Sign

Sign

Renewable	Yes
Stackable	Yes (16)
Tool
Blast resistance	1
Hardness	1
Luminant	No
Transparent	Yes
Flammable	No Overworld: Yes (5)‌[Bedrock Edition only]
Catches fire from lava	No

A sign is a non-solid block that can display text. A sign can also be used to block or redirect the flow of water or lava while still allowing entities to pass.

Obtaining

Natural generation

An oak sign can be found in igloo basements.

Spruce signs can be found in taiga village houses, as part of a chair.

Breaking

Signs can be broken with any tool, or without a tool, but an axe is fastest.

Block	Sign
Hardness	1
Tool
Breaking time
Default	1.5
Wooden	0.75
Stone	0.4
Iron	0.25
Diamond	0.2
Netherite	0.2
Golden	0.15

A sign also breaks and drops itself as an item if the block the sign is attached to is moved, removed, or destroyed.

If a sign is broken while being edited, the player continues to edit the sign, although in Bedrock Edition breaking the sign stops the editing operation.

Chest loot

Item	Structure	Container	Quantity	Chance
Bedrock Edition
Oak Sign	Village	Taiga house chest	1	10.7%

Item	Structure	Container	Quantity	Chance
Java Edition
Spruce Sign	Village	Taiga house chest	1	9.7%

Crafting

Ingredients	Crafting recipe
Matching Planks + Stick	33333333

Placement

Comparison of the sign sizes.

Signs may be placed on the top or side of other blocks (including some non-solid blocks like fences, glass, and other signs). To place a sign, use a sign item while pointing at the block the sign should be attached to, enter the desired text (possibly none), and click the "Done" button or press "escape" on a keyboard (or press × in Bedrock Edition, on an Xbox controller, on a PlayStation controller, or B on a Nintendo Switch controller. Closing the virtual keyboard on a mobile device also exits the typing menu). To place a sign on a block that can be interacted with by the use control (for example, chests, note blocks, etc.), sneak while placing the sign.

Signs on the top of a block stand on a short post and face toward the player who placed it, in any of 16 different directions. Signs placed on the side of a block simply float there, even if the block doesn't make contact with the sign.

For more information about the blocks signs can be placed on, see Opacity/Placement.

Usage

Signs can be used to display text.

Text

When entering text, four lines of text are available. The text on the sign can be edited using the mouse or arrow keys.

After the editing window is closed, the sign's text can be changed only by removing and replacing it, removing the text in the process. Copy and Paste cannot be performed, and no more than the basic/shifted characters on a keyboard may be entered. The Xbox 360 Edition and Bedrock Edition supports both the on-screen keyboard and direct editing of text using a USB keyboard or controller chatpad.

In creative mode, the combination Ctrl + pick block can be used to copy an already-placed sign and place it down again with the same text shown as the original.

Colored text can be applied to signs by pressing use on a sign (with text on it) with any color dye.‌^{[Java Edition only]} * Or by typing the sign “§” with another letter or number after it.‌^{[Bedrock Edition only]} (but not all numbers and letters correspond to a color). In Bedrock Edition, words of multiple colors (even bold or italic words) can exist on a single sign. This also works in the chat and in command blocks. When colored with dye, the colors of the text is not the same as the colors of the formatting codes.

When the glow ink sac is placed, it allows the player to make a sign glow. When the sign is glowing, text displayed on a sign is not affected by lighting.‌^{[Java Edition only]}

In Bedrock Edition, inappropriate words or phrases display as asterisks when writing.

With a map editor, the color of sign text can also be changed with formatting codes. This can allow different colors of text on the same sign.

Signs can be created with JSON text, which allows complex formatting (colors, bold, italic, etc.), hover and click events, localized translation (for Minecraft technical terms, like "Redstone Repeater", otherwise translations must be provided in language files in resource packs), and the incorporation of scoreboard values into text. Use the /data merge block command to create or alter JSON signs.

