Brushes and tools attach WorldEdit behavior to ordinary inventory items.

WorldEdit does not create a completely new custom item. It binds a brush or tool configuration to the item type held by the player.

normal item + WorldEdit binding = brush or tool

This page covers:

Binding Items

Bind a Brush

Hold the item that should become the brush and run:

;brush <type>

Alias:

;br <type>

Example:

;brush sphere stone 5

Remove a Brush

Hold the linked item and run:

;brush none

Bind a Tool

Hold the target item and run:

;tool <type>

Example:

;tool repl stone

Remove a Tool

;tool none

Binding a new behavior to the same item type replaces the previous binding for that player.

Recommended Items

Use items that are easy to activate without accidentally breaking blocks.

Useful examples include:

• Swords
• Sticks or rods
• Snowballs
• Fishing rods
• Items with a clear use action

On touch controls, prefer items that do not break blocks while held.

Fishing rods and similar hold-to-use items can be useful for continuous brush strokes.

How Brushes Work

A brush traces from the player’s view until it finds a valid target block.

The detected position becomes the center or reference point of the operation.

A brush can be restricted by:

brush destination mask
AND global mask
AND internal brush conditions

The main controls are:

Each completed brush application or stroke normally creates a history action.

Creating Brushes

Current brush types:

sphere
cyl
smooth
erode
raise
overlay
struct
blob
none

The maximum brush radius is controlled by the advanced maxBrushRadius setting. Its documented default is 12.

Sphere Brush

Creates a sphere at the impact point.

Syntax

;brush sphere [-h] <pattern> [radius]

Defaults:

radius = 3
hollow = false

Solid sphere:

;brush sphere stone 5

Hollow sphere:

;brush sphere -h glass 8

Mixed pattern:

;brush sphere 70%stone,20%andesite,10%gravel 6

Radial gradient:

;brush sphere $rock.rad 8

Restrict it to stone:

;brush sphere moss_block 5
;mask stone

Cylinder Brush

Creates a vertical cylinder at the impact point.

Syntax

;brush cyl [-h] <pattern> [radius] [height]

Command defaults:

radius = 3
height = 3
hollow = false

Solid cylinder:

;brush cyl stone 5 10

Hollow cylinder:

;brush cyl -h glass 6 12

Directional gradient:

;brush cyl $wood.up 5 10

Radial gradient:

;brush cyl $wood.rad 5 10

The visual menu normally limits height from 1 to maxBrushRadius × 2.

Smooth Brush

Smooth redistributes terrain column heights instead of placing a new pattern.

Syntax

;brush smooth [radius] [iterations] [heightMask]

Command defaults:

radius = 2
iterations = 4
heightMask = empty

Example:

;brush smooth 5 3

Limit the terrain materials used to build the height map:

;brush smooth 5 3 stone,dirt,grass_block

Add a destination mask separately:

;brush smooth 5 3 stone,dirt,grass_block
;mask #existing

The masks have different purposes:

heightMask = materials used to calculate terrain height
;mask      = destination blocks that may change
;gmask     = additional global destination restriction

More iterations create stronger smoothing but increase processing cost.

The visual menu currently exposes 1 through 6 iterations.

Erosion Brush

Erosion analyzes neighboring blocks and reshapes terrain.

Permission

worldedit.brush.erosion

Default radius:

radius = 3

Erode

;brush erode [radius]

Example:

;brush erode 5

Strongly removes exposed protrusions.

Lift

;brush erode lift [radius]

Example:

;brush erode lift 5

Expands terrain outward.

Fill

;brush erode fill [radius]

Fills holes and small cavities.

Melt

;brush erode melt [radius]

Produces an effect opposite to Fill and wears terrain away.

Smooth

;brush erode smooth [radius]

Balances erosion and filling.

Presets

Destination and global masks can further restrict erosion.

The default trace behavior avoids targeting air, water or lava directly.

Raise Brush

Raise modifies the terrain height map to lift or lower terrain.

