Minecraft Nether Portal Design Tips & Tricks

Most Minecraft players build simple nether portals like the one in the photo above. However, there are so many other ways to build and design your nether portal!

The standard or minimum nether portal size is a 5×4 block shape and the maximum dimensions can go up to 23×23 in any rectangular shape. When you build a larger nether portal it becomes easier to decorate and customize. Building a larger and customized nether portal is a fun way to make your base look cool!

This article will explain the basic shape and dimension requirements for building a nether portal in Minecraft and also provide some design tips.

Nether Portal Shapes and Dimensions

In order to be functional, all nether portals must follow these rules on shapes and dimensions:

Portals must be rectangular. If you want a different shape (like a circle), you must use multiple rectangular portals to make the shape or place blocks in front and behind the obsidian frame.
The smallest Minecraft nether portal dimensions is 5×4 blocks and the maximum size is 23×23 blocks.
Only obsidian can be used to construct the nether portal frame. It is allowable to place blocks in front and behind the frame to decorate it.
Corners are not required on the nether portal frame. You can leave empty air or put any block you’d like in the corners.
Nether portals are activated by using flint and steel to set a fire inside the frame. Nether portals can’t be activated in the End.

Large Nether Portal Designs

Bigger nether portals in Minecraft usually need to be outdoors due to their size. However, if you have a large indoor room, it is possible to build them indoors as well.

Building larger portals portals offers more flexibility with decorating and you can add things like a nice road leading up to the portal or some accents like nether statues or lava pools. A cool design idea is to build with nether materials like lava, obsidian, and quartz.

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Small Nether Portal Designs

Smaller Nether Portals are usually needed for areas like caves, basements, and inside homes. Even though you are restricted with size, you can still have some cool decorations and a dedicated room for your portal.

Some ideas are to include a cool bridge to your portal or create a room with nether decor like obsidian, fire, and lava.

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Nether Portal Location

Although you can build a nether portal basically anywhere in your Minecraft world, it is important to select a good location. Here are some ideas to consider:

Building a nether portal near your storage chest room can be convenient. This way, when you return from the nether you can drop off all your items in your chests.
Nether portals can be blended into the Minecraft environment around your base. For example, you can put a nether portal in a cave, the side of a mountain, in the forest, or even in a hill of sand or snow.
A smaller portal can be placed in an underground room (a good idea if you are building an underground base) or a decorated building above ground as well. This can provide protection if any mobs go through your nether portals as they will be locked inside this room.
A large Minecraft nether portal will usually need to be outdoors unless you have a building large enough to put it in. It would be a cool idea to build a portal in a big outdoor garden.