I'm stuck underground. How do I get back to the surface?

I'm stuck underground.

• I can't mine any further to reach lava. There is no water nearby, and zombies can't reach me.
• I can't see to find any blocks to suffocate my character.
• NBTEdit and similar programs don't work on Mac, so I can't edit my save file to escape.
• I have hardly any blocks so cannot jump and lay my way up.
• I can't see, and do not have any torches, so can't make a staircase back up.
• I don't want to make new save as I have an awesome house filled with stuff that took me ages to find.

How can I get back to the surface?

Solution 1:

You can do a couple of things. If you have a pickaxe, then you can mine the block directly above you, then collect the stone and jump + place it below you. Do this repeatedly until you reach the surface.

If you don't have a pickaxe, it will take a little longer since you can't collect stone without one. Instead, just mine out blocks in a staircase fashion, using your hands.

Solution 2:

Even in a completely unlit area, there is still a little bit of visibility. You can increase the visibility further by turning up the Brightness slider in the Video Settings. If it still isn't enough, you can turn up your monitor brightness, change the gamma/calibration, or turn out the lights around you.

Once you can vaguely see the world around you, start digging to the surface. Even if you do not have a pickaxe, any ordinary block can be broken by hand (slowly). The simplest safe way to ascend is a diagonal staircase:

#####   #
####   ##
###   ###
##   ####
#   #####

Dig out three blocks in front of you and upward, wait to see if there are any gravel or lava hazards, and proceed.

Or, since your question indicates you're willing to die, move ahead before you dig the topmost block, and hope something falls on you! Better yet, simply dig straight upward (using the blocks you collect to fill the space below you), which will get you either to the surface or your death faster.

Solution 3:

If you're stuck underground and you can't see around you:

Turn up the brightness on your monitor or in your graphics card settings. It's kind of cheating, but it makes it easier to see your surroundings and where you might have come from.

Try to find the path you came in on:

If you are able to find this path and there are cliffs you are unable to climb, try punching stairs into the walls or use the spare stone you collected going down into that hole to make 9stairs to get back out.

If you are unable to find the path you came in on:

Then explore the caves trying to get to the highest point possible. From there punch out blocks above you filling in block below by jump placing them below you. This will of course be very slow but hopefully you've found a good high point which will leave you near the surface.

If all else fails:

/kill

To prevent this in the future:

At the very least bring a small stack of logs or wood. Since you're far underground with no pick you'll be able to make sticks and you will have stone in your inventory to make a pick. With logs you will also be able to make your own coal and more sticks to make torches. If you ever start to run low on wood head back to the surface, unload your shiny stuff and get more wood.

Solution 4:

For editing, WebChest is an online inventory editor; just upload your level.dat, edit, and download the edited file.