Example: /data merge block ~ ~1 ~ {Text2:'{"text":"line2","color":"blue"}'}

Signs can post the success count of JSON text hover and click events to scoreboard objectives. The objectives to be used can be specified by running the /execute store command or by modifying the sign's NBT data directly with the /data merge block command.

Interaction

Signs act as though they have a use action, so the player is unable to place blocks or use items while the cursor is pointed at them without sneaking.

Signs are removed and drop as an item when pushed by a piston (trying to pull them does nothing), except in Java Edition, where a sign causes the piston to not extend.

Signs have no collision mask (they are completely non-solid), so items and mobs can move through sign blocks. Other blocks (including other signs) can be placed on any edge of a sign.

Water and lava flow around signs. Lava can create fire in air blocks next to signs as if the signs were flammable, but the signs do not burn (and cannot be burned by other methods either, except in Bedrock Edition).

Fuel

Signs can be used as a fuel in furnaces, smelting 1 item per sign.

Note Blocks

Signs can be placed under note blocks to produce "bass" sound.

Sounds

Java Edition:

Sound	Subtitle	Source	Description	Namespaced ID	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	Block broken	Blocks	Breaking the block	block.wood.break	subtitles.block.generic.break	1.0	0.8	16
	None	Blocks	Falling on the block with fall damage	block.wood.fall	None	0.5	0.75	16
	Block breaking	Blocks	Mining the block	block.wood.hit	subtitles.block.generic.hit	0.25	0.5	16
	Block placed	Blocks	Placing the block	block.wood.place	subtitles.block.generic.place	1.0	0.8	16
	Footsteps	Blocks	Walking on the block	block.wood.step	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps	0.15	1.0	16
	Glow Ink Sac splotches	Blocks	Using glow ink sac on the block‌[upcoming: JE 1.17]	item.glow_ink_sac.use	subtitles.item.glow_ink_sac.use	?	?	?
	Ink Sac splotches	Blocks	Using ink sac on the block‌[upcoming: JE 1.17]	item.ink_sac.use	subtitles.item.ink_sac.use	?	?	?
	Dye stains	Blocks	Using dye on the block‌[upcoming: JE 1.17]	item.dye.use	subtitles.item.dye.use	?	?	?

Bedrock Edition:

Sound	Source	Description	Namespaced ID	Volume	Pitch
?	Blocks	Breaking the block	dig.wood	1.0	0.8
?	Blocks	Falling on the block with fall damage	fall.wood	0.4	1.0
?	Blocks	Mining the block	hit.wood	0.23	0.5
?	Blocks	Jumping from the block	jump.wood	0.12	1.0
?	Blocks	Falling on the block without fall damage	land.wood	0.18	1.0
?	Blocks	Walking on the block	step.wood	0.3	1.0
?	Blocks	Placing the block	use.wood	1.0	0.8

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Namespaced ID	Block tags (JE)	Item tags (JE)	Item form?	Translation key
Oak Sign	oak_sign	signs standing_signs wall_post_override	signs	Yes	block.minecraft.oak_sign
Spruce Sign	spruce_sign	signs standing_signs wall_post_override	signs	Yes	block.minecraft.spruce_sign
Birch Sign	birch_sign	signs standing_signs wall_post_override	signs	Yes	block.minecraft.birch_sign
Jungle Sign	jungle_sign	signs standing_signs wall_post_override	signs	Yes	block.minecraft.jungle_sign
Acacia Sign	acacia_sign	signs standing_signs wall_post_override	signs	Yes	block.minecraft.acacia_sign
Dark Oak Sign	dark_oak_sign	signs standing_signs wall_post_override	signs	Yes	block.minecraft.dark_oak_sign
Crimson Sign	crimson_sign	non_flammable_wood signs standing_signs wall_post_override	non_flammable_wood signs	Yes	block.minecraft.crimson_sign
Warped Sign	warped_sign	non_flammable_wood signs standing_signs wall_post_override	non_flammable_wood signs	Yes	block.minecraft.warped_sign
Oak Wall Sign	oak_wall_sign	signs wall_signs	None	No	block.minecraft.oak_wall_sign
Spruce Wall Sign	spruce_wall_sign	signs wall_signs	None	No	block.minecraft.spruce_wall_sign
Birch Wall Sign	birch_wall_sign	signs wall_signs	None	No	block.minecraft.birch_wall_sign
Jungle Wall Sign	jungle_wall_sign	signs wall_signs	None	No	block.minecraft.jungle_wall_sign
Acacia Wall Sign	acacia_wall_sign	signs wall_signs	None	No	block.minecraft.acacia_wall_sign
Dark Oak Wall Sign	dark_oak_wall_sign	signs wall_signs	None	No	block.minecraft.dark_oak_wall_sign
Crimson Wall Sign	crimson_wall_sign	non_flammable_wood signs wall_signs	None	No	block.minecraft.crimson_wall_sign
Warped Wall Sign	warped_wall_sign	non_flammable_wood signs wall_signs	None	No	block.minecraft.warped_wall_sign

