seedlookoutOVERWORLD · SETTLEMENTS
Igloo
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A small snow shelter with basic furniture. Half of them hide a basement with a villager, a zombie villager, and the supplies to cure it, which makes igloos a useful early find.
This guide follows vanilla Java 26.3. Historical changes retain their own edition and version. Bedrock generation and loot can differ. Screenshots and verified seeds below retain their own game versions.
28462718234064871 · Java 26.3 · overworldReference capture · Naturally generated structure, photographed in Minecraft Java 26.3.Game data and source research
Where it generates in Java 26.3
Only Snowy Plains, Snowy Taiga and Snowy Slopes occur in the Java 26.3 igloo biome tag. [2][5]
Candidate positions and rarity
Java 26.3 selects one potential starting chunk per 32×32-chunk region (512 blocks on each side). Candidate selection happens before successful structure generation; this is not a measured density or an average travel distance. [3][4]
The igloo generation entry point uses the world-surface heightmap, selects a random rotation, and passes a template start to IglooPieces. That entry point does not by itself establish whether a basement is included. [1][3][4][5]
What the starting position means
Its candidate grid is 32×32 chunks. Biome validation still applies, so a snowy landscape can contain regions with no igloo. [1][4][5]
A snow shelter with an optional basement
The surface shelter, ladder shaft and basement are three separate templates. The top is 7 × 5 × 8 blocks, the shaft segment is 3 × 3 × 3, and the basement is 7 × 6 × 9 before rotation. These saved bounds include the walls and air. [6]
The Java layout takes the basement branch on a random draw below 0.5. When selected, it builds a variable-depth ladder route and the laboratory below. Check under the surface carpet for access; an igloo without this branch has no laboratory to find. [7]
The laboratory residents
The basement template contains one villager and one zombie villager in separate cells, alongside its chest and brewing equipment. These are placed residents, with no mob-spawner block in the igloo templates. [6]
This makes the basement the important part to check if the goal is a curing setup. The surface shelter alone does not establish that a zombie villager, brewing supplies or basement loot is present. [6]
Loot and rewards in Java 26.3
The igloo chest table guarantees one golden apple in a dedicated one-entry pool. Its other pool makes 2-8 selections from total weight 63, including apples, coal, gold nuggets, a stone axe, rotten flesh, emerald and wheat. [8]
These rules apply to the basement chest assigned igloo_chest loot. An igloo without the basement does not receive this chest-table invocation. Brewing-stand contents and the villager/zombie-villager encounter are separate template contents, not additional outcomes from the chest pool. [8][11]
The guaranteed item is the ordinary golden apple. The inspected table does not contain an enchanted golden apple, armor trim, diamond or enchanted-book entry. [8]
| Item | Where the rule applies | What the data establishes |
|---|---|---|
 Golden apple | One igloo-basement-table chest | 100.0% chance; exactly one from the dedicated pool. [8][9] |
 Emerald | One igloo-basement-table chest | 7.6% chance of at least one selection; one emerald per selection. [8][9] |
 Apple | One igloo-basement-table chest | 70.4% chance of at least one selection; 1-3 apples per selection. [8][9] |
Version history and release dates
These milestones retain their edition and exact build labels. Snapshot, beta and preview dates belong to those development builds; full releases and staggered Pocket platform releases are dated separately. Historical introduction claims come from the cited Wiki history. [12]
| Version | Released | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| Java 1.9 / 15w43a | October 21, 2015 | Igloos were introduced. [12][14] |
| Java 1.9 / 15w43b | October 22, 2015 | Basement chest loot was changed to guarantee a golden apple. [12][15] |
| Pocket 1.0.0 | December 19, 2016 | Pocket Edition gained igloos. [12][16] |
| Pocket 1.1.0 | June 1, 2017 | Beds became white in ice plains igloos and brown in cold taiga igloos. [12][17] |
| Java 1.13 | July 18, 2018 | Igloos gained their own locate identifier and their structure piece names were shortened. [12][18] |
| Bedrock 1.10.0 | March 19, 2019 | Generated igloo beds returned to red. [12][19] |
| Java 1.17 | June 8, 2021 | Basement cauldrons began using the separate water-cauldron block. [12][20] |
Checked in game by SeedLookout
Screenshots
28462718234064871 · Java 26.3 · overworldReference capture · Naturally generated structure, photographed in Minecraft Java 26.3.
