Finding diamonds shouldn't be this hard. You've spent three hours digging at coordinate Y-59, your iron pickaxe is basically dust, and all you have to show for it is a chest full of cobblestone and some measly copper. It's frustrating. We've all been there, staring at a stone wall wishing we could just see through the blocks. Learning how to x ray in minecraft is usually the first thing players look up when they realize the sheer scale of the underground. But here’s the thing: Mojang hates it. They’ve been patching glitches for over a decade.
Back in the day, you could just push a glowstone block into your head with a piston. Boom. Instant vision of every cave system and lava pool for miles. Now? Not so much. Most of those old-school redstone "tricks" just result in you suffocating in a wall or seeing a black screen. However, there are still a few ways to get that "wallhack" perspective without necessarily breaking your game or getting banned from every server on the planet.
The Resource Pack Method: The Easiest Way to X Ray
If you’re playing on Java Edition, resource packs are the path of least resistance. You aren't changing the game's code; you're just changing how it looks. Basically, you're telling the game to make stone, dirt, and gravel invisible while keeping ore textures solid.
You download a pack—sites like CurseForge or Planet Minecraft are the only places you should trust for this—and move the .zip file into your resourcepacks folder. Once you activate it in the settings, the world disappears. It looks like a floating wireframe of coal, iron, and those sweet, sweet diamonds.
It’s not perfect. It’s actually kinda disorienting. Because everything is transparent, you lose your sense of depth. You might see a diamond vein and run toward it, only to fall sixty blocks into a ravine because you couldn't see the floor. Most modern packs try to fix this by adding a slight outline to blocks, but it's still a headache-inducing experience if you use it for too long.
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One huge warning: almost every multiplayer server has "Anti-Xray" plugins. These plugins don't stop you from using the pack, but they trick your client. The server sends fake data to your computer, making it look like there are diamonds everywhere. When you dig toward them, they vanish. If you mine too many "real" ores too fast, the staff will see a notification and you'll be banned before you can even craft a jukebox.
Using Mods and Clients for Better Vision
If you want more control than a simple texture swap, you’re looking at mods. This is the "heavy duty" version of how to x ray in minecraft.
The most famous name in this space is the XRay Ultimate mod, usually run through Forge or Fabric. Unlike a resource pack, a mod can actually toggle the effect on and off with a single keystroke. You can also "filter" what you see. Don't care about coal? Turn it off. Only want Ancient Debris in the Nether? Set the filter to only show Netherite-related blocks.
Then there are "utility clients" like Aristois or Meteor. These are entire versions of Minecraft modified to include "cheats." They offer:
- Fullbright: No more torches. Everything is lit as if it's high noon.
- Entity ESP: See players or mobs through walls (great for avoiding Creepers).
- Tracer lines: Actual lines drawn from your character to the nearest rare blocks.
Honestly, using a full client is overkill for most people. It also puts a massive target on your back. Anti-cheat software like Warden or GrimAC can detect the weird way your game interacts with the server. If you’re playing solo? Go nuts. It makes building massive projects way faster when you don't have to grind for materials.
The Piston and Slab Glitch (Bedrock Edition)
Bedrock players—those on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, or the Windows Store version—have it tougher. You can't just drag and drop a mod folder. But Bedrock is notorious for its "features" (bugs).
There is a semi-consistent way to see through the floor using a piston, a slab, and a compost bin. You dig a hole, jump in a composter, and have a piston push a block into your upper half. Because of how Bedrock calculates player "suffocation," it sometimes fails to render the blocks immediately surrounding your head, giving you a clear view of the caves below.
It’s finicky. Sometimes it just makes your screen go grey. You also have to be careful about your oxygen levels. If the game decides you are actually inside a solid block, you’ll start taking damage. Always bring a Potion of Night Vision. Without it, the "x-ray" just shows you a dark void because the game isn't rendering light in unexposed caves.
The "Legit" Way: Spectator Mode
If you have cheats enabled in your world—or if you're the server admin—you don't need any third-party tools. Use /gamemode spectator.
In Spectator mode, you can fly through blocks. As you move through the ground, the game naturally renders the "open" spaces like mineshafts, strongholds, and dungeons. This is the cleanest way to how to x ray in minecraft because it’s built into the engine. It won't crash your game, and it won't give you a virus from some sketchy download site.
If you're in a Hardcore world and you die, you're forced into Spectator mode anyway. It’s a bittersweet way to finally see where that vein of emeralds was hiding while you were still alive.
Why People Still Search for This in 2026
You might think that after 15 years, people would just mine normally. But the 1.18 "Caves & Cliffs" update changed everything. The world got deeper. The ore distribution got complicated.
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Finding diamonds now requires you to go down to Y-58, but the "Deepslate" blocks down there take twice as long to mine as regular stone. It's a slog. People use x-ray not because they want to "beat" the game, but because they want to skip the monotonous part of the gameplay loop. They want to get to the "End Game"—the Redstone builds, the massive castles, and the boss fights.
Risks and the "Ethics" of Ghosting Blocks
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. If you use these methods on a public server like Hypixel or a private SMP with friends, you’re probably going to get kicked.
Server logs are incredibly detailed. If a moderator sees your mining path is a straight line from one diamond vein to another, skipping all the dirt and gravel, they know. It's called "B-lining." Real players meander. They strip mine. They follow caves. X-rayers move with suspicious purpose.
Also, be wary of where you download your "X-Ray" tools. "How to x ray in minecraft" is a massive search term, which means it’s a magnet for malware. If a site asks you to "complete a survey" or download an .exe file for a resource pack, run away. Resource packs should only ever be .zip or .mcpack. Mods should be .jar. Anything else is a virus.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Session
If you’re ready to try it out, don't just dive in blindly. Follow this sequence to keep your world (and your computer) safe:
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- Back up your world. Before installing any mods or resource packs, copy your save folder. If something glitches and deletes your chunks, you'll be glad you did.
- Test in Creative. Open a new world, turn on the x-ray, and see if you can actually navigate. Practice moving toward ores while they're "floating" in the void.
- Check the Version. Ensure your pack or mod matches your game version (e.g., 1.21.x). Using an old x-ray pack on a new version often results in "pink and black" missing texture blocks, which defeats the whole purpose.
- Use Night Vision. Whether it's a potion or a "Fullbright" mod, x-ray is useless if the caves are pitch black. You need to see the textures to identify what you're looking at.
- Be Subtle. If you're on a server, don't dig straight to the diamonds. Dig nearby, then "accidentally" find them while strip mining. It's the only way to avoid the automated detection systems.
Mining is the core of the game, but it doesn't have to be a chore. Whether you use a simple slab glitch or a complex Fabric mod, seeing through the world changes the way you play. Just remember that once you see where everything is, the "mystery" of exploration is gone forever. Use it wisely.