How to Make a Simple Piston Drawbridge in Minecraft: Quick Tutorial

Download Article

Easy step-by-step drawbridge for any version of Minecraft

Co-authored by Zac Churchill and Travis Boylls

Last Updated: January 13, 2026 Fact Checked

Download Article

• Getting Started
|
• Constructing the Mechanics
|
• Making a Bridge and Mote
|
• Video
|
• Q&A
|
• Tips
|
• Warnings

|Show more |Show less

Making a drawbridge in Minecraft is a fun and decorative way to keep mobs and visitors out of your house/mansion/palace/tower of doom. Luckily, there is an easy design to make a drawbridge any length you want. This wikiHow article teaches you how to make a simple drawbridge in Minecraft.

Drawbridge Mechanics

You can use sticky pistons to push blocks up to raise a drawbridge. Connect a trail of redstone dust from a lever to redstone repeaters connected to the sticky pistons to power the drawbridge. Use more sticky pistons to amplify the signal and raise all pistons.

Steps

Section 1 of 3:

Getting Started

Download Article

1. 1
   Craft and gather all the materials you will need. The amount of sticky pistons, redstone repeaters, and redstone dust you will need will depend on the length of your bridge. Craft or gather the following materials.

   • Sticky pistons
   • Redstone dust
   • Red-stone repeaters
   • Shovel (optional)
   • Buckets of lava or water
   • 1 lever
   • Blocks of the material your bridge will be made out of
   • Blocks to build the base of your moat.
2. 
   2
   Dig a moat. It should be at least 4 blocks deep and 4 blocks wide. You can make it as long as you want to accommodate the length of your bridge.
Advertisement

Section 2 of 3:

Constructing the Mechanics

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Place sticky pistons where you want your bridge to go. Place them so that the head of the piston is facing up. Make sure they are 2 blocks away from width edge of your moat and one block away from the length edge of your moat.

   • If cheats are enabled, you can use the command /give @s sticky_piston # to give yourself sticky pistons. Replace “#” with the number of sticky pistons you want to give yourself.
   • Your bridge can be either one or two blocks wide.
2. 2
   Place a redstone repeater next to each sticky piston. Place them so that the side with the immovable red torch is next to the piston.
3. 3
   Place two redstone repeaters next to the pistons on the far end. If your bridge is only one block wide, this is not necessary. However, if your bridge is two blocks wide, you will need repeaters on the end to amplify the current leading to the other row of pistons. Place two redstone repeaters sideways next to the pistons on the end.

   • Both repeaters should be placed so that the immovable torch is facing the second row of pistons.
4. 4
   Connect all the redstone repeaters with redstone. Go along the edges of the repeaters connected to the sticky pistons and place redstone in front of each repeater. If your bridge is two blocks wide, make sure the trail of redstone is going into the repeaters on the end and exiting to the second row of pistons.

   • Right-click (or left trigger) the redstone repeaters to adjust the delay settings. Setting a different delay setting for different groups of pistons allows you to create a staggered pattern when your drawbridge raises instead raising all the blocks at the same time.
5. 5
   Place a lever for your bridge. It should be right next to your moat in front of where the bridge raises. You can either place it on the ground, or on a block next to your moat.
6. 6
   Create trail or redstone connecting the lever to the redstone dust in the moat. You carve out an empty space just below the block that has your lever and place redstone dust just below it. Then you will need to create a stair-step pattern of blocks along the side of your mode, lowering down to the ground level of your moat. Place redstone dust along this pattern so that it connects from the lever to the trail of redstone connected to the pistons.
7. 7
   Test the pistons Flip the lever to make sure all the pistons rise when the lever is flipped.

   • If there are any pistons that don’t rise, check to make sure they are connected to a redstone repeater and that the repeater is connected to a trail or redstone dust. Make sure the repeater is facing the right direction.
8. 8
   Place additional redstone repeaters as needed. If you find that some of the pistons at the end of the circuit don’t raise, you will need to place additional repeaters to amply the signal. Place additional redstone repeaters in the trail of redstone leading to the pistons. This will amplify the signal so that it can raise all the pistons.
Advertisement

Section 3 of 3:

Making a Bridge and Mote

Download Article

1. 1
   Place blocks on top of the pistons. You can place any block you want your drawbridge to be made out of on top of the sticky piston.

   • If you plan on filling your moat with lava, make sure you use stone, or non-flamable blocks. Blocks made of wood are flammable.
2. 2
   Line the base of your moat with blocks of your choice. Place blocks above redstone circuitry and the same level as the blocks on top of the pistons when they are down. You can also line the sides of your moat.

   • Make sure your moat is completely sealed with no open spaces leading to the redstone circuitry.
   • Be careful that you don’t place blocks in a way that blocks your redstone circuitry. You may need to get clever with how you place blocks with redstone dust and how you hide them.
3. 
   3
   Craft some buckets. You can use buckets to fill the moat with water or lava
4. 4
   Fill your moat. You’ll need to find a source of water or lava. Use the buckets to pour water or lava into the moat. Refill the bucket(s) and continue to pour as needed.
Advertisement

Video

Community Q&A

Search

Add New Question

• Question

  Can you add guardians?

  

  Community Answer

  You can add guardians if you use water and not lava.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 28 Helpful 77
• Question

  How do I make a really long drawbridge when the power doesn't go far enough?

  

  Lutark Lampri

  Community Answer

  Extend the power of the redstone wire with redstone repeaters. However, they do give a one-tick delay, but that shouldn't matter for this project, as long as you don't rush going on the drawbridge.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 29 Helpful 65
• Question

  Can I fill the hole with acid?

  

  Community Answer

  If you have a mod for acid in Minecraft, go for it.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 40 Helpful 54

See more answers

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Advertisement

Tips

• If you are a beginner, you can play the demo version of Minecraft without paying for it. According to Minecraft expert Zac Churchill, you can play for 100 minutes free. You will need to register an account to download the launcher.
  Thanks

  Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Use the delay settings on the redstone repeaters to make the blocks in your drawbridge raise one after another, instead of all at the same time.
  Thanks

  Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Name

Please provide your name and last initial

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

Advertisement

Warnings

• Be careful around lava. If you fall in, you will lose all items in your inventory permanently.
  Thanks

  Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• If you get stuck in the water, make sure to mine or dig a block out to get out of the water to avoid drowning.
  Thanks

  Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Advertisement