Name	Namespaced ID
Block entity	sign

Bedrock Edition:

Sign	Namespaced ID	Numeric ID	Translation key
Oak standing	standing_sign	63	tile.standing_sign.name
Spruce standing	spruce_standing_sign	436	tile.spruce_standing_sign.name
Birch standing	birch_standing_sign	441	tile.birch_standing_sign.name
Jungle standing	jungle_standing_sign	443	tile.jungle_standing_sign.name
Acacia standing	acacia_standing_sign	445	tile.acacia_standing_sign.name
Dark Oak standing	darkoak_standing_sign	447	tile.darkoak_standing_sign.name
Crimson standing	crimson_standing_sign	505	tile.crimson_standing_sign.name
Warped standing	warped_standing_sign	506	tile.warped_standing_sign.name
Oak wall	wall_sign	68	tile.wall_sign.name
Spruce wall	spruce_wall_sign	537	tile.spruce_wall_sign.name
Birch wall	birch_wall_sign	442	tile.birch_wall_sign.name
Jungle wall	jungle_wall_sign	444	tile.jungle_wall_sign.name
Acacia wall	acacia_wall_sign	446	tile.acacia_wall_sign.name
Dark Oak wall	darkoak_wall_sign	448	tile.darkoak_wall_sign.name
Crimson wall	crimson_wall_sign	507	tile.crimson_wall_sign.name
Warped wall	warped_wall_sign	508	tile.warped_wall_sign.name
Oak item	sign	323	item.sign.name
Spruce item	spruce_sign	472	item.spruce_sign.name
Birch item	birch_sign	473	item.birch_sign.name
Jungle item	jungle_sign	474	item.jungle_sign.name
Acacia item	acacia_sign	475	item.acacia_sign.name
Dark Oak item	darkoak_sign	476	item.darkoak_sign.name
Crimson item	crimson_sign	753	item.crimson_sign.name
Warped item	warped_sign	754	item.warped_sign.name

Name	Savegame ID
Block entity	Sign

Metadata

See also: Data values

In Bedrock Edition, a sign's block data specifies the direction it is facing.

Standing

Bits	Description
0x1 0x2 0x4 0x8	A four-bit field storing a value from 0 to 15 specifying the block's orientation: 0: south 1: south-southwest 2: southwest 3: west-southwest 4: west 5: west-northwest 6: northwest 7: north-northwest 8: north 9: north-northeast 10: northeast 11: east-northeast 12: east 13: east-southeast 14: southeast 15: south-southeast

Wall

Bits	Description
0x1 0x2 0x4	A three-bit field storing a value from 2 to 5 specifying the block's orientation: 2: north 3: south 4: west 5: east
0x8	(unused)

Block states

See also: Block states

Java Edition:
Floor

Name	Default value	Allowed values	Description
rotation	0	0	The block is facing south.
		1	The block is facing south-southwest.
		2	The block is facing southwest.
		3	The block is facing west-southwest.
		4	The block is facing west.
		5	The block is facing west-northwest.
		6	The block is facing northwest.
		7	The block is facing north-northwest.
		8	The block is facing north.
		9	The block is facing north-northeast.
		10	The block is facing northeast.
		11	The block is facing east-northeast.
		12	The block is facing east.
		13	The block is facing east-southeast.
		14	The block is facing southeast.
		15	The block is facing south-southeast.
lit‌[upcoming: JE 1.17]	false	false true	Whether or not this sign has glowing text.
waterlogged	false	false true	Whether or not there's water in the same place as this sign.

