How to make a secret door in Minecraft

Building a house and storing items in a multiplayer Minecraft server can be unreliable and unpredictable, as other players can grief and steal from chests practically whenever they want. To stop this from happening, some players will build themselves a secret base in a discreet location, complete with a redstone-powered secret door that blends into the scenery. This guide will provide players with a simple and useful secret door build behind which to hide their belongings.

Building the secret door in Minecraft

This secret door is designed to be built into a naturally-generating cave wall of smooth stone so that it looks undisturbed from the outside. It uses sticky pistons to push stone blocks in front of the doorway when active, and pull them apart to allow the player to walk through when powered off.

Two stacks of two inward-facing sticky pistons face each other from four blocks apart. The head of each piston pushes directly against one of the four stone blocks comprising the “door,” with two blocks aligned on each side.

A redstone wire is lined from the top of both sides’ piston stacks, connecting the two sides of the door through the floor. When this wire receives power, all four pistons will push in unison, closing the doorway.

Related: How to make a piston and a sticky piston in Minecraft

Closing the secret door

The easiest way to provide power to the secret door is by flipping levers, with one placed on both sides of the door to open it from the outside and close it from the inside. In order to keep the door a secret, however, it’s best to find someplace to hide the external lever from other players.

As the redstone wire trails underground, placing the lever adjacent to a segment of redstone will connect it to the circuit. This gives the player the perfect spot to hide the lever under dirt or stone. Players who are struggling to connect the redstone circuit involved in this build should try building a different type of secret base with a less complicated door setup.