How do I detect certain block types anywhere in a certain area?

Question

I want to make a command block that detects water blocks anywhere in my world, and then replace it with ice, but I don't know how to detect blocks without testing specific coordinates one by one. For example, this won't work because I have to repeat for every single coordinate I want to test:

/execute if block 12 23 34 water run setblock 12 23 34 ice

I also want it to detect blocks everywhere without being restricted by distance from the player or other entities.

Answer 1

The command syntax is

/fill <from> <to> <block> replace [<filter>]

So in your case it is something like

/fill ~-25 ~-10 ~-25 ~25 ~10 ~25 minecraft:ice replace minecraft:water

which would be execute off of the player every few seconds to get it all. This wouldn't get it all at once but wherever the player moves.

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Note this may work slower if a lot of people are in the same world.