/particle

Spawns particles at a location. Supports all particle types with customizable spread, speed, and visibility.

Overview

Spawns particles at a location. Supports all particle types with customizable spread, speed, and visibility. In vanilla Minecraft Java Edition it is one of the logic commands and has been available since version 1.8.

It is invoked as /particle [] [] [] [] [force|normal] [] and accepts one required argument () and 6 optional arguments ([pos], [delta], [speed], [count], [visibility], and [viewers]).

When count is 0, delta acts as a motion vector and speed becomes the velocity. The 'dust' particle type requires color and scale parameters. Some particles have extra parameters (e.g., block, item, dust_color_transition).

When count is 0 the delta becomes a direction vector and speed becomes the velocity, firing one motion-driven particle. 'force' makes particles visible up to 512 blocks away instead of the usual 32.

Syntax & Arguments

/particle <name> [<pos>] [<delta>] [<speed>] [<count>] [force|normal] [<viewers>]

The full syntax is /particle [] [] [] [] [force|normal] []. Angle brackets < > mark required arguments and square brackets [ ] mark optional ones; a vertical bar | between words means you pick exactly one of those literals. You must always supply . The arguments [pos], [delta], [speed], [count], [visibility], and [viewers] may be omitted, in which case the documented default applies.

name: Required, of type a particle. The particle type (e.g., flame, heart, dust, explosion).
pos: Optional, of type a vec3. The center position. Defaults to executor's position.
delta: Optional, of type a vec3. The spread in each axis (x y z). Higher values = wider spread.
speed: Optional, of type a float. The speed/velocity of the particles.
count: Optional, of type an integer. Number of particles to spawn. 0 = single directional particle.
visibility: Optional, of type a literal. force = visible from far away (512 blocks); normal = default range (32 blocks).
viewers: Optional, of type an entity. The players who can see the particle.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
name	particle	Required	The particle type (e.g., flame, heart, dust, explosion).
pos	vec3	Optional	The center position. Defaults to executor's position.
delta	vec3	Optional	The spread in each axis (x y z). Higher values = wider spread.
speed	float	Optional	The speed/velocity of the particles.
count	integer	Optional	Number of particles to spawn. 0 = single directional particle.
visibility	literal	Optional	force = visible from far away (512 blocks); normal = default range (32 blocks).
viewers	entity	Optional	The players who can see the particle.

Examples

The 3 examples below are ready to copy and adapt. For instance, /particle minecraft:flame ~ ~1 ~ 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.01 50 spawns 50 flame particles in a 1-block radius around you. Each example varies the arguments to show a different real use of /particle; read the note under every snippet to see exactly what changes.

/particle minecraft:flame ~ ~1 ~ 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.01 50

Spawns 50 flame particles in a 1-block radius around you.

/particle minecraft:dust{color:[1.0,0.0,0.0],scale:2.0} ~ ~2 ~ 0 0 0 0 1

Spawns a single large red dust particle 2 blocks above you.

/particle minecraft:heart ~ ~2 ~ 0.5 0.5 0.5 0 10 force

Spawns 10 heart particles visible from up to 512 blocks away.

Permission Level & Requirements

/particle sits at permission Level 2 - Game Master / Cheats, which means it needs permission level 2, the level cheats grant to single-player worlds and that operators hold by default.

In a single-player world you must have "Allow Cheats" turned on (or open the world to LAN with cheats) before it will run; on a multiplayer server the player needs to be an operator at the matching level.

This reference describes the Java Edition 1.21 form of the command; Bedrock Edition may use slightly different argument formats.

Common Mistakes

Setting count to 0, this spawns a single particle where delta becomes a direction/motion vector, which can be confusing.
Spawning too many particles, excessive particles cause client-side lag.

Notes

Related Commands

If /particle is part of your toolkit, the commands below are the ones you will most often reach for alongside it: /playsound, /effect, and /summon. They cover closely related tasks, so the links above jump straight to each one.

/playsound

/effect

/summon

Frequently Asked Questions about /particle

What does the /particle command do in Minecraft?

Spawns particles at a location. Supports all particle types with customizable spread, speed, and visibility. It belongs to the logic command group and was added in Java Edition 1.8.

What is the correct syntax for /particle?

/particle [] [] [] [] [force|normal] []. The required argument is name, and the optional ones are pos, delta, speed, count, visibility, and viewers.

What permission level does /particle need?

It requires permission Level 2 - Game Master / Cheats. On a server the player must be an operator at that level, or have cheats enabled in single-player.

What is a common mistake when using /particle?

Setting count to 0, this spawns a single particle where delta becomes a direction/motion vector, which can be confusing.

Can you give an example of /particle in use?

Yes. /particle minecraft:dust{color:[1.0,0.0,0.0],scale:2.0} ~ ~2 ~ 0 0 0 0 1 — spawns a single large red dust particle 2 blocks above you.

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