Compass

The  is a navigation item used to tell the orientation of the player.

General
To use the compass, it must be equipped in your hands and opened (left click). It can be difficult to see exact numbers on the compass; if you want to get a closer view of the numbers, go into your inventory and click "Inspect" on the item.

Trivia

 * Prior to 0.54, only the "old" metal compass was available. The plastic compass is referred to as an "orienteering" compass in the files, and carries with it a slightly lower weight of 130g.
 * For a while, the plastic compass was only very rarely obtained as a bonus through eating a box of Crunchin Crisps Cereal, but was reintroduced as a rare loot spawn in 0.61.