Wall

Name	Default value	Allowed values	Description
facing	north	east north south west	The direction the block is facing. For example, a block facing east is attached to a block to its west. Opposite from the direction a player faces when placing the block.
lit‌[upcoming: JE 1.17]	false	false true	Whether or not this sign has glowing text.
waterlogged	false	false true	Whether or not there's water in the same place as this sign.

Bedrock Edition:
Floor

Name	Default value	Allowed values	Description
ground_sign_direction	0	0	The block is facing south.
		1	The block is facing south-southwest.
		2	The block is facing southwest.
		3	The block is facing west-southwest.
		4	The block is facing west.
		5	The block is facing west-northwest.
		6	The block is facing northwest.
		7	The block is facing north-northwest.
		8	The block is facing north.
		9	The block is facing north-northeast.
		10	The block is facing northeast.
		11	The block is facing east-northeast.
		12	The block is facing east.
		13	The block is facing east-southeast.
		14	The block is facing southeast.
		15	The block is facing south-southeast.

Wall

Name	Default value	Allowed values	Description
facing_direction	2	0 1 2 3 4 5	The direction the block is facing. For example, a block facing east is attached to a block to its west. Opposite from the direction a player faces when placing the block.

Block data

See also: Block entity format

A sign has a block entity associated with it that holds additional data about the block.

• Block entity data
  • Tags common to all block entities see Template:Nbt inherit/blockentity/template
  •  Color: The color that has been used to dye the sign. The default value is "black". One of "white", "orange", "magenta", "light_blue", "yellow", "lime", "pink", "gray", "light_gray", "cyan", "purple", "blue", "brown", "green", "red", or "black".
  •  Text1: First row of text.
  •  Text2: Second row of text.
  •  Text3: Third row of text.
  •  Text4: Fourth row of text.

The character limit for the Text tags depends on the width of the characters. Although the Text tags are string objects, they should contain JSON text which are evaluated as compound objects.

Achievements

Icon		Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS)
		It's a Sign!	Craft and place an Oak Sign.	—	15G	Bronze