Syntax

Without falloff:

;brush raise [radius] [height] [-m <heightMask>]

With falloff:

;brush raise [radius] [height] falloff <amount> [type] [-m <heightMask>]

Defaults:

radius = 3
height = 1
falloff amount = 0
falloff type = linear

Raise terrain:

;brush raise 5 2

Lower terrain:

;brush raise 5 -2

Height mask:

;brush raise 6 3 -m stone,dirt,grass_block

The command’s -m controls the materials used to calculate terrain height. It is different from the destination mask configured through ;mask.

Falloff

;brush raise 8 4 falloff 0.8 linear

A falloff amount is written between 0 and 1.

• 0 produces a uniform effect.
• Values closer to 1 create a wider transition near the edge.

Example with easing:

;brush raise 8 4 falloff 0.8 in_out_quad

Supported easing families include:

linear

in_quad
out_quad
in_out_quad

in_cubic
out_cubic
in_out_cubic

in_quart
out_quart
in_out_quart

in_quint
out_quint
in_out_quint

in_sine
out_sine
in_out_sine

in_expo
out_expo
in_out_expo

in_circ
out_circ
in_out_circ

in_back
out_back
in_out_back

in_elastic
out_elastic
in_out_elastic

in_bounce
out_bounce
in_out_bounce

The parser can normalize common variations such as ease_in_out_quad.

Overlay Brush

Overlay finds a surface and places a pattern on or below it.

Syntax

;brush overlay <pattern> [radius] [depth] [surfaceMask]

Defaults:

radius = 3
depth = 1
surfaceMask = empty

Positive depth:

;brush overlay dirt 5 3

Negative depth:

;brush overlay snow_layer 5 -1 grass_block

Surface mask:

;brush overlay grass_block 6 1 dirt

Destination mask:

;brush overlay moss_block 6 2 stone
;mask #existing

Difference:

surfaceMask = blocks that count as a valid surface
;mask       = destination blocks that may be modified

The current visual menu stores its Mask field as a general destination mask. Use the command when a precise surfaceMask is required.

Structure Brush

Structure Brush places complete structures at the impact point.

Typical uses include:

• Trees
• Rocks
• Ruins
• Large plants
• Decorations
• Prefabricated modules

From the Clipboard

Create a clipboard:

;copy -a

Bind the brush:

;brush struct clipboard

Add a destination mask:

;brush struct clipboard air

From Exported Structures

Single structure:

;brush struct tree_1

Several structures:

;brush struct tree_1 tree_2 tree_3

One structure is selected at random for every use.

The implementation can randomly apply:

• Y rotation: 0°, 90°, 180° or -90°
• X reflection
• Z reflection

It avoids immediately repeating the exact same transformation.

The structure is centered horizontally and placed one block above the impact point.

Structure Brush does not use continuous strokes. Each activation places one structure.

Blob Brush

Blob Brush creates an irregular mass using random growth.

Syntax

;brush blob <pattern> [radius] [growPercent] [smoothness]

Command defaults:

radius = 3
growPercent = 50
smoothness = 0

Command ranges:

growPercent = 1 to 99
smoothness = 0 to 6

Example:

;brush blob stone 8 50 2

Higher growth:

;brush blob stone 8 80 1

Lower growth:

;brush blob stone 8 20 1

Growth is written as an integer percentage. Use 50, not 0.5.

Smoothness:

;brush blob stone 8 50 4

Higher smoothness rounds the mass and increases processing time.

Pattern examples:

;brush blob #blob5(stone,andesite) 10 60 2
;brush blob $rock.rad 10 60 3

The visual menu allows Growth Percent from 0 to 100, while the command parser can use the narrower range above.

Brush Options

Hold the linked brush item before changing its options.

Size

;size <size>

Example:

;size 8

Range:

1 to maxBrushRadius

Without an argument, ;size is also used to inspect selection information. Use a numeric value when changing a brush.

Range

;range [range]

Example:

;range 50

The practical maximum is related to the advanced traceDistance setting, whose documented default is 256.

