Minecraft:Sulfur Cube

Template:In development Template:Infobox entity

A sulfur cube is a bucketable jumping Minecraft:passive mob that is only found in Minecraft:sulfur caves. It can absorb a full-sized Minecraft:block into itself, which immobilizes it and makes it receive higher knockback from most attacks instead of damage. The block type a sulfur cube absorbs affects its physical properties, and some blocks cannot be absorbed. Blocks can be extracted using Minecraft:shears, or by killing the sulfur cube.

Small sulfur cubes spawn in groups of two when a large sulfur cube dies. They grow up over time similarly to Minecraft:babies and cannot absorb blocks.

Spawning

Large sulfur cubes spawn naturally in Minecraft:sulfur caves at light level 0.

Two small sulfur cubes spawn when a large sulfur cube dies, which can then grow up into large sulfur cubes; see Template:Section link below.

Despite being passive mobs, sulfur cubes cannot spawn in Minecraft:Peaceful difficulty,Template:Only Template:Until<ref>Template:Bug</ref> as they count as Minecraft:monsters.

Template:Mob spawn table

Drops

Upon death, large sulfur cubes drop the block they absorbed and 1-2 Minecraft:experience, while small sulfur cubes drop no experience.

Behavior

Sulfur cubes are passive mobs that, by default, jump around aimlessly. In this state, they are susceptible to all sources of damage.

If a sulfur cube Minecraft:pathfinds into a block which can be Minecraft:climbed, such as Minecraft:ladders or Minecraft:vines, the sulfur cube climbs the block. Sulfur cubes with absorbed blocks which are launched are also capable of climbing.Template:Only

Splitting

Sulfur cubes come in two sizes: small and large. When a large sulfur cube dies, it splits into two small cubes, unless the death was caused by its own explosion. If a small sulfur cube dies, it does not split and drops nothing. When a named large sulfur cube is killed and splits, both small cubes retain the name.

Small sulfur cubes grow into large ones after 20 minutes, similarly to Minecraft:baby mobs. Minecraft:Slimeballs can be used to tempt and feed small sulfur cubes, which decreases their remaining growth time. They can also be fed a Minecraft:golden dandelion to prevent them from growing.

Bucketing

A large sulfur cube can be picked up by using an empty Minecraft:bucket on it to create a Minecraft:bucket of sulfur cube. If a named sulfur cube is bucketed, the name of the item becomes "Bucket of <name>" (the sulfur cube's name)Template:Only or only the cube's nameTemplate:Only.

If the bucketed sulfur cube has an absorbed block, the bucket of sulfur cube item tooltip displays the name of the absorbed block, unless the sulfur cube is also named.

Absorbing blocks

Template:Redirect Template:Rewrite Large sulfur cubes have the ability to absorb some Minecraft:blocks, mostly full-sized ones. It can absorb a block dropped on the ground, and also can be fed a block by Template:Control with it. Sulfur cubes move toward absorbable blocks dropped on the ground, and they also follow players holding an applicable block in their hand. Small sulfur cubes cannot absorb blocks. A Minecraft:dispenser can also be used to make a sulfur cube absorb a block.

Any method of feeding a block to a sulfur cube can also be done on a sulfur cube that has already absorbed a block, which changes the block inside it and drops its previously-absorbed block as an item.

When a sulfur cube has absorbed a block, it stops moving and its absorbed block is visible inside of it. The absorbed block can be removed from a sulfur cube by using Minecraft:shears on it, which drops the block as an item. Dispensers with shears can also be used to remove the block.

Absorbed blocks in sulfur cubes have the same visual properties as when placed down, including MERS textures with Minecraft:Vibrant Visuals. Froglights, for example, glow inside the sulfur cube, but they do not actually light the environment gameplay-wise. Throwing a Minecraft:splash potion of Invisibility on a sulfur cube causes it to show only the absorbed block.

Sulfur cubes can absorb named blocks; the block remains named if removed, but the name of the block is not displayed above the sulfur cube.

