Control Schemes

In Minecraft: Bedrock Edition, players can choose from a set of schemes that define how the player and the camera move in response to controller input. These provide great flexibility for different gameplay scenarios.

The control scheme can be manually set by using the /controlscheme command. It can also be set with camera presets.

Control scheme types

Each control scheme defines how Minecraft responds to game controllers, touch input on mobile devices, keyboard and mouse combos, and full keyboard controls.

Player relative

Controller: Push the left stick forward or backward to move the player forward or backward in the direction they're facing, and left or right to rotate the player to the left or right. Use the right stick to rotate the camera when using the third-person Follow Orbit camera.

Touch: Push the virtual joystick or D-pad forward or backward to move forward or backward in the direction they're facing, and left or right to rotate the player to the left or right. Drag on the screen to rotate the camera when using the third-person Follow Orbit camera.

Keyboard + Mouse: Press W to move the player forward, S to move backward, A to rotate them left, and D to rotate right. Use the mouse to rotate the camera when using the third-person Follow Orbit camera.

Full Keyboard: Press W to move the player forward, S to move backward, A to rotate them left, and D to rotate right. Press the left and right arrows to rotate the camera when using the third-person Follow Orbit camera. The numeric keypad can also be used for camera rotation if enabled.

Player relative strafe

Controller: Push the left stick forward or backward to move the player forward or backward in the direction they're facing, and left or right to move the player to the left or right without turning (strafe). Push the right stick in a direction to have the player look in that direction.

Touch: Push the virtual joystick or D-pad forward or backward to move forward or backward in the direction they're facing. Push it left or right to move the player to their left or right without turning (strafe). Touch and drag on the screen to have your character look at the point you are touching. Note: this control scheme will force the visible joystick option on.

Keyboard + Mouse: Press W to move the player forward, S to move backward, A to move (strafe) to the character's left, and D to move (strafe) to the character's right. The character will look toward where the mouse is on screen.

Full Keyboard: Press W to move the player forward, S to move backward, A to move (strafe) to the character's left, and D to move (strafe) to the character's right. Press the left and right arrows to rotate the player. The numeric keypad can also be used for player rotation if enabled.

Locked player relative strafe

Controller: Push the left stick forward or backward to move the player forward or backward in the direction they're facing, and left or right to move the player to their left or right without turning (strafe). Push the right stick left or right to turn the player to their left or right. Pushing the right stick up or down will make the player's aim rotate up or down.

Touch: Push the virtual joystick or D-pad forward or backward to make the player move forward or backward in the direction they're facing. Push the virtual joystick or D-pad left or right to move the player to their left or right without turning (strafe). Swiping left or right rotates the player, while swiping up or down makes the player look up or down. Note: This control scheme will force the visible joystick option on.

Keyboard + Mouse: Press W to move the player forward, S to move backward, A to move (strafe) to the player's left, and D to move (strafe) to the player's right. Moving the mouse left or right will turn the player to their left or right. Moving the mouse forward or back will move the player's aim up or down.

Full Keyboard: Press W to move the player forward, S to move backward, A to move (strafe) to the player's left, and D to move (strafe) to the player's right. Press the left and right arrows to rotate the player. Press the up and down arrows to rotate the player's aim up or down. The numeric keypad can also be used for player rotation if enabled.

Camera relative

Controller: Use the left stick to control player movement; the player automatically faces the direction of motion. Down moves toward the camera, up moves away, left moves toward the left side of the screen, and right moves toward the right side. Use the right stick to rotate the camera.

Touch: Push the virtual joystick or D-pad to control player movement; the player automatically faces the direction of motion. Drag on the screen to rotate the camera.

Keyboard + Mouse: Press W to move the player in the direction the camera faces, S to move backward toward the camera, A to move screen left, and D to move screen right; the player automatically faces the direction of motion. Use the mouse to rotate the camera.

Full Keyboard: Press W to move the player in the direction the camera faces, S to move backward toward the camera, A to move screen left, and D to move screen right; the player automatically faces the direction of motion. Press the left and right arrows to rotate the camera. The numeric keypad can also be used for camera rotation if enabled.

Camera relative strafe

Note

This scheme is experimental, and requires the Experimental Creator Camera setting to be enabled.

Controller: Use the left stick to move the player without turning (strafe). Use the right stick to rotate the player to look in the direction the stick is moved.

Touch: Push the virtual joystick or D-pad to move the player without turning (strafe). Drag on the screen to rotate the player to look toward the point being touched. Note: This control scheme will force the visible joystick option on.

Keyboard + Mouse: Press W to move the player in the direction the camera faces, S to move backward toward the camera, A to move screen left, and D to move screen right. The player will rotate to look toward the mouse location.

Full Keyboard: Press W to move the player in the direction the camera faces, S to move backward toward the camera, A to move screen left, and D to move screen right. Press the arrow keys to rotate the player to look in that direction. The numeric keypad can also be used for rotation if enabled.

Control schemes and camera presets

When you use camera presets, you can use the control_scheme key in the camera.json file to associate a control scheme with a preset.

{
    "format_version": "1.19.50",
    "minecraft:camera_preset": {
        "identifier": "example:custom",
        "inherit_from": "minecraft:follow_orbit",
        "control_scheme": "camera_relative"
    }
}

Setting a control scheme in a camera preset will override the preset's default control scheme, as long as the scheme is allowed in that camera mode. If the scheme is not allowed in that mode, or you don't include the control_scheme key in that preset, the default control scheme of the camera mode will be used instead.

Here are the allowed control schemes for each built-in camera preset. The default control scheme for all built-in presets is locked player relative strafe.

Camera Preset	Allowed Control Schemes
minecraft:first_person	locked player relative strafe
minecraft:third_person	locked player relative strafe
minecraft:third_person_front	locked player relative strafe
minecraft:free	locked player relative strafe player relative strafe player relative camera relative camera relative strafe
minecraft:follow_orbit	locked player relative strafe player relative camera relative
minecraft:fixed_boom	locked player relative strafe camera relative camera relative strafe player relative strafe player relative

Switching control schemes

To switch schemes from the command line, use the /controlscheme command.

/controlscheme <player> set <control_scheme>

Possible control schemes are:

• camera_relative
• camera_relative_strafe
• player_relative
• player_relative_strafe
• locked_player_relative_strafe

You can reset the control scheme to the default for the current camera mode with the clear subcommand:

/controlscheme <player> clear

Note that you can only switch to a control scheme that's allowed in the current camera mode.

Control scheme inheritance

A custom camera preset inherits the allowed control schemes of the built-in camera preset it descends from. It will use the default control scheme of its parent camera if its own control_scheme is not defined, or if the defined scheme is not supported by the camera.