Use an explicit value to avoid version-dependent reset or query behavior.

Material

;material <pattern>

Examples:

;material stone
;material 70%stone,30%andesite
;material $rock.rad

Material does not provide a useful effect for brushes that do not place a pattern, such as Smooth, Erosion or Raise.

Destination Mask

;mask [mask]

Examples:

;mask air
;mask stone
;mask "stone #surface"

Clear it:

;mask

The brush mask and global mask are intersected.

Trace Mask

;tracemask [mask]

Target only stone:

;tracemask stone

Clear it:

;tracemask

Combined example:

;brush sphere moss_block 5
;tracemask stone
;mask air

Meaning:

tracemask stone = activate when the trace hits stone
mask air = modify only air around the impact

Clear All Active Masks

;mask
;tracemask
;gmask

Continuous Brush Strokes

Continuous Brush Strokes interpolates multiple brush applications while the use action is held.

It helps prevent gaps between applications.

Useful brush types include:

• Sphere
• Cylinder
• Blob
• Smooth
• Erosion
• Raise
• Overlay

Structure Brush does not use continuous strokes.

The option is available in:

WorldEdit Settings
→ General
→ Continuous Brush Strokes

Creating Tools

Current tool types:

selwand
navwand
farwand
stacker
extruder
cmd
fill
repl
cycler
none

Selection Wand

Turns the held item into a selection wand.

;tool selwand

It can mark Position 1, Position 2 and additional points supported by the active selection mode.

The default configured wand can also be obtained with:

;wand

Navigation Wand

Binds WorldEdit navigation actions to the held item.

;tool navwand

The default Navigation Wand can also be obtained with:

;navwand

The documented default item is minecraft:ender_pearl.

Far Selection Wand

Allows selection points to be marked through distance-based tracing.

;tool farwand

It behaves like a normal selection wand but detects the targeted block from farther away.

Stacker Tool

Stacks one interacted block in the used direction.

Syntax

;tool stacker [range] [mask]

Defaults:

range = 1
mask = empty

Example:

;tool stacker 10 air

It copies the block up to ten times or until a destination no longer matches the continuation mask.

Underwater example:

;tool stacker 10 water

The visual menu exposes:

• Range
• Mask
• Use Block Picker

Extruder Tool

Extrudes connected blocks toward the player or pushes them inward.

Syntax

;tool extruder [-d] [range]

Default:

range = 1

Pull outward:

;tool extruder 10

Push inward:

;tool extruder -d 10

The visual menu exposes Range and Mode.

Command Tool

Executes a command whenever the linked item is used.

Syntax

;tool cmd <command...>

Vanilla command:

;tool cmd /tp @s 100 80 100

WorldEdit command:

;tool cmd ;replacenear 5 grass_block stone

Normal operator and WorldEdit permissions still apply.

In the visual menu:

• Enter the command without ; or /.
• Enable Is WorldEdit Command to use the configured WorldEdit prefix.
• Disable it to use /.

Fill Tool

Binds connected-air filling to an item.

Syntax

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

Default direction:

direction = down

When depth is omitted, the implementation uses the radius as the effective depth.

Example:

;tool fill sandstone 20 10 down

Gradient:

;tool fill $sand.rad 20 10 down

It fills connected air and follows the general behavior of ;fill.

Fill Tool exists by command but is not currently shown in the visual Tools creation list.

Block Replacer Tool

Replaces the interacted block with a pattern.

Syntax

;tool repl <pattern>

Examples:

;tool repl stone
;tool repl 70%stone,30%andesite

The visual menu exposes Pattern and Use Block Picker.

Block Cycler Tool

Cycles through block states.

Syntax

;tool cycler

While crouching, the tool can select which state should be cycled.

Possible properties include:

• Orientation
• Placement
• Variant
• Boolean states

The visual menu has no additional editable properties.

Super Pickaxe

Super Pickaxe is not attached to one item. It changes how the player’s pickaxes behave.

