How to Craft and Activate Blank Portal Keys

A finished portal frame will not open until you feed it an activated key. Each key binds to a specific dungeon coordinate inside the dungeon dimension, letting you revisit a layout or generate brand-new ones whenever you craft more keys.

Crafting Blank Portal Keys

To create an unlinked key, gather loot from dungeons, fishing, or villager trading along with Nether materials:

1. Obtain a Name Tag and a Blaze Rod.

2. Combine the Name Tag and Blaze Rod in a Crafting Table to produce a Blank Portal Key.

3. Craft multiple blank keys at once if you want a stockpile of fresh, renewable dungeons ready to run.

Binding a Key at a Stronghold

Blank keys cannot open your portal on their own. You must locate a vanilla Stronghold to charge them:

1. Use Eyes of Ender in the Overworld to track down a Stronghold and dig down to its End Portal room.

2. Hold the Blank Portal Key in your main hand and walk up to any End Portal Frame block (whether it already holds an Eye of Ender or is missing one).

3. Aim directly at the top side of the End Portal Frame block and use the Blank Portal Key on it.

The key activates immediately and locks onto a unique dungeon coordinate. Bring the activated key back to your custom Overworld portal, place it into the Portal Keyhole Block, and step through the open gateway to teleport inside.