How to Make Tripwire Hooks in Minecraft

A simple guide to setting up a tripwire system

Written by Travis Boylls

Last Updated: September 9, 2024 Tested

Minecraft is a survival game in which you break and build blocks in a style similar to Legos. Minecraft also has a lot of contraptions you can build. A tripwire hook is a type of switch you can use to trigger the contraptions. It consists of two tripwire hooks placed on opposite ends with a string connected to the two tripwire hooks. When a player or mob crosses the string, it triggers the tripwire switches. This can be used to create traps, and trigger other redstone contraptions. This wikiHow teaches you the basics of how to craft tripwire hook switches.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Gathering Materials

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Wooden plank blocks are crafted from wood. You can get wood from any tree by punching it or chopping it with an axe. You do not need a crafting table to craft wooden planks. Once you have wood, open your crafting menu and select wooden planks.
2
Craft sticks. Once you've crafted wooden planks, you have the materials needed to craft sticks. Sticks are used to craft all kinds of tools. You do not need a crafting table to craft sticks. You just need to open your crafting menu and select sticks.
- Don't use all your wooden plank blocks to craft sticks. You need some wooden plank blocks too.
- 2 wooden plank blocks can craft 4 sticks.
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3
Get iron ingots. Iron ingots are blocks of iron obtained by smelting iron ore. Iron ore can be found underground and in caves. They resemble stone blocks with yellow spots on them. You need a stone, iron, or diamond pickaxe in order to mine iron ore. Smelt the iron ore in a furnace in order to get iron ingots.
- To create a furnace, you need 8 cobblestone blocks and a crafting table. Open your crafting table and then place 8 cobblestones in the outer part of the crafting table in the shape of a ring. Drag the furnace into your inventory.
- To use the furnace, place it on the floor and then right-click it, tap it, or select it with the left trigger button on your controller to open it. Place the iron ore blocks in the space above the icon that resembles a flame. Place a fuel source in the icon below the flame and wait for the iron ore to finish cooking. You can use coal, charcoal, or wood as a fuel source.
You can get a string from killing spiders. You need one string for each block-length of your tripwire. You can use some of your sticks, wooden plank blocks, or iron ingots to craft a sword in a crafting table to use to kill spiders.
Redstone dust is used to connect your tripwire hooks to a redstone contraption. Tripwire hooks are pretty useless if they're not connected to anything. You can get redstone dust by mining redstone ore with an iron or diamond pickaxe. Redstone ore is found deep underground and in caves. It resembles stone blocks with red spots on it.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Crafting Your Tripwire Hooks

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The crafting table is made from four of any kinds of wooden plank block. Simply open your crafting menu and place the wood planks in your small crafting box, and then fill every empty box with wood planks. Then drag the crafting table to your inventory. You can also select a crafting table from the crafting menu.
2
Place the crafting table and open it. To use a crafting table, place it in your menu bar click, tap, or press the right trigger button to place the crafting table. Then right-click, tap, or press the left trigger button on the crafting table to open it.
- You can also select the tripwire hooks from the crafting menu when you have the ingredients needed.
With the crafting table open, place one wooden plank block in the bottom-center space in the 3x3 crafting table grid.
With the crafting table open, place one stick in the center space of the 3x3 crafting table grid.
With the crafting table open, place one iron ingot in the top-center space of the 3x3 crafting grid. All the ingredients produce 2 tripwire hooks. Drag them from the crafting table menu to your inventory.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Placing Tripwire Switches

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1
Place the two tripwire hooks on opposite blocks facing each other. They should be placed at the same level, facing each other on opposite sides of a room or corridor. They can be placed at any height, but the best place is one block up near the floor.
- Tripwire hooks can be a maximum of 40 blocks apart.^{[1]
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Place the string in your toolbar and right-click, tap, or press the left trigger to lay string in all the spaces between the two tripwire hooks. You will hear a clicking sound when the two hooks are connected. You will also hear them click when you walk through the tripwire.
3
Connect the tripwire hooks to a redstone contraption using redstone dust. You can place the redstone dust above, below, or to the side of the block the tripwire hook is connected to. Place redstone dust on each block to create a trail to a redstone contraption you want the tripwire hooks to activate. The following are some useful contraptions you can connect a tripwire hook to:
- A Redstone lamp: Connecting a tripwire hook to a redstone lamp will turn the redstone lamp on and provide light when the tripwire is crossed.
- A dispenser with arrows: Placing a dispenser with arrows above the block that the tripwire hook is connected to will create a trap that shoots arrows at whoever crosses the tripwire.
- A trapdoor. A trapdoor connected to a tripwire hook placed below the tripwire will cause the trapdoor to open and cause the player to fall.
- An automatic piston door. A tripwire hook can be used to trigger an automatic piston door that reveals a secret passage. You can also use a piston to create a trap that opens below the player, or pushes the player into a trap.
- A piston drawbridge. You can use a tripwire hook to activate a piston drawbridge that allows the player to pass a pool of lava safely.

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How do they click together?

Seasalt25

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You can connect tripwire hooks by placing them on blocks of the same Y-level, then placing string on and between them.

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Tripwire hooks can be "washed away" by water.

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Cutting tripwire with shears will not cause a tripwire hook to produce a redstone current.

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