Toggle

;superpickaxe

Alias:

;sp

Running ;sp without a subcommand toggles the feature.

Single Mode

;sp single

Breaks one block with the configured drop behavior.

Area Mode

;sp area <range>

Example:

;sp area 2

The accepted range is currently 0 through 5.

It breaks a cube around the initial block, limited to the same block type.

Recursive Mode

;sp recursive <range>

It searches connected blocks of the same type.

The current range is also 0 through 5.

Drops

Advanced configuration controls:

superPickaxeDrop
superPickaxeManyDrop

Documented defaults:

single = drops enabled
area and recursive = drops disabled

WorldEdit Settings

Obtain the kit:

;kit

Use the item named:

WorldEdit Settings

The current interface contains four sections:

General
Tools
Brushes
Gradients

General Settings

The General menu currently contains six settings.

Include Entities in Clipboard

Controls whether the kit’s Copy and Cut tools include compatible entities.

Off = blocks only
On = blocks and compatible entities

Approximate command equivalent:

;copy -e

Players are not included.

Include Air in Clipboard

Controls whether Copy and Cut tools store air.

On = copied air may erase blocks when pasted
Off = air is omitted

Approximate equivalents:

On  = ;copy
Off = ;copy -a

Continuous Brush Strokes

On = interpolate applications during held use
Off = individual applications

Structure Brush ignores this option.

Performance Mode

Enables simplified methods intended to improve performance.

It can also be toggled with:

;worldedit perf

Performance Mode can reduce clipboard or transformation capabilities. Test it before using complex workflows.

Draw Outlines

Available values:

Off
Visible to Self
Visible to Everyone

Internal values:

Off = false
Visible to Self = "local"
Visible to Everyone = true

Outlines can show:

• Selection boundaries
• Brush influence volumes
• Clipboard paste placement

Selection Mode

Visible options:

Cuboid
Extend
Sphere
Cylinder

convex exists through:

;sel convex

but is not currently shown in the General menu selector.

Tools Menu

The Tools menu lists items that already have tool bindings.

Create New Tool

Current visual options:

Selection Wand
Far Selection Wand
Navigation Wand
Stacker Tool
Extruder Tool
Command Tool
Block Replacer Tool
Block Cycler Tool

Fill Tool exists through ;tool fill but is not currently included in this selector.

Editable Tool Properties

Stacker

• Range
• Mask
• Use Block Picker

Extruder

• Range
• Mode: Pull Out or Dig In

Command Tool

• Command
• Is WorldEdit Command

Block Replacer

• Pattern
• Use Block Picker

Selection Wand, Far Selection Wand, Navigation Wand and Block Cycler have no additional editable properties.

Delete Tools

The menu can remove several bindings at once.

Deleting a binding does not remove the item from the inventory. It only removes its WorldEdit behavior.

Brushes Menu

Create New Brush

Current visual brush types:

Sphere
Cylinder
Smooth
Structure
Erosion
Overlay
Blob
Raise

Selecting a linked brush item opens its editable properties.

The menu can also remove several brush bindings.

Sphere Brush Settings

• Size
• Pattern
• Mask
• Hollow
• Use Block Picker

Typical initial values:

Size = 3
Hollow = Off

Cylinder Brush Settings

• Size
• Height
• Pattern
• Mask
• Hollow
• Use Block Picker

Ranges:

Size = 1 to maxBrushRadius
Height = 1 to maxBrushRadius × 2

The menu starts Height at 1, while the command currently defaults to 3.

Smooth Brush Settings

• Size
• Destination Mask
• Smoothness or Iterations
• Height Mask
• Use Block Picker

Iteration range:

Iterations = 1 to 6

The menu starts at 1, while the command currently defaults to 4.

Structure Brush Settings

• Structures

Enter exported structure names separated by spaces:

tree_1 tree_2 tree_3

Leave the field empty to use the current clipboard.

The current menu does not expose the internal clipboard destination mask supported by the command.

