Navigating through your Minecraft world, whether on Java or Bedrock, can be a challenging task. This is especially true on servers, as finding your friends or enemies involves changing directions. Some players use in-game structures to navigate, but this isn’t too reliable if you’re really far away. Luckily, there’s a feature innate to Minecraft that solves these problems. Using coordinates on your world will make everything easier due to the ability to know the exact block and player locations. There are many different methods for enabling this on your server, which is determined by the edition and version you play. Let’s get right into the juicy details about this in sections down below.
Java
The most popular edition of Minecraft is Java, which allows for a variety of server and in-game features. Due to this, displaying coordinates can be done through multiple ways. These methods are easy-to-use, whether it’s adding a custom addon or using the default tactic. Each server owner has their preferences, hence the different ways to show coordinates. Some of these will be more intensive than others, at least for its installation and or potential setup. Regardless of this, each of them are simple to follow and use on your server. It’s just not friendly towards new players if they aren’t experienced with commands or keybinds.
Default Method
The most common way to display coordinates in Minecraft is to use the debug screen. Players can access this by pressing F3 (For Mac OS, Fn +F3) on their keyboard, which shows statistical and other types of information in the top left corner. It can become a bit confusing at first due to the extra data on the screen, but the coordinates are displayed closer to the top. Once you become familiar with the debug menu, it becomes significantly easier to view your in-game position. Unless you’re naturally gifted to immediately see the coordinates upon opening it up.
Addon Method
Besides using the normie way to see coordinates, use a datapack, plugin, or mod to do it. These can support a wide range of Minecraft servers, from 1.8 to 1.19 depending on what you choose, making it a widely available feature to implement. However, using any of them requires a command to toggle the coordinates. In some cases, players might need permission nodes from a management plugin like LuckPerms or similar mod variant. Otherwise, anyone can use them without authorization, which is ideal for most servers. Alright, let’s jump into these addons already to get you started.
Datapacks
The first addon is a datapack called “Coordinates HUD” from Vanilla Tweaks for 1.13 to 1.19 servers. This is commonly used on any type of server, whether it be modded or vanilla. In other words, using datapacks tends to be universal and also requires no configuration to enable it. As for installing this, review our guide here to learn how to do it. Once it’s in the server, any player can use the /trigger ch_toggle command to show coordinates. Using this is the best method for showing coordinates if you’re wanting to avoid using the default way. Although, using the vanilla feature to do this is known throughout the Minecraft community, so it depends on your preferences.
Plugins
Alternatively for Paper or other Bukkit servers, using the InfoHUD plugin can show coordinates in-game with a simple command. This is for Minecraft 1.8 and above and requires no configuration or permissions, but you can customize it to your liking. You may review our Plugin Installation guide to get this in your server. Once it’s installed, use the /infohud enable command to display your coordinates as an action bar. Using plugins isn’t entirely advised, but if you’re wanting more personalization, then this is a good choice. For example, you may have hatred for the color orange, so changing that in the configuration is possible.
Mods
On the other hand, Forge or Fabric servers can find mods to implement this feature. An example would be Batty’s Coordinates PLUS! on CurseForge for Forge 1.6 to 1.18. These are similar to plugins, but can sometimes be a client-only modification instead of a server one. This means you would only install it on the launcher rather than the FTP panel. Although, our panel makes this and all other processes easier if it’s required. In these scenarios, you’ll want to review our tutorial here to get the installation started. Upon enabling the mod, either commands or a keybind is required to toggle coordinates. Otherwise, it’ll automatically be enabled without prior setups.
Bedrock
As for all other players on the Bedrock edition of Minecraft, using the /gamerule showCoordinates true command is how you enable the feature. It’s an official function in this version of the game, making it a universal trick to know your in-game location. However, using the command requires you to have permissions. A popular trick is to simply become the server operator, but that allows cheating. Another common one is to enter the command in your console, making it enabled for all players. With these easily accessible methods, it’s little to no effort for getting coordinates in-game. However, for new players it can be harder than others.
Conclusion
Whether you’re on the hunt for diamonds or to grief your friend’s base (no judgment), using in-game coordinates will significantly help you. It doesn’t matter if you’re on Java or Bedrock, as this feature is universal and can be implemented via several methods. Additionally, even if you aren’t using coordinates all the time, having it enabled across the server is convenient for all players. Otherwise, navigational problems can arise and pose annoyances for your playerbase. For example, what if a noob loses their base? They might rage quit, so having coordinates will prevent that. Of course, this is an extreme example, but nonetheless can happen. With all that said and done, we hope this was an informative and awesome blog to help you get them enabled.
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