6742231963009256 · Java 26.3
5644549899075441559 · Java 26.3
2550018009398761 · Java 26.3
399918057248930 · Java 26.3Our screenshots of naturally generated structures in Minecraft. Each caption gives the seed, coordinates and version. Select one to open it at full size.
Seeds with this igloo
We found each igloo at these coordinates in the seed's Java version. Other versions and Bedrock may generate a different world.
Show 5 more seedsShow fewer seeds12 of 17
| Seed | Version | Variant | X, Y, Z |
|---|---|---|---|
Igloo on a snowy beach by an iceberg, with a taiga village1448753197383953 | Java 26.3 | Igloo | 80, 66, -176 |
Plains village on a high plateau, with an igloo on snowy slopes841762255836736 | Java 26.3 | Igloo | -368, 117, 0 |
Dappled forest next to ice spikes, with an igloo and a snowy camp8836161433560293335 | Java 26.3 | Igloo | 48, 67, 176 |
Taiga coast village and outpost beside a snowy hillside272987006062197 | Java 26.3 | Igloo | 96, 63, 304 |
Village above a stone hollow with an outpost in a cleft168486502954112 | Java 26.3 | Igloo | -144, 63, 144 |
Sources
References identify the edition, version and evidence behind the guide. Game code and data describe generation rules; the seed table records locations checked in game. Research reviewed 2026-10-02.
- Mojang Java 26.3: structure configuration ↗
Inner archive META-INF/versions/26.3/server-26.3.jar: data/minecraft/worldgen/structure/igloo.json
Evidence details
Official server SHA-1 33680f5f2ac32864d6d7cf5e56a705fdb3e05f4c. SHA-256 by archive member: data/minecraft/worldgen/structure/igloo.json = 09abed47c5814dcca4469b6486ef360f6efad69af99d5a0320878a9546ef04f6
- Mojang Java 26.3: resolved starting-biome tags ↗
Inner archive META-INF/versions/26.3/server-26.3.jar: data/minecraft/tags/worldgen/biome/has_structure/igloo.json
Evidence details
Official server SHA-1 33680f5f2ac32864d6d7cf5e56a705fdb3e05f4c. SHA-256 by archive member: data/minecraft/tags/worldgen/biome/has_structure/igloo.json = 63055809446621cccd68bb4a6051788bba5ab8a9485cd9ca701ba779a15d171f
- Mojang Java 26.3: candidate placement settings ↗
Inner archive META-INF/versions/26.3/server-26.3.jar: data/minecraft/worldgen/structure_set/igloos.json
Evidence details
Official server SHA-1 33680f5f2ac32864d6d7cf5e56a705fdb3e05f4c. SHA-256 by archive member: data/minecraft/worldgen/structure_set/igloos.json = 53be9cbd1e992bf2f43493d9d77a9d8dff4b05c4294ab11e4882a3c86ccd9cf0
- Mojang Java 26.3: candidate filtering and weighted retries ↗
Inner archive META-INF/versions/26.3/server-26.3.jar: net/minecraft/world/level/chunk/ChunkGenerator.class; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/placement/AbstractSpreadingStructurePlacement$ExclusionZone.class; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/placement/AbstractSpreadingStructurePlacement$FrequencyReducer.class; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/placement/AbstractSpreadingStructurePlacement$FrequencyReductionMethod.class; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/placement/AbstractSpreadingStructurePlacement.class; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/placement/RandomSpreadStructurePlacement.class. Methods: RandomSpreadStructurePlacement.getPotentialStructureChunk; AbstractSpreadingStructurePlacement.isStructureChunk; ChunkGenerator.createStructures / tryGenerateStructure
Evidence details
Official server SHA-1 33680f5f2ac32864d6d7cf5e56a705fdb3e05f4c. Implementation inspected using CFR 0.152; reconstructed Java is not an original Mojang source publication. SHA-256 by archive member: net/minecraft/world/level/chunk/ChunkGenerator.class = 7e5145ec6e36cbc7af979e869d4947c85e4715b8d13105f1369f0a385c40851d; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/placement/AbstractSpreadingStructurePlacement$ExclusionZone.class = eb0d49eb1ffb0714fbdb04abde954fbdbd50cfeafd411f593de8159a06488300; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/placement/AbstractSpreadingStructurePlacement$FrequencyReducer.class = e2887ebf5f8937ca3b038d6e1c40bc1c77f983a97b5b7ed9bdcd78b59d103e82; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/placement/AbstractSpreadingStructurePlacement$FrequencyReductionMethod.class = 3664480026b9e91c8235bdbf6d98fdbbb78586f8d0decee70f9ea788d3291a71; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/placement/AbstractSpreadingStructurePlacement.class = 0775a5cd47242fafd7f9977a9cfb821a6fffe5d1defcbc3bf8cded7e2427a4a8; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/placement/RandomSpreadStructurePlacement.class = 8fbeed7711f96285b9b39b2e8363ffaa6ea80dd03baea4c1e6fa98e90b7f8eb9