Erosion Brush Settings

• Size
• Erosion Type
  • Erode
  • Lift
  • Fill
  • Melt
  • Smooth
• Mask
• Use Block Picker

Overlay Brush Settings

• Size
• Pattern
• Depth
• Destination Mask
• Use Block Picker

Depth range:

-10 to 10

The menu’s Mask field is a destination mask, not the command’s specific surfaceMask.

Blob Brush Settings

• Size
• Pattern
• Growth Percent
• Smoothness
• Mask
• Use Block Picker

Ranges:

Growth Percent = 0 to 100
Smoothness = 0 to 6

Raise Brush Settings

• Size
• Destination Mask
• Height
• Height Mask
• Falloff Amount
• Falloff Type
• Use Block Picker

Ranges:

Height = -6 to 6
Falloff Amount = 0 to 100%

Gradients Menu

Add New Gradient

The menu requests:

• Name or ID
• Blend Amount

Blend range:

0 to 1

Meaning:

0 = hard transition
1 = maximum configured blending

After the form, WorldEdit opens a block-selection workflow and builds the gradient from the selected patterns.

Existing Gradients

Selecting a saved gradient provides actions such as:

• Use Gradient in Pattern Picker
• Delete Gradient

Using a gradient in Pattern Picker stores:

$gradientName

Delete Gradient removes it from the current session.

Command alternatives:

;gradient create <id> <patterns...>
;gradient list
;gradient delete <id>

Menu Property Reference

Command and Menu Differences

Cylinder Height

command default = 3
menu default = 1

Smooth Iterations

command default = 4
menu default = 1

Blob Growth Percent

command = integer from 1 to 99
menu = slider from 0 to 100

Overlay Mask

The final command argument is surfaceMask:

;brush overlay <pattern> [radius] [depth] [surfaceMask]

The current menu’s Mask field is stored as a general destination mask.

Fill Tool

Available by command but absent from the current visual tool selector.

Convex Selection

Available through ;sel convex but absent from the current General selection selector.

Structure Mask

Clipboard Structure Brush accepts a destination mask by command:

;brush struct clipboard <mask>

The current visual form does not expose this field.

Raise Height

The menu limits Height to -6 through 6. The command parser does not expose the same explicit visible limit.

History, Performance and Safety

Brushes and tools that modify world blocks normally create history actions.

;undo

Redo restores the saved result instead of generating new randomness.

Continuous strokes can affect much larger areas than one click.

Expensive operations include:

• Large brush radius
• Many Smooth iterations
• High Blob smoothness
• Large Raise falloff
• Structure placement
• Continuous strokes
• Complex patterns and masks

Use smaller tests before increasing radius or range.

Entities placed by Structure Brush should not be considered perfectly recoverable through history.

Canceling an active operation can stop it midway and is not a guaranteed rollback.

Quick Reference

;brush <type>
;br <type>
;brush none

;size <size>
;range <range>
;material <pattern>
;mask [mask]
;tracemask [mask]

;brush sphere [-h] <pattern> [radius]
;brush cyl [-h] <pattern> [radius] [height]
;brush smooth [radius] [iterations] [heightMask]
;brush erode [lift|fill|melt|smooth] [radius]
;brush raise [radius] [height] [-m <heightMask>]
;brush raise [radius] [height] falloff <amount> [type] [-m <heightMask>]
;brush overlay <pattern> [radius] [depth] [surfaceMask]
;brush struct clipboard [mask]
;brush struct <structure1> [structure2...]
;brush blob <pattern> [radius] [growPercent] [smoothness]

;tool selwand
;tool navwand
;tool farwand
;tool stacker [range] [mask]
;tool extruder [-d] [range]
;tool cmd <command...>
;tool fill <pattern> <radius> [depth] [direction]
;tool repl <pattern>
;tool cycler
;tool none

;superpickaxe
;sp
;sp single
;sp area <range>
;sp recursive <range>

WorldEdit Settings
├─ General
├─ Tools
├─ Brushes
└─ Gradients

Permissions