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How to Use the /effect Command

The /effect command applies any status effect to a player on command, speed, strength, night vision, even regeneration. Here is the exact syntax for giving, levelling and clearing effects.

server console, world: survival
Steve joined the game
> /effect give @p speed 60 2▌
✓ Applied effect Speed II to Steve (60s)
> /effect clear @p
Removed every effect from Steve
Active effects
Speed II
0:58
Strength I
1:42
Night Vision
3:10
Haste II
0:24
Read a /effect command
  1. 1
    Open the console or chat
    Press T in-game for chat, or type straight into the server console. You need at least permission level 2 (operator) to run /effect.
  2. 2
    Pick give or clear
    Use /effect give to apply an effect and /effect clear to remove one. The give and clear sub-commands replaced the old single-word /effect in 1.13.
  3. 3
    Choose a target
    Add a target selector after the sub-command: @p (nearest player), @a (everyone), @s (yourself) or a player name like Steve.
  4. 4
    Set effect, time and level
    Name the effect, then seconds, then amplifier: /effect give @p speed 60 2 grants Speed III for 60 seconds (amplifier 2 = level III).
  5. 5
    Hide particles or clear
    Append true to suppress swirly particles, or run /effect clear @p speed to strip just that one effect instead of all of them.

What you need

Status effects
Speed / Strength
Night Vision
Duration & level

Quick answers

?

What is the exact /effect syntax?

/effect give <target> <effect> [seconds] [amplifier] [hideParticles] and /effect clear <target> [effect]. Only the target and effect are required for give.
?

Why is Speed II written as amplifier 2 not 1?

The amplifier is zero-based: 0 is level I, 1 is level II, 2 is level III. So /effect give @p speed 60 2 actually grants Speed III, not Speed II.
?

How do I make an effect last forever?

Use infinite as the duration: /effect give @p night_vision infinite. On older versions use a very large number like 1000000 instead.
?

How do I clear only one effect?

Name it after the target: /effect clear @p slowness removes just Slowness while leaving every other active effect running.
?

How do I hide the particle swirls?

Add true as the last argument: /effect give @p speed 60 2 true applies the effect with no visible particles around the player.
?

Why does my command say 'Unknown effect'?

Use the namespaced id, not the display name. It is minecraft:night_vision (or just night_vision), with an underscore, not 'Night Vision'.

/effect at a glance

Syntax

/effect <give|clear> <targets> [<effect>]…

Who may run it

OP (L2)

What it does

Gives or removes status effects from entities. Effects include potion effects like speed, strength,…

Three things /effect is actually used for

/effect give @s minecraft:night_vision 600 0 true
Gives you ten minutes of night vision with the particles hidden, which is what the true at the end does.
/effect give @a minecraft:speed 30 1
Speed II for everyone for thirty seconds. The level argument is zero based, so 1 means the second tier.
/effect clear @s
Removes every effect you are carrying, including the ones a potion gave you.

/effect sits with the player commands in Minecraft, 12 of them in total. The ones with a guide here: /enchant, /experience, /gamemode, /give, /teleport, /tp, /xp.

Every command with its full argument list lives in the command reference.

Blocks and items in this guide

Brewing Stand in MinecraftBrewing StandDiamond in MinecraftDiamondPotion in MinecraftPotionTarget in MinecraftTarget

All 4 of these are named in the guide above, starting with Brewing Stand. Look them up in the item database.

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