Sticky Piston

Sticky Piston

Java Edition

Bedrock Edition

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A sticky piston is a variant of the piston that can additionally pull most blocks when it retracts.

A sticky piston can be broken using any tool with equal efficiency, and always drops itself. In Java Edition, it is faster to break them with a pickaxe. The pickaxe is also the preferred tool for breaking the head when extended.^[1]

Block	Sticky Piston
Hardness	1.5
Tool
Breaking time (sec)[A]
Default	2.25
Wooden	1.15
Stone	0.6
Copper	0.45
Iron	0.4
Diamond	0.3
Netherite	0.25
Golden	0.2
Options
Efficiency	000
Haste	001 1JEBE

Legend

• incorrect tool, drops nothing
• correct tool, drops nothing or something other than the block itself
• correct tool, drops the block itself
• italicized can be instant mined

Three sticky pistons generate as part of each jungle pyramid. Five sticky pistons also generate in each ancient city.

Ingredients	Crafting recipe
Slimeball + Piston

A sticky piston behaves the same way as a normal piston, except when pulling. A sticky piston pulls when it is unpowered.

In Bedrock Edition, the start delay is fixed at 1 redstone tick which is 2 game ticks (0.1 seconds), meaning that the sticky piston starts to extend or retract 1 redstone tick (2 game ticks) after it is activated. Sticky pistons can only activate on the input/consumer redstone tick (C-tick).

A sticky piston also pulls the block attached to its head and any blocks attached to the head via slime- or honey blocks, but not any of the other blocks it may have pushed.

A sticky piston cannot pull a falling block.

This feature is exclusive to Java Edition.

 

A sticky piston finishes extending early and starts retracting if it loses power before the extension process is over (assuming it can detect the signal change). If the sticky piston was pushing one or more blocks during the extension, the first block ends up in its final position immediately and all the other blocks continue moving as if they were still being pushed.

This behavior is intended^[2] and is referred to as "block dropping"^[3] or sometimes "block spitting".

Block dropping only works for blocks that were being pushed by the sticky piston before its extension was canceled—if it wasn't pushing any, the sticky piston attempts to pull blocks as usual once it starts retracting.

With block dropping it's possible to push (but not pull) a waterlogged block without causing the water to disappear.^[4]

Sticky pistons have the same limitations for pushing as normal pistons. These limitations also apply for pulling: when a sticky piston is unpowered but cannot pull a block, it retracts without doing so.

The table below lists which blocks can or cannot be pulled.

Sticky pistons have 2 technical blocks that cannot be obtained. These include the piston head and moving piston blocks.

Java Edition:

stone sound type
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	​Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	block.stone.break	subtitles.block.generic.break​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	block.stone.place	subtitles.block.generic.place​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	block.stone.hit	subtitles.block.generic.hit​	0.25	0.5	16
	​Something falls on a block	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	block.stone.fall	subtitles.block.generic.fall​	0.5	0.75	16
	​Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	block.stone.step	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.15	1.0	16

Bedrock Edition (piston):

stone sound type
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch
	​Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	dig.stone	subtitles.block.generic.break​	1.0	0.8–1.0
	​Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	place.stone	subtitles.block.generic.place​	1.0	0.8–1.0
	​Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	hit.stone	subtitles.block.generic.hit​	0.37	0.5
	​Footsteps	Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	fall.stone	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.4	1.0
	​Footsteps	Players	Walking on the block	step.stone	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.3	1.0
	​Footsteps	Blocks	Jumping from the block	jump.stone	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.12	1.0
	​Footsteps	Blocks	Falling on the block without fall damage	land.stone	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.22	1.0

Bedrock Edition (arm):

normal sound type
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch
	​Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	dig.stone	subtitles.block.generic.break​	1.0	0.8–1.0
	​Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	place.stone	subtitles.block.generic.place​	1.0	0.8–1.0
	​Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	hit.stone	subtitles.block.generic.hit​	0.27 [sound 1]	0.5
	​Footsteps	Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	fall.stone	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.4	1.0
	​Footsteps	Players	Walking on the block	step.stone	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.3	1.0
	​Footsteps	Blocks	Jumping from the block	jump.stone	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.12	1.0
	​Footsteps	Blocks	Falling on the block without fall damage	land.stone	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.22	1.0

