Fill

WorldEdit provides two main kinds of fill operations:

• Selection fills modify an existing selection.
• Connected fills start from the placement position and fill connected air without using a selection.

This page only covers commands whose primary purpose is placing blocks into a region, surface, shell, or connected empty space. Pattern and mask syntax are documented on their own pages.

Choose the Right Command

Fill an Entire Selection with ;set

;set places a pattern in every position of the current selection.

;set <pattern>

Fill the selection with one block:

;set stone

Use a mixed pattern:

;set 70%stone,20%andesite,10%gravel

Use a saved gradient:

;set $wall.up

set works with all selection shapes.

In the current latest implementation, ;set ignores the global mask. Use ;replace when the fill must be restricted to matching blocks.

Fill Matching Blocks with ;replace

;replace changes only blocks that match the supplied mask.

;replace <mask> <pattern>

Fill only air:

;replace air stone

Fill only existing blocks:

;replace #existing stone

Replace several block types:

;replace grass_block,dirt,gravel stone

Use a gradient only where the mask matches:

;replace air $cave.rad

replace works with all selection shapes.

Fill Side Walls with ;walls

;walls fills only the lateral walls of a selection. It does not create a floor or ceiling.

;walls <pattern> [mask]

Create stone-brick walls:

;walls stone_bricks

Fill only air positions on the walls:

;walls glass air

Use a vertical gradient:

;walls $wall.up

The optional mask is written as the final argument.

Fill Every Exterior Face with ;faces

;faces fills the complete exterior boundary of a selection:

• Side walls
• Floor
• Ceiling
• The exterior surface of non-cuboid selections

;faces <pattern> [mask]

Create a closed glass shell:

;faces glass

Fill only air positions on the exterior:

;faces glass air

Use a radial gradient:

;faces $light.rad

Use ;walls for sides only and ;faces for the complete exterior.

Replace the Interior with ;hollow

;hollow preserves an outer shell and replaces the interior with a pattern.

;hollow [thickness] [pattern]

Default values:

thickness = 1
pattern   = air

Remove the interior and preserve a one-block shell:

;hollow

Preserve a three-block shell:

;hollow 3 air

Fill the interior with water instead of air:

;hollow 1 water

hollow modifies the interior of existing selected content. It is not the same operation as creating an exterior shell with ;faces.

Fill Connected Air with ;fill

;fill starts at the placement position and fills connected air. It does not use the current selection.

;fill <pattern> <radius> [depth] [direction]

Default values:

depth     = 1
direction = down

Fill downward with sandstone:

;fill sandstone 15 8 down

Fill upward with glass:

;fill glass 10 6 up

Fill toward the north:

;fill stone 20 12 north

Use the direction you are facing:

;fill stone 20 12 forward

Use a mixed pattern:

;fill 70%sandstone,30%sand 20 10 down

fill modifies only air. It does not replace solid blocks or fluids.

Its search is not fully recursive: after moving one layer in the selected direction, it does not repeatedly expand sideways from every newly found position. This makes it suitable for wells, ponds, and cavities that remain relatively straight.

Recursively Fill Connected Air with ;fillr

;fillr recursively fills connected air and continues expanding sideways as it advances. It is better suited to caves and irregular cavities.

;fillr <pattern> <radius> [depth] [direction]

Default values:

depth     = radius
direction = down

Recursively fill a cave downward:

;fillr stone 20

Limit the depth:

;fillr stone 20 8 down

Fill a horizontal cavity:

;fillr glass 25 15 east

Use a mixed pattern:

;fillr 70%stone,20%andesite,10%gravel 30 20 down

Use a radial gradient:

;fillr $cave.rad 30 20 down

Like ;fill, ;fillr:

• Does not use a selection
• Modifies only connected air
• Does not accept a direct mask
• Does not use the global mask in the current implementation

;fill Compared with ;fillr

Use ;fill when the cavity follows a mostly direct path. Use ;fillr when the empty space branches or changes width.

Common Mistakes

Using ;fill for a Selection

fill does not use selection boundaries.

Use this for a complete selection:

;set stone

Use this for connected air near the placement position:

;fill stone 20 10 down

Expecting ;fill or ;fillr to Replace Solid Blocks

Both commands have a fixed destination filter: connected air only.

To fill matching blocks inside a selection, use ;replace.

Using ;walls When a Floor and Ceiling Are Needed

Use ;walls for lateral sides only. Use ;faces for the complete exterior.

Using ;faces Instead of ;hollow

faces creates or replaces the exterior boundary. hollow removes or replaces the interior while preserving a shell.

Expecting ;set to Respect the Global Mask

In the current latest implementation, use ;replace <mask> <pattern> for a restricted selection fill.

Quick Reference

;set <pattern>
;replace <mask> <pattern>
;walls <pattern> [mask]
;faces <pattern> [mask]
;hollow [thickness] [pattern]
;overlay <pattern> [depth] [surfaceMask]

;fill <pattern> <radius> [depth] [direction]
;fillr <pattern> <radius> [depth] [direction]