How to Fill Areas in Minecraft with the Fill Command

GunnerJ

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One of the most commonly used construction commands in Minecraft is /fill. You can use this command to place lots of blocks in a certain area instantly. To use this command, follow these steps:
Go to a corner of the area you want to fill.

The Fill command affects blocks in a box-shaped region, up to 32,768 blocks in volume. Pick any of the 8 corners of the box you want to fill.

Press F3.

This step displays a bunch of information about the current game.

Record your coordinates.

Part of the information displayed in F3 mode is a line that says Block: followed by three numbers. These numbers tell you where exactly your character is. The X and Z coordinates of your character tell you where you are on the plane parallel to the ground, whereas your Y coordinate tells you your height. Make a note of these numbers because you’ll need to write them into the command.

Move to the opposite corner of the area you want to fill.

Record the coordinates there.

Alternatively, use relative coordinates: A tilde (~) in a command indicates that a coordinate is relative to your own position. So ~ ~ ~ indicates your current position, and ~ ~-1 ~ indicates the block below you.

Press the “T” key to open the Chat menu, and type /fill [your first coordinates] [your second coordinates].

For example, you might enter /fill 1123 20 16 1122 30 -16.

Enter a space, and then type minecraft: (or press Tab as a shortcut).

Every block in this game has a technical name, such as minecraft:stone, minecraft:planks, or minecraft:redstone_torch. The first part is necessary only for autocompletion purposes, as described in Step 8.

If you already know the technical name of the block, don’t type only minecraft:; go ahead and type minecraft:stone or minecraft:planks or whatever the name is, and then skip to Step 10. If you don’t know the technical name of the block, stick with Step 7 as written and then go on to Step 8.

Press Tab to see a list of block names.

From here, you can find the block that you want to fill the area. If you know that its name starts with a certain couple of letters, type those letters, and then press Tab for a narrower search. After you see which block you want to use, type it after the minecraft:.

Press the spacebar again, and enter the data value of the block.

This is 0 by default — if you select another number, it chooses a variant of the block. For example, wooden planks have a different color based on the data value you give them.

Steps 9 and 10 are optional — however, if you complete Step 10, you must complete this one as well.

Press the spacebar again, and enter a keyword indicating how to handle blocks that are already inside the fill area.

You can pick one of five different keywords:

replace: With this keyword, when you fill the target area, any block already in that area is replaced. Alternatively, you can type replace followed by a space and then the name of another block (see Steps 7 and 8). This makes it so that the /fill command replaces every block of that type only in the target area rather than filling up the whole area.

Note that replace is the default keyword. At this point the command should look like /fill 1123 20 16 1122 30 -16 minecraft:wool 1 replace.

destroy: All existing blocks in the target area are destroyed, just as though a player mined them.

keep: This command does not affect blocks already in the target area (except for air, of course).

hollow: With this command, only the outer layer of the target area is filled with blocks — all blocks on the inside are replaced with air.

outline: Only the outer layer of the target area is filled with blocks, but blocks on the inside remain as they were.
 