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	Block tags	Translation key
Sticky Piston	sticky_piston	Block & Item	None	block.minecraft.sticky_piston

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Alias ID	Numeric ID	Form	Item ID[i 1]	Translation key
Sticky Piston	sticky_piston	None	29	Block & Giveable Item[i 2]	Identical[i 3]	tile.sticky_piston.name

Name	Savegame ID
Sticky piston block entity	PistonArm

The sticky_piston block uses following block states:

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

This feature is exclusive to Bedrock Edition.

 

In Bedrock Edition, a sticky piston has a block entity associated with it that holds additional data about the block.

See Bedrock Edition level format/Block entity format.

Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
PS4	Other
		Inception	Push a piston with a piston, then pull the original piston with that piston.	—	20	Silver

This article would benefit from the addition of isometric renders.

 

Please remove this notice once you have added suitable isometric renders to the article.
The specific instructions are:

• MCPE-38053
• extended sticky piston from the original mod
• extended sticky pistons in Legacy Console Edition
• 1.19 changes

Java Edition Beta
?							The original sticky piston was a mod posted on the Minecraft Forums by Hippoplatimus.[5] The code for that version was given to Jeb, who then worked on implementing pistons into vanilla Minecraft; Hippoplatimus is in the game's credits under "Additional Programming", like other modders whose work made it into vanilla Minecraft.
							Another user, DiEvAl, privately submitted code as well, including the idea of block entities to track moving blocks.[6]
1.7							Added sticky pistons, alongside associated head and moving blocks.
							A bug existed in this version which caused the game to crash and lock the player out of their world when powering sticky pistons in some scenarios (for example when trying to push a redstone torch).
1.7_01							The aforementioned bug has been fixed and affected worlds now load normally again.
							Headless sticky pistons won't break upon receiving a block update anymore.
1.7.3							Sticky pistons now drop the blocks they are pushing when powered by a short pulse.
Java Edition
1.3.1			12w22a				Sticky pistons now generate naturally inside jungle temples. In the temples, the pistons are used to form a puzzle mechanism.
			12w26a				Sticky pistons now schedule extensions and retractions rather than executing them as soon as they are updated.
1.5			13w06a				Sticky pistons can now pull extended sticky and normal pistons as long as they are both depowered in the same tick, but only if the first one is updated before the other. This behavior is intended.[7]
			13w10a				Sticky pistons changing their extended state from false to true is now the last step of (the start of) the extension process, rather then the first. This change affects some redstone contraptions.
1.8			14w17a				The models for sticky piston and related blocks when facing up and down have been changed.
			14w18a				Slime blocks now push and pull blocks adjacent when connected to sticky pistons.
							Extending a sticky piston with a slime block on top of it launches the entity (mobs, players, items, launched arrows, etc) into the air.
			14w26a				Sticky pistons do not check if they are receiving power in the moment in which their extended state changes from false to true anymore.
1.9			15w38b				Retracting sticky pistons can now pull entities through them.[8] This was known as "piston translocation" by the community.
							Sticky pistons can no longer pull extended sticky and normal pistons when depowered in the same tick, due to a bug.[9]
			15w49a				Unextended sticky pistons, downward-facing sticky pistons, and upward-facing sticky piston heads are now considered to have a solid top surface, like upside-down stairs and top slabs.
1.11			16w40a				Retracting sticky pistons can no longer pull entities through them. "Piston translocation" has been removed.
1.12			17w16a				Sticky pistons do not pull glazed terracotta, and when pistons move slime blocks, they do not move glazed terracotta attached to the side of the slime block.
			pre3				Glazed terracotta does not stick to slime blocks in some situations anymore.[10]
1.13			17w47a				Sticky pistons now can push note blocks.
			17w48a				Piston heads are no longer removed when breaking a sticky piston while it is extending.[11]
			17w49a				Piston heads are now once again removed when breaking a sticky piston while it is extending.
							Sticky pistons' block dropping behavior has been removed.[12]
			17w49b				Sticky pistons can now drop blocks again. According to Grum, this behavior was restored by fixing MC-122711,[13] however that bug was actually fixed in snapshot 17w49a—additionally, in 17w48a (the only snapshot that was ever actually affected by MC-122711), block dropping still worked as expected.
			pre6				Sticky pistons can now pull glazed terracotta.[14]
			pre8				Sticky pistons can no longer pull glazed terracotta.
1.14			18w43a				The textures associated with sticky pistons have been changed.
							While the texture for oak planks was later updated in subsequent snapshots, the sticky piston texture is yet to be changed to reflect this.[15]
			18w44a				Non-extended sticky pistons now block light.
			18w46a				Added support for directional opacity of blocks. As such, extended sticky pistons now allow light to only pass through certain faces.
1.15			19w41a				Added honey blocks, which have multiple different types of interactions with sticky pistons.
1.16			20w06a				The hardness of sticky pistons has been increased from 0.5 to 1.5.
							The blast resistance of sticky pistons has been increased from 0.5 to 1.5.
							Pickaxes are now the tool for breaking sticky pistons.
							Sticky pistons no longer pop off redstone components placed on the back when retracting.
1.17			20w45a				Particles now appear if a block is broken by a sticky piston.
1.19			22w13a				Sticky pistons and piston heads now generate in ancient cities.
			22w17a				Changed sticky piston textures, to match the color of the oak planks on the piston head.
1.21			24w20a				Sticky piston sounds have been updated to be quieter and less harsh.
			24w21a				Sticky piston sounds have been reverted to what they previously were, but the attenuation distance and sound level has been halved.

