How do I get my dwarves to do stuff

From Dwarf Fortress Wiki

To get a dwarf to do something useful, you need 4 things:

1. A task which needs doing
   • For instance, you could designate an area to be mined, or a wooden building to be destroyed.
2. A dwarf with the appropriate labour enabled.
   • For the above examples you would have to enable 'Mining' and 'Carpentry', respectively.
3. A dwarf with the appropriate tool(s), if any, or access to them.
   • For the above examples you would need a 'Pick' and 'Nothing', respectively.
   • Note that if another dwarf is using/holding the item, it's not available. (esp Picks and Axes, but also any item that may be (temporarily) tasked by another dwarf at the time.)
4. A valid path to all of the above.
   • Common errors include having a door that is sealed, carving out one half (upper or lower) of a staircase, channeling out a critical part of a route, or a workshop seal a path with an inaccessible tile.
   • Note also that many construction tasks require a dwarf to access the target tile from a cardinal direction - up, down, left or right, not diagonally. This includes installation of all doors, hatches & etc.

If you have those four things it is just a matter of time until a dwarf decides to complete the task (they might be busy doing other things first).

Beginner's guide FAQ
Quickstart guide Download a saved game which has a basic fort started, and guides you through a few simple tasks.
Your first fortress The bare minimum you need to know to get you from installation, to playing.
How do I get my dwarves to do stuff?
Where in the world should I settle?
Where in my area should I build my fort?
What should I build first?
What skills and items should I equip my dwarves with?
How do I assign tasks to specific dwarves?
How do I get more dwarves?
Various advice from various players
HELP! My +/- keys aren't working!
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