There’s nothing worse than setting out on an adventure with friends inMinecraftonly to lose them along the way. Trying to meet up again can be tricky using only coordinates, but the player locator bar makes this process a lot easier.
The player locator bar wasn’t always a feature inMinecraftand was only officially added with the Chase the Skies update on July 26, 2025. Since it wasn’t always around, there’s a decent chance you’re not familiar with how it works. Here’s everything you need to know abouthow to use the player locator bar inMinecraft.
Table of contents
How does the player locator bar work in Minecraft?
The player locator bartakes over the XP barwhenever there are other players in the same world as you and you’re not earning XP. Other players appear ascolored dotsthat move around the bar depending on which direction you need to head to find them.
If a player happens to be much higher or lower than you, anarrowwill appear above or below the icon to help you find their exact location. This system is sort of similar to a compass, as the dots act as arrows pointing you in the right direction.
The icon marking other players on this bar changes depending on how far or close they are to you. There arefour different symbolsyou may see appear on the player locator bar.
How to find players with the player locator bar in Minecraft
You can find other players using the player locator bar by simplyfollowing the colored dotassociated with the player you’re seeking. The easiest way to do this is to turn around in a circle until you get the colored dot you want to follow right in themiddleof your bar. Once it’s there, you can simply head straight until you find them. Your goal is essentially to keep heading towards the marker that’s highlighting whichever player you’re trying to find.
How to turn on the player locator bar in Minecraft
The player locator bar ison by default, so you don’t need to do anything to turn it on. If, for some reason, it doesn’t seem to be active, you’re able to type the/gamerule locatorbar truecommand into the chat box to activate it. You need to be the owner of the server to use this command.
How to hide from the player locator bar in Minecraft
If youdon’t want to be tracked by the player locator bar, there arethree waysyou can hide your location from it. The three different methods you can use are:
How to turn off the player locator bar in Minecraft
There aretwo different waysyou can turn off the player locator bar. To use either of these methods, you must be the owner of the server you’re trying to modify, so if you’re not, you’ll need to have the owner do so instead. The two methods you may use are as follows.
Now that you know how to find your friends with ease, you can set out together to explore and try many other features inMinecraft. Next, you mightride Happy Ghasts,defeat the Creaking, and build some epichouses.
