5 hidden Minecraft commands you didn't know about

The many powerful commands in Minecraft offer players working on builds in Creative mode almost unprecedented power over their worlds and in-game environments. There are commands to stop fire spreading, kill all entities, and even force chucks to permanently de-load.

With so many different commands, many of which have several names, it can be easy to miss some. Detailed below are five of the most unknown console commands in Minecraft.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's views.

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5 of the most unknown Minecraft commands

1) /daylock

The /daylock command can stop night from falling (Image via Mojang)

The /daylock command is used to stop Minecraft's day/night cycle and is an alias of /alwaysday.

There are two main reasons why it ends up feeling rather hidden from players. The first of these is that the command appears further down the alphabetical /help command reference menu, meaning they will see its variant first. This results in them just never needing the command, so they don't use it.

The second main factor in its reclusivity is the strange word choice. The /alwaysday command makes sense; the world is set to always be day. However, /daylock makes less sense. The world is being locked to day, but it doesn't spring to mind as easily as its other version. And this is a trend that continues for many of Minecraft's hidden commands.

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2) /tell and /w

/msg, /tell, and /w all allow players to private message (Image via Mojang)

These two get lumped together because they are hidden in the same way. They are both aliases for the /msg command and allow players to send a private chat message. As with many other alias commands, these two are inherently more hidden due to being deeper within the /help menu.

However, they are also more hidden due to internet terminology. When trying to message someone directly, the word message is typically used. This means that shorthanding the command to /msg makes it a natural one to use.

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3) /Experience

The experience command is an alias of /xp (Image via Mojang)

The /experience command is an alias of /xp and is used to give players levels that can be spent on any of Minecraft's best enchantments.

Even though the /experience command appears before its synonym /xp in the /help list, what makes it a more hidden version is the number of characters needed to use it.

Humans tend to prefer doing less work, so if a player wanted to quickly add levels, why type out experience when XP is shorter? The fact that XP as a shorthand is the natural thing to type results in /experience as a command fading into obscurity.

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4) /Damage

Remember to convert damage to hearts when using the /damage command (Image via Mojang)

Normally, if a player needs to kill a mob while building in Creative mode, they will just grab a weapon from the creative inventory and kill it. It takes little time or effort, so it just makes sense. And if a lot of mobs need to be removed, the /kill command is the perfect solution.

This leaves the /damage command in an interesting spot. It is used to damage entities, which most players will just do themselves instinctively. This results in the /damage command ending up feeling pretty hidden from players, as it is never really needed.

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5) The /tick command

The /tick command is one of the game's newest. It was added in update 1.20.3, joining many other features from 1.20, including Minecraft archeology and calibrated sculk sensors. This command brings with it the ability to freeze and change the game's tick rate, allowing players to speed up, slow down, and even freeze time.

What makes it so hidden is how new it is. It was added in one of the most recent patches for Minecraft, meaning players may not have had a chance to learn of its existence. Not only is this command one of the game's most hidden, but also incredibly useful for testing experimental farm builds.