How to Fill Areas in Minecraft with the Fill Command
In Minecraft, the /fill command is a powerful tool that allows players to quickly and efficiently fill large areas with a specific block. This can be incredibly useful for building structures, creating landscapes, or simply cleaning up an area. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to use the /fill command effectively:
1. Understanding the Syntax
The basic syntax for the /fill command is as follows:
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/fill <from> <to> <block> (destroy|hollow|keep|outline|replace)
<from> and <to>: These are the coordinates of two opposite corners of the area you want to fill. In Java Edition, they must be block positions composed of <x>, <y>, and <z>, which can be integers or use tilde and caret notation. In Bedrock Edition, they are three-dimensional coordinates with each value being a floating-point number or using tilde and caret notation. The lesser coordinates of each axis are on the region boundary, while the greater coordinates are one block from the boundary. For example, for a 1-block volume, you could use 0 0 0 0 0 0. For an 8-block volume, 0 0 0 1 1 1 and 1 1 1 0 0 0 both identify the same region.
<block>: This is the name of the block you want to fill the area with. In Java Edition, it should be in the format of block_id(block_states){data_tags} (block tags are not accepted), and the block states and data tags can be omitted when not needed. In Bedrock Edition, it must be a block ID.
(destroy|hollow|keep|outline|replace): These are optional parameters that determine how the command will handle the existing blocks in the area.
destroy: Replaces all blocks (including air) in the fill region with the specified block. The existing blocks are dropped as entities, as if they had been mined with an unenchanted diamond shovel or pickaxe. However, blocks that can only be mined with shears (like vines) and liquids do not drop.
hollow: Only replaces the blocks on the outer edge of the fill region with the specified block. The inner blocks are changed to air, and their contents (if any) are dropped as entities, but the inner blocks themselves do not drop. If the fill region is too small (with a length, width, or height of less than 3 blocks in any dimension), it behaves similar to the replace option.
keep: Only replaces the air blocks in the fill region with the specified block, leaving other existing blocks intact.
outline: Only replaces the blocks on the outer edge of the fill region with the specified block, while the inner blocks remain unchanged. If the fill region has no inner blocks (due to small size), it behaves similar to the replace option.
replace: Replaces all blocks (including air) in the fill region with the specified block without dropping the existing blocks.
2. Using the Fill Command
Determine the Area to Fill: First, you need to decide which area you want to fill. You can mark two opposite corners of the area. For example, if you want to fill a rectangular room, you can stand at one corner and note down the coordinates (using the F3 key in Java Edition or checking the debug screen in Bedrock Edition). Then move to the opposite corner and note those coordinates as well.
Open the Chat Window: In most versions of Minecraft, you can open the chat window by pressing the / key or the T key.
Type the Command: Enter the /fill command followed by the <from> coordinates, the <to> coordinates, and the <block> you want to use. For example, if you want to fill a small area from coordinates 10 64 10 to 20 64 20 with stone, you would type:
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/fill 10 64 10 20 64 20 stone
If you want to create a hollow structure, like a hollow stone cube, you can add the hollow parameter:
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/fill 10 64 10 20 64 20 stone hollow
Execute the Command: Press Enter to execute the command. The specified area should now be filled with the chosen block according to the parameters you used.
3. Additional Tips
Using Relative Coordinates: In both Java and Bedrock Editions, you can use relative coordinates. In Java Edition, you can use tilde (~) and caret (^) notation. For example, ~0 ~0 ~0 represents the current position, ~1 ~0 ~0 is one block to the east of the current position, and ~^1 ~0 ~0 is one block up and one block to the east of the current position. In Bedrock Edition, relative coordinates work in a similar way using tilde notation. This can be very convenient when you want to fill an area relative to your current position.
Replacing Specific Blocks: If you only want to replace a certain type of block in an area with another block, you can use the replace parameter in a more specific way. For example, if you have an area with some dirt blocks that you want to replace with grass blocks, you can use the command:
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/fill 10 64 10 20 64 20 grass_block replace dirt
This will only replace the dirt blocks in the specified area with grass blocks, leaving other blocks unchanged.
Permissions: Make sure you are in creative mode or have the appropriate permissions to use commands. In multiplayer servers, only players with operator status or the necessary permissions can use the /fill command.
By mastering the /fill command in Minecraft, you can save a significant amount of time and effort in your building and world - shaping endeavors. Experiment with different parameters and coordinate combinations to achieve the desired results in your Minecraft world.
 
Don’t be put off by the length of these instructions — the more you practice, the easier (and faster) it is.
The process in the preceding step list works best when you don’t quite know the size of the area you want to fill. But if you want to fill an area that you know is 10x10x20, for example, there’s a faster way to do it:

Go to a corner of the area you want to fill.

This part is just like the other method, but it’s done for a different purpose.

Press F3.

In addition to pulling up a menu, the F3 button changes the crosshair in the center of the screen into a symbol composed of a red segment, a green segment, and a blue segment where green is the Y direction, red is the X direction, and blue is the Z direction. These segments point in the positive x-direction, y-direction, and z-direction, respectively.

Use the crosshair to figure out the relative coordinates of the opposite corner.

For example, if the crosshair numbers read ~100 ~-5 ~2, the opposite corner is 100 blocks in the X-direction, -5 blocks in the Y-direction, and 2 blocks in the Z-direction.

Open the chat menu and type /fill ~ ~ ~ [relative coordinates].

For example, to create a platform 100 blocks long and 100 blocks wide, where one corner is where you are and the opposite corner is at 99 ~ ~99, type /fill ~ ~ ~ ~99 ~ ~99.

Complete the process as usual. (See Steps 7–10 in the preceding step list.)
 
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