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.15.0			build 1				Added sticky pistons.
							Sticky pistons have a version exclusive animation and the ability to push block entities.
Bedrock Edition
1.10.0			beta 1.10.0.3				The texture of sticky pistons has been changed.
1.20.30			Preview 1.20.20.21				Increased the hardness and blast resistance of sticky pistons from 0.5 to 1.5.

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU3	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added sticky pistons.
TU14		1.04					Sticky pistons have been updated to make them less error-prone, thus they also appear to update slower. This also alters the way pistons work, so the player might have to adapt their repeater delays and similar.
TU46	CU36	1.38	1.38	1.38	Patch 15		Retracting sticky pistons can now pull entities through them. This was known as "piston translocation" by the community.
TU54	CU44	1.52	1.52	1.52	Patch 24	1.0.4	Retracting sticky pistons can no longer pull entities through them. "Piston translocation" has been removed.
							Sticky pistons can no longer pull glazed terracotta.
TU57	CU49	1.57	1.56	1.56	Patch 27	1.0.7	Sticky pistons can now move daylight detectors.
TU60	CU51	1.64	1.64	1.64	Patch 30	1.0.11	Sticky pistons can no longer move cauldrons.
TU62	CU52	1.66	1.66	1.66	Patch 31	1.0.12	Sticky pistons can now move small chests but only if the new position would have been valid for players to place a new chest. This limitation can however be bypassed by moving the chests simultaniously.
							Sticky pistons can move cauldrons again.
			1.90				The texture of sticky pistons has been changed.

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added sticky pistons.

Issues relating to "Sticky Piston" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

• Jeb considers inertia to make sense as an interpretetion of why can sticky pistons drop blocks in Java Edition.^[16]

• 
  An example of sticky piston use with glass panes.
• 
  An example of sticky piston use with rails.
• 
  An example of sticky piston use with fences.

• 
  First screenshot of pistons.
• 
  Efe tinkering with a sticky piston.^[17]
• 
  A sticky piston.
• 
  Two sticky pistons atop a temple.
• 
  Sticky pistons spelling out the word piston.

• Piston
• Slime block
• Redstone
• Tutorial:Piston uses
• Tutorial:Headless pistons
• Mechanics/Redstone/Piston circuits

• "Block of the Month: Sticky Piston" by Duncan Geere – Minecraft.net, July 14, 2025.