FreeSeedFinderMinecraft Stronghold Locator (Eye of Ender Triangulation)
An eye of ender flies toward the nearest stronghold, but one throw gives only a direction. Two throws from different places give two lines, and the stronghold lies where they cross. Enter both throws below, or paste the command that Java Edition copies when you press F3+C, and this tool finds the crossing point and draws it on a map.
Throw 1
Throw 2
The values above are an example, not your world. Replace them with your own throws.
How to triangulate a stronghold
- Craft eyes of ender from an ender pearl and blaze powder, then throw one and watch where it floats.
- Stand still and put your crosshair on the eye. In Java Edition press F3 and read the Facing line. The first number in brackets is the yaw, for example
Facing: north (towards negative Z) (-178.4 / 12.0). Or press F3+C and paste the copied command into the tool. - Walk about 500 blocks at a right angle to the eye's direction.
- Throw a second eye and record it the same way.
- Walk to the estimate, throw another eye, and dig down where it dives into the ground.
How accurate is it?
The tool's answer is exact if your angles are exact, so your accuracy depends on how you throw. In our simulations, starting 1,500 blocks away and moving 500 blocks sideways, rounding the yaw to two decimals (as F3+C does) moved the estimate by under half a block. Rounding to one decimal, as the F3 screen shows, moved it by about 3 blocks. Aiming at the eye adds its own error, so treat the result as the stronghold's area, not the portal room. If your throws are almost in line, the estimate gets rough, and the tool warns you.
How the maths works
Minecraft measures yaw so that 0 faces south (positive Z), 90 faces west (negative X), 180 faces north and -90 faces east. A throw at position X, Z with yaw A flies along the direction dx = -sin(A), dz = cos(A). The tool intersects the two lines and rejects results where they are parallel or cross behind a throw, because an eye only flies toward a stronghold.
Java stronghold rings
In Java Edition there are 128 strongholds in eight rings around the world origin (X 0, Z 0). The tool uses this to check your result: a real answer must fall inside one of the bands below.
| Ring | Strongholds | Distance from the origin |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 1,280 to 2,816 blocks |
| 2 | 6 | 4,352 to 5,888 blocks |
| 3 | 10 | 7,424 to 8,960 blocks |
| 4 | 15 | 10,496 to 12,032 blocks |
| 5 | 21 | 13,568 to 15,104 blocks |
| 6 | 28 | 16,640 to 18,176 blocks |
| 7 | 36 | 19,712 to 21,248 blocks |
| 8 | 9 | 22,784 to 24,320 blocks |
Strongholds in a ring are spread evenly around the origin, so if the one you found has no portal room, the next is roughly 360 divided by the ring's count in degrees away. Bedrock Edition has no ring layout, so the ring check does not apply there.
If the result looks wrong
- The point is outside every ring. The two eyes may be pointing at different strongholds, or an angle was misread. Throw a third eye and compare.
- The lines are parallel. Move further sideways before the second throw.
- You used the wrong angle. Use yaw, the first number, not pitch.
- The throws are swapped. Each X and Z must go with its own yaw.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find a stronghold with eyes of ender?
Throw an eye, note your position and the yaw angle while aiming at it, move about 500 blocks sideways and throw a second eye. The stronghold is where the two lines cross. Walk there, throw again and dig down where the eye dives.
Where do I find the yaw angle in Minecraft?
In Java Edition, press F3 and read the Facing line. The first number in brackets is the yaw. Since 1.13, pressing F3+C while aiming at the eye copies a command containing your position and angle, which you can paste into the tool.
How far should I move between throws?
About 500 blocks at a right angle to the first eye. In our simulations that gave an estimate within a few blocks even with one-decimal angles, while short moves or throws in line gave much rougher results.
Why is my result outside every stronghold ring?
In Java Edition every stronghold lies inside one of eight rings, so a result outside them is probably wrong. The two eyes may have pointed at different strongholds, or an angle or coordinate may be mistyped. Throw a third eye to check.
Does the stronghold locator work for Bedrock Edition?
Eyes of ender work in both editions, but Bedrock has no ring layout, so the ring check does not apply. As far as we know Bedrock does not show a yaw angle on screen, so this tool is built for Java players.