- Mojang Java 26.3: generation entry points ↗
Inner archive META-INF/versions/26.3/server-26.3.jar: net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/Structure$GenerationContext.class; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/Structure$GenerationStub.class; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/Structure$StructureSettings$Builder.class; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/Structure$StructureSettings.class; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/Structure.class; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/structures/IglooStructure.class. Methods: IglooStructure.findGenerationPoint; Structure.findValidGenerationPoint; Structure.GenerationContext.isValidBiome
Evidence details
Official server SHA-1 33680f5f2ac32864d6d7cf5e56a705fdb3e05f4c. Implementation inspected using CFR 0.152; reconstructed Java is not an original Mojang source publication. SHA-256 by archive member: net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/Structure$GenerationContext.class = 0c4335baa022b0482299b5cc0a3d0492fd3160542640b2538a5b8934822cc12b; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/Structure$GenerationStub.class = e7a25f7418cfbfafaa6ecc1558a4bacde160ab247be6997df4aef3288da76a52; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/Structure$StructureSettings$Builder.class = e9b9a37f14f156749ceb686ab31f34954c3b65c0e9f1ff43cdebb508a72b1261; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/Structure$StructureSettings.class = 5796d330ef7ea491ee64b34ccdfe6c08a62b71886441bd87cd327a2fc6188f80; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/Structure.class = fa023ce735376b7042242948275a0869a7e22d30e5e4c5c6502b521578577188; net/minecraft/world/level/levelgen/structure/structures/IglooStructure.class = 8b404e89f41c293c94be15965ecf4a4f128a2b367a3a759c07ea59e94e078e06
- Mojang Java 26.3: igloo templates and data ↗
data/minecraft/worldgen/structure/igloo.json; data/minecraft/structure/igloo/**/*.nbt
Evidence details
Official server SHA-1 33680f5f2ac32864d6d7cf5e56a705fdb3e05f4c; inner META-INF/versions/26.3/server-26.3.jar SHA-256 a362163eec5d1612d520772bc16e5b39c09e3b234fdc045f56bf544284ee8ae6. NBT dimensions are unrotated saved template bounds (X × Y × Z), including air and connectors, not usable interior dimensions.
- Mojang Java 26.3: igloo layout and encounter implementation ↗
net.minecraft.world.level.levelgen.structure.structures.IglooPieces; igloo/top.nbt, middle.nbt, bottom.nbt; IglooPieces.addPieces and IglooPiece.postProcess. The probability is the explicit local basement branch, not a surveyed intact-basement frequency.
Evidence details
Official server SHA-1 33680f5f2ac32864d6d7cf5e56a705fdb3e05f4c; inner META-INF/versions/26.3/server-26.3.jar SHA-256 a362163eec5d1612d520772bc16e5b39c09e3b234fdc045f56bf544284ee8ae6. Official bytecode inspected through CFR 0.152; reconstructed implementation, not an original source checkout.
- Mojang Java 26.3: igloo loot data ↗
Inner META-INF/versions/26.3/server-26.3.jar: data/minecraft/loot_table/chests/igloo_chest.json
Evidence details
Verified official server SHA-1 33680f5f2ac32864d6d7cf5e56a705fdb3e05f4c. File SHA-256s: igloo_chest.json: b0d6425fb367bb3326fe26d589369344aaa0b95247d05fa201e7bed3a5fa0c0a. Table identity and conditional item rules are distinct from any particular generated container.
- Java 26.3 igloo: calculated selection odds ↗
Relevant /pools indices in the data reference; LootPool.addRandomItem/addRandomItems; UniformContainerBase.uniformFields; UniformGenerator.getIntUnsafe.