Sulfur cubes can only absorb the specific blocks listed below:

Archetype	Block	Description	Minecraft:Attribute values				Knockback modifiers		Floats in Minecraft:water
Archetype	Block	Description	Knockback resistance	Bounciness	Friction modifier	Air drag modifier	Horizontal	Vertical	Floats in Minecraft:water
Bouncy	Template:Columns-list	Makes it very bouncy.	-2.0	0.9	0.3	0.01	0.33	0.07	Template:Tc
Explosive	Template:BlockLink	Allows the sulfur cube to be ignited and explode. See Template:Slink below.	-1.0	0.5	0.3	0.3	0.33	0.06	Template:Tc
Fast Flat	Template:Columns-list	Makes it bounce less and slide more often.	-1.0	0.5	0.2	0.01	0.73	0.06	Template:Tc
Fast Sliding	Template:Columns-list	Makes it able to slide, but unable to bounce.	0.5	0.1	0.05	0.01	0.53	0.06	Template:Tc
High Resistance	Template:Columns-list	Makes it very hard to push and unable to bounce.	0.7	0.2	1	0.01	0.33	0.06	Template:Tc
Hot	Template:BlockLink	Makes entities that are nearby take damage. See Template:Slink below.	-1.0	0.5	0.3	0.1	0.33	0.06	Template:Tc
Light	Template:BlockLink	Gives it lower gravity, making it floaty.	-1.0	1.0	0.3	1.8	0.33	0.12	Template:Tc
Slow Bouncy	Template:Collapse	Makes the sulfur cube bouncy, but not very fast. In the "Drop 2 of 2026" experiment, these blocks give the Regular archetype instead.	0.4	0.6	0.3	0.05	0.33	0.16	Template:Tc
Slow Flat	Template:Columns-list	Gives it higher gravity, making it heavy.	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.1	0.33	0.07	Template:Tc
Slow Sliding	Template:Columns-list	Makes it slide slow and unable to bounce.	0.8	0.1	0.05	0.01	0.33	0.06	Template:Tc
Sticky	Template:BlockLink	Makes it unable to slide or bounce.	-2.0	0.0	2.0	0.01	0.33	0.06	Template:Tc
Regular	Template:Columns-list	Makes it slide and bounce often.	-1.0	0.5	0.3	0.1	0.33	0.06	Template:Tc

Template:Fnlist If a sulfur cube with a block dies, it drops the block as an item in addition to splitting.

Template:IN, the items that can be absorbed by the sulfur cube are determined by the tag Template:Tag link, with the archetypes of the items determined by the tags: Template:Tag link

Template:IN, the items that can be absorbed by the sulfur cube as well as the archetypes they give the sulfur cube are determined by the Template:Tag link item tags.

Special archetypes

Sulfur cubes that have absorbed specific functional blocks can have those functions applied to them.

Minecraft:TNT have the explosive archetype. When a sulfur cube with the explosive archetype is ignited manually, its fuse time is set to Template:Convert. When ignited by another explosion, it is set to be a random number between Template:Convert and Template:Convert.
Sulfur cubes with ignited TNT cannot be damaged, be captured in a Minecraft:bucket, or have their absorbed block Minecraft:sheared. When the sulfur cube explodes, no small sulfur cubes are spawned.
Sulfur cubes with the explosive archetype can be ignited in the same ways that TNT can be activated and more, including:
- direct usage of Minecraft:flint and steel by a player or Minecraft:dispenser, or usage of a Minecraft:fire charge by a player;
- causing any Minecraft:fire damage to the sulfur cube (Minecraft:fire, Minecraft:lava, flaming projectile, Minecraft:campfire or Minecraft:magma block);
  - this works even if the mob has Minecraft:Fire Resistance on it;
- being hit by a weapon with Minecraft:Fire Aspect.
- any other Minecraft:explosion nearby.
  - this includes explosions from sulfur cubes;
- a Minecraft:redstone signal. TNT activates if the center of sulfur cube's hitbox is in such a block that a TNT would be activated if it was a placed block instead.
Minecraft:Magma blocks have the hot archetype. Sulfur cubes with the hot archetype damages nearby mobs as if it touched magma.