History

Java Edition Classic
0.24_SURVIVAL_TEST					Signs are currently being tested as entities. They always display "This is a test of the signs. Each line can be 15 chars!" and can only be spawned by pressing B.
0.27 SURVIVAL TEST					Signs can no longer be spawned by pressing B.
Java Edition Infdev
20100607					Signs have been re-implemented as blocks, although still rendering as entities.
					Signs now have a crafting recipe and the text can now be edited. Editing a sign pauses the game in singleplayer.
					Signs are currently huge and drop planks when destroyed.
20100608					Signs are now broken faster.
					Signs now drop themselves when destroyed, instead of planks.
Java Edition Alpha
v1.0.1					Signs are now smaller.
					Signs can now be placed on walls.
v1.0.5					Signs no longer require a free block above it to place.
Java Edition Beta
April 27, 2011					Hand-drawn signs are mentioned.
Java Edition
1.0.0		Beta 1.9 Prerelease 5			The texture of oak planks used by sign and wall sign blocks in the item form has been changed.
		Beta 1.9 Prerelease 6			Signs are now broken faster using an axe.
1.3.1		12w18a			Editing a sign no longer pauses the game in singleplayer.
		12w27a			Signs are now stackable up to 16.
					The same crafting recipe now produces 3 signs instead of 1.
1.7.2		13w37a			The item forms of block IDs 63 (free-standing sign) and 68 (wall mounted sign) have been removed from the game. They can now no longer exist in inventories, only as blocks in the world.
June 9, 2014					Searge tweeted a picture of a sign showing a username and a scoreboard score.
1.8		14w25a			Added support for JSON text to signs.
					Sign character limit now depends on character width.
		14w29a			Signs now display the cracking animation.
1.9		15w43a			A sign now generates within igloo basements.
1.11		16w33a			Signs can now be used as fuel in furnaces.
1.13		17w47a			The standing sign ID has been changed from standing_sign to sign.
					Prior to The Flattening, these blocks' numeral IDs were 63 and 68, and the item's 323.
		18w10d			Water can now be placed on the same block as signs.
1.14		18w43a			"Sign" has been renamed to "Oak Sign".
					The texture of oak sign items has been changed.
					Added spruce, birch, acacia, jungle and dark oak signs.
					The sign's text has been changed from black to white.
					A sign's recipe now requires the same type of wood instead of a random assortment.
		18w44a			Signs can now be used while holding a dye to change the text color.
					Default text color for signs has been changed back to black.
		18w45a			A new movable cursor for free text editing to signs has been added.
					Selection and copy/paste support have been added to signs.
		19w12a			Signs can now be dyed only in Creative mode.
		19w12b			Signs can now be dyed in Survival mode again.
1.16		20w06a			Added crimson and warped signs.
		20w09a			Crimson and warped signs can now be crafted.
Upcoming Java Edition
1.17		21w03a			Signs can now be tinted with Glow Ink Sacs to make the text glow.
					Works with both default and dyed signs
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.5.0					Signs have been added, though they can be obtained only through inventory editors.
					The player currently cannot write on signs.
v0.6.0					Signs can now be legitimately obtained in survival and creative mode, thus the player can now write on them.
v0.10.0		build 1			Signs now have a selection overlay.
Pocket Edition
1.0.0		alpha 0.17.0.1			Signs can now be found in igloo basements.
Bedrock Edition
1.9.0		beta 1.9.0.0			"Sign" has been renamed to "Oak Sign".
					Added spruce, birch, acacia, jungle and dark oak signs.
					The sign's text has been changed from black to white.
					A sign's recipe now requires the same type of wood instead of a random assortment.
		beta 1.9.0.2			The default sign text color has been changed back to black.
					Sign variants are now grouped in their own inventory category.
1.10.0		beta 1.10.0.3			The texture of oak sign items has been changed.
					Spruce signs now generate in new taiga and snowy taiga village houses.
1.11.0		beta 1.11.0.1			Signs can now be used as a fuel in furnaces.
					Oak signs can now be found inside taiga and snowy taiga village house chests.
1.16.0		beta 1.16.0.51			Added crimson and warped signs.
					The texture of all signs except oak sign have been changed.
1.16.20		beta 1.16.20.50			Crimson and warped signs now uses regular plank sounds instead of their stem variant sounds.
Legacy Console Edition
TU1	CU1	1.0	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added signs.
TU9					Signs are now stackable up to 16.
					The same crafting recipe for signs now produces 3 signs instead of 1.
		1.88			The texture of oak sign items has been changed.
					Added spruce, birch, acacia, jungle and dark oak signs.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0					Added signs.

Gallery

• 

  Signs before their release.

• 

  Test of signs in early Classic.

• 

  Oak sign with Glow Ink in the dark.

• 

  Difference in visibility of a lime text, from left to right, in a lit birch sign, unlit birch sign, lit dark oak sign, and unlit dark oak sign.

Issues

Issues relating to "Sign" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia

• A sign placed within a ring of four cacti breaks only certain cacti, depending on the direction.
• In Minecraft China, when a disallowed word or phrase is written on a sign, the sign displays small letter “x”, instead of asterisks.
  • The same goes for books and items renamed by an anvil.

References

Blocks

View at: Template:Blocks/content [edit]

Items

View at: Template:Items/content [edit]