Signs

Written by devanmysterio Aug 10, 2026

Signs & Protection

Locking down your chests and doors, coloring your signs, and a small quality-of-life fix for double doors.

Last updated August 2026. Part of the VortexEssentials series.

Private Signs

Want to lock a chest or door so only you can use it? Place a sign on it and write [Private] anywhere on the sign, it doesn't matter which line. Once placed, the sign automatically reformats itself to show [Private] and your name.

Works on containers (chests, barrels, furnaces, shulker boxes, and similar) and doors, as long as the sign is a wall sign directly attached to the block.
On a double chest, locking either side locks the whole thing.
On a double door, a private sign on either half locks both halves.
The sign is automatically locked (waxed) the moment it's placed, so nobody can peel it off and edit it later, including you, more on that below.
There's no trust list, private signs only recognize the one owner. Nobody else, not even friends, can access it unless you personally let them in another way.
No cost, no limit on how many you can place.

Anyone who isn't the owner will be blocked from opening it, walking through it, or breaking it or the sign.

Sign Colors

You can color sign text using standard color codes (like &c for red) while writing the sign, exactly like you would in chat, assuming you have the right permissions for those colors.

If you want to go back and edit or recolor a sign after placing it, sneak and right-click it to reopen the sign editor. This only works if:

You have the sign-coloring permission.
The sign isn't locked/waxed.

Since Private Signs are automatically waxed on placement, they can't be recolored afterward through this method, that's intentional, it keeps them from being tampered with.

Double Doors

Place two matching wooden doors side by side like a normal double door, and they'll open and close together automatically, no setup, no sign, nothing to configure. Right-click either half and both swing open at once.

This only applies to standard wooden-style doors, iron doors and trapdoors aren't included.