How to Get Yourself Out of a Hole in Minecraft

Last Updated: August 8, 2022

You've dug yourself down a deep, deep hole in Minecraft to harvest some materials, before you realize that you can't actually get yourself back up again. Don't panic. The worst thing that can happen is (heaven forbid) a creeper falls down the hole at nightfall. Getting yourself out of the hole is perfectly possible––just choose one of the suggested methods as relevant to your situation.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Block Method

1
Gather all of the blocks that you have harvested during digging. This includes the blocks that you may or may not have had before.
2
Jump up in the air and place a block under your feet mid-jump.

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3
Repeat this until you have reached the top. If some of the blocks that you have dug have turned into gravel or another substance and you cannot reach the top, try the stair method.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Stair Method

1
Use the stair method if you don't have enough blocks. It requires a lot more work than the block method.
2
Find the bottom block of the wall of the hole.
3
Delete all of the blocks above it, as far as you can reach.
4
Climb onto the bottom block.
5
Find the second bottom block of the wall in front of you.
6
Delete all of the blocks above this block and step onto it. Do the same for the third bottom block, the fourth, and so on.
7
Repeat this until you reach the top. The result should be a staircase leading up to the ground. It takes a long time to do this from scratch, so if you don't complete it when nightfall comes, either persevere and face the monsters on the surface or wait until morning.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Water Method

1
Use this method if you just happen to have a bucket of water with you. You need a shovel and/or a pickaxe as well, for quick digging. You can do it without, but prepare for a long, hard, risky slog up to the surface.
2
Select the bucket of water.
3
Tap on a place as far up as you can reach until the water flows down.
4
Float up the water until you come out of the top.
5
Make a small two block crevice in the nearest wall with a shovel or pickaxe and go into it.
6
Get the water back into the bucket again.
7
Continue placing water as far up as possible and float up to the top.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Crevice Method

1
Use this method with care. This method is very risky because you could fall down at any given moment. You need a pickaxe or a shovel, again. If you don't have them, it's possible, but it's very difficult. You also need the blocks that you harvested during the dig down to the bottom.
2
Make a three block high crevice in the wall. Make sure there is one step, or a bottom block.
3
Jump into it.
4
Make a three block high crevice on the wall opposite.
5
Carefully jump into it.
6
Move carefully. This is where it gets tricky. You need a lot of accuracy for the next few minutes as you journey to the top. You'll notice that, as you go to make the crevice in the opposite wall again, there is no floor in the crevice because you deleted it while making the first crevice.
7
Carefully make the three block high crevice directly opposite, but just a little bit higher than your crevice.
8
Make a bridge to the crevice using your blocks. If you have a low amount of blocks and you need to save them, make a floor for the opposite crevice and carefully jump into it.

Community Q&A

Question

Couldn't I just type in a couple commands like '/gamerule keepInventory true' and '/kill' or just change to creative mode and fly out?

Happygreengirl12

Community Answer

You could do that, but some players don't play with cheats and would rather find a way out that doesn't involve cheating. It can sometimes be more enjoyable trying to get out, and you have something to celebrate when you do.
Question

How can I get out of a cave that I dug myself into?

Iris Sullivan

Community Answer

If you have a water bucket and/or a pickax, I would dig a staircase if you can. You could also use the water method by placing water above you, swimming up, recollecting it, and quickly replacing the water.