because stained glass panes do not work. A locked map is perfect for a map wall you do not want changed by accident.

Mark a location (Java). Place a banner where you want a marker, then use your map on it. The marker takes the banner’s color. If you rename the banner at an anvil first, the name shows on the map too.

Where to Get a Map Without Crafting

If you would rather skip crafting, you can buy or find a map instead. A novice cartographer villager sells an empty map for 7 emeralds. Higher level cartographers also sell explorer maps that lead to structures like ocean monuments and woodland mansions. 

You can also find empty maps in chests, such as shipwreck map chests, stronghold libraries and village cartographer houses. On Bedrock, you can turn on the Starting Map option when you create a world to begin with a locator map in your hotbar.

This is also the way around the compass requirement on Java, since a map you find or trade for needs no crafting. Once you know how to make a map in Minecraft, you can use whichever method is cheapest for you.

Map Not Working? Common Fixes

Even if you follow how to make a map in Minecraft correctly a few things can go wrong. Here are the most common fixes.

The map is blank or not filling in. You have probably not used it yet, so hold it and use it once. After that, keep it in your hand while you walk and stay within its range.

You cannot zoom it out. An empty map cannot be zoomed out, so use it once to activate it first. If the map went blank after zooming, that is normal. Zooming resets the contents, so you need to explore the area again.

A framed map or a new build is not updating. A map in an item frame only updates when you explore while holding a clone of it, so make a clone first. If your build is missing from the map, walk through that area again with the map in your hand.

Conclusion

Now you know how to make a map in Minecraft. Craft 8 paper around a compass, then hold the map and use it once to start recording. From there, a cartography table does the rest. Use it to zoom out, clone a spare or lock a copy so it never changes.

If you would rather skip crafting, you can buy an empty map from a cartographer villager or find one in a chest. Grab your paper, head out and start filling in that map.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to make a map in Minecraft?

Craft 8 paper around 1 compass at a crafting table, with the compass in the center. Take the map from the result slot, then hold it and use it once to start recording the area around you.

Can you make a map in Minecraft without a compass?

On Bedrock, yes. Use 9 paper at a crafting table or 1 paper at a cartography table. This gives you a map that does not show your position. On Java, crafting a map needs a compass, but you can trade for one with a cartographer villager or find one in a chest.

How do you make a map bigger in Minecraft?

Zoom it out at a cartography table. Put the map in the top slot and 1 paper in the slot below it, then take the result. You can zoom out up to 4 times, and the last level covers 2048 x 2048 blocks. Zooming resets the map, so you will need to explore again, and you cannot zoom back in.

Why is my Minecraft map blank?

A new map stays empty until you hold it and use it once. If it still does not fill in, keep it in your hand while you walk and stay within range of the area you want to map. Zooming a map out also wipes what it had drawn, so you will need to explore that area again.

What is the difference between a map and a locator map in Minecraft?

A locator map shows your position with a marker, and a regular map does not. This difference exists only on Bedrock, where 8 paper and a compass make a locator map and paper alone makes a plain map.