File:Baby sulfur cube with stone.png

Damage resistance

A sulfur cube that has absorbed a block is resistant to the following forms of damage:

Minecraft:Melee attacks
Minecraft:Projectiles
Minecraft:Falling blocks, including Minecraft:anvils and Minecraft:stalactites
Minecraft:Explosions, except their own
Minecraft:Fall damage, including onto Minecraft:stalagmites
Minecraft:Freezing
Contact with Minecraft:cactus, Minecraft:magma blocks or Minecraft:sweet berry bushes

Other sources of damage, such as Minecraft:fire, Minecraft:suffocation, Minecraft:cramming or Minecraft:poison, can damage or kill the sulfur cube as normal.

Some hostile mobs attack the sulfur cube even while it has absorbed a block, such as Minecraft:zoglins, the Minecraft:wither and Minecraft:wardens. Although the sulfur cube is immune to the warden's melee damage, they can be killed by its Minecraft:sonic boom. Additionally, tamed Minecraft:wolves attack a sulfur cube which their owner attacks.

Launching

When affected by knockback, the sulfur cube is launched and is affected by Minecraft:gravity and Minecraft:physics. This causes it to behave and bounce like a ball.

The direction and trajectory in which a sulfur cube is launched is the opposite of where on its body it is hit.Template:Needs testing

This diagram describes how hitting a sulfur cube on different portions of its body launches it.

Sulfur Cube Launching Portions
File:Sulfur Cube Launching Guide.png

The force at which a sulfur cube is launched is based on the amount of damage the attack does. For example, hitting it with a Minecraft:diamond sword launches it farther than punching it without an item. In Template:BE, sulfur cubes that are in the air are knocked further into the air when launched, while they are not in Template:JE. This is due to the airborne knockback mechanics being different between the two editions.

Depending on the absorbed block, the sulfur cube exhibits different properties when hit.

Sounds

Mob

Data values

ID

Template:Edition: Template:ID table

Entity data

Template:Expand section Template:El: Template:Main

Template:Nbt Entity data
- Template:Nbt inherit/entity
- Template:Nbt inherit/mob
- Only on sulfur cubes, the Template:Cd tag represents the Template:DCL component in Minecraft:predicates and Minecraft:loot functions.
- Template:Nbt inherit/cube mob
- Template:Nbt: The ticks left before the sulfur cube will pick up items from the ground. Is set to 100 when the item is removed using shears, then ticks down until it reaches 0.
- Template:Nbt: 1 or 0 (true/false) - 1 if the sulfur cube was spawned by using a Minecraft:Bucket of Sulfur Cube, 0 if not.
- Template:Nbt: The number of ticks before the sulfur cube explodes. For sulfur cubes that are not ignited, this value is -1.

The absorbed block (if any) is stored in equipment.body.

Template:El: Template:Main

Template:Nbt: The entity's root tag.
- Template:Bedrock nbt/entity
- Template:Bedrock nbt/mob
- Template:Bedrock nbt/ageable
- Template:Nbt: The size of the sulfur cube. 1 is the smallest slime, 2 is the next larger.
- Template:Nbt: List of equipment slots and the chance that the item in that slot drops when the sulfur cube dies.
  - Template:Nbt: A slot entry.
    - Template:Nbt: The probability that the item in this slot can drop (0.0 to 1.0).
    - Template:Nbt: The name of the equipment slot. Can be Template:Cd in sulfur cube.
- Template:Nbt: The sulfur cube properties.
  - Template:Nbt Template:Until: Template:Nbt boolean - Template:Cd if the sulfur cube has a block.
  - Template:Nbt Template:Upcoming: If the sulfur cube has a block and behavior can be Template:Cd.

Advancements

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Videos

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History

Announcements

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Java Edition

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Bedrock Edition

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Issues

Template:Issue list

Trivia

A simplified version of the front texture of the sulfur cube is depicted on the Minecraft:chiseled sulfur block.
Prior to sulfur cubes, the idea of Minecraft:slimes being used as a ball appeared as a brief visual gag in Minecraft:Village & Pillage: Official Trailer.
In the first Minecraft:Bedrock Edition Preview, the golf ball or bouncy archetype would cause the cube to stick to ceilings.
During Minecraft:Minecraft Live – March 2026, it was stated by Minecraft:Agnes Larsson that the face of the cube is meant to have an ambiguous expression.