Evidence details
For direct unconditional weighted pools, chance of at least one selection is 1 minus the average of (1−weight/totalWeight)^n over inclusive uniform integer rolls. Values are theoretical table-invocation probabilities, not seed frequencies. Exact inputs: [{"itemId":"minecraft:golden_apple","table":"data/minecraft/loot_table/chests/igloo_chest.json","pool":1,"fraction":"1","chance":1.0,"weight":1,"total":1,"rolls":[1]},{"itemId":"minecraft:emerald","table":"data/minecraft/loot_table/chests/igloo_chest.json","pool":0,"fraction":"132735431178251/1737090461872647","chance":0.07641250360396162,"weight":1,"total":63,"rolls":[2,3,4,5,6,7,8]},{"itemId":"minecraft:apple","table":"data/minecraft/loot_table/chests/igloo_chest.json","pool":0,"fraction":"186288177575/264760015527","chance":0.7036114467820859,"weight":15,"total":63,"rolls":[2,3,4,5,6,7,8]}]
- Mojang Java 1.20.1: inspected historical igloo loot ↗
data/minecraft/loot_tables/chests/igloo_chest.json
Evidence details
Limited comparison of the listed data files; no claim that all intermediate releases share either table. SHA-256s: igloo_chest.json: 6313c3136e575007511e2a573f63cd4d17a6d78fb4ab2b21512cb7f098d6a3b9
- Mojang Java 26.3: igloo layout and encounter implementation ↗
net.minecraft.world.level.levelgen.structure.structures.IglooPieces; igloo/top.nbt, middle.nbt, bottom.nbt; IglooPieces.addPieces and IglooPiece.postProcess. The probability is the explicit local basement branch, not a surveyed intact-basement frequency.
Evidence details
Official server SHA-1 33680f5f2ac32864d6d7cf5e56a705fdb3e05f4c; inner META-INF/versions/26.3/server-26.3.jar SHA-256 a362163eec5d1612d520772bc16e5b39c09e3b234fdc045f56bf544284ee8ae6. Official bytecode inspected through CFR 0.152; reconstructed implementation, not an original source checkout.
- Minecraft Wiki: Igloo — pinned history ↗
History section, retaining edition, release grouping, development-version and experimental-toggle qualifiers.
Evidence details
Pinned article revision 3788682 from 2026-09-22T10:46:33Z. Historical claims only; not an audited game build or release-date source.
- Minecraft Wiki: Igloo description ↗
Opening description and History
Evidence details
Pinned article revision 3788682; retrieved October 1, 2026. Article history supports historical introductions; current generation and loot are audited separately from game data.
- Java 1.9 / 15w43a: release date ↗
/id; /releaseTime
Evidence details
Date belongs to the exact 15w43a build. Snapshot and prerelease dates are separate from the later full release; metadata does not prove the feature introduction.
- Java 1.9 / 15w43b: release date ↗
/id; /releaseTime
Evidence details
Date belongs to the exact 15w43b build. Snapshot and prerelease dates are separate from the later full release; metadata does not prove the feature introduction.
- Pocket 1.0.0: release date ↗
Version infobox release date
Evidence details
Platform releases were staggered: December 19, 2016<ref name="MCSiteArticle">{{Mcnet|ender-update-finally-here|The Ender Update is finally here|December 19, 2016}}</ref>. These dates describe full Pocket releases, separately from earlier betas.
- Pocket 1.1.0: release date ↗
Published 6/1/17; opening paragraph says the 1.1 update for Pocket and Windows 10 is out today; full 1.1 changelog > Woodland Mansions
Evidence details
Historical date from the pinned Minecraft Wiki version article; introduction is separately attributed to each structure article history.
- Java 1.13: release date ↗
/id; /releaseTime
Evidence details
Release metadata establishes its date, not feature introduction. Original Wiki history must support introduction separately.
- Bedrock 1.10.0: release date ↗
Version infobox release date
Evidence details
Platform releases were staggered: March 19, 2019<ref name="website">{{Mcnet|minecraft-bedrock-update-incoming-|Minecraft Bedrock Update Incoming!|March 19, 2019|Tom Stone}}</ref>
- Java 1.17: release date ↗
/id; /releaseTime
Evidence details
Release metadata establishes its date, not feature introduction. Original Wiki history must support introduction separately.
Item art uses vanilla Java 26.3 assets from the official client release. Icons retain their game version alongside the guide.
Descriptions adapted from the Minecraft Wiki retain its attribution under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. Calculations and code analysis are SeedLookout research. Screenshot captions identify each capture. The seed table contains our published verified seeds; checking a location does not establish particular room contents or chest loot.