Minecraft Recipe

Recipe

Recipes guide players through crafting, smelting, and other block/item conversions. Crafting, smelting, blasting, campfire, smoking, smithing, stonecutting, and brewing (Java 26.3+) all use the recipe system; cartography too on Bedrock. Most recipes are data-driven.

Acquisition

Using a recipe auto-discovers it; /recipe grants it directly; conditions (e.g. obtaining items) unlock it — in Java via advancement rewards, in Bedrock via the recipe itself. Discovered recipes are stored in the player's recipeBook (or recipe_unlocking) NBT.

Usage

Recipes appear in the recipe book, but discovery is only required with the limited_crafting game rule. Recipes show only in matching interfaces (smelting in furnaces, etc.); the inventory recipe book shows only 2×2-compatible recipes.

Java Edition

Registry RECIPE, data pack path recipe (files in data/<namespace>/recipe/). There are no recipe tags — data/<namespace>/tags/recipe/ is never loaded. Files are JSON:

{ "type": "<namespace id>", ... }

Common fields (crafting recipes): group (default "", groups merge in the book), category (default misc; building, redstone, equipment, misc), show_notification (default true).

Crafting Recipes

• crafting_shaped — shaped recipe. key (map char → item ID / item list / item tag; chars are single non-space characters), pattern (1–3 rows, equal lengths, spaces = empty), result (item template). Mirror-symmetric arrangements are automatically valid.
• crafting_shapeless — ingredients (1–9 entries: item ID/list/tag), result. 9 identical ingredients are treated internally as a shaped recipe.
• crafting_transmute — changes the item type while keeping the input's component revision: input, material (consumed), material_count (default [1,1], subrange of [1,8]), result, add_material_to_result_count (default false — adds the count of material slots to the output stack size). No effect when input == output.
• crafting_dye — dyeing: target, dye (must have the dye component), result. Requires ≥2 items and exactly one target; the target goes through the transmute processing, then a new dyed_color component is set from existing + input dye colors.
• crafting_imbue — potion effect copying (Java 26.3+): the grid center must be source, the 8 surrounding slots material; the source's potion_contents component is copied to result.

Custom (Special) Recipes

Handled by internal code; the JSON only restricts ingredients. Not shown in the recipe book, cannot be unlocked, unaffected by limited_crafting.

• crafting_decorated_pot — back (row 1 col 2), left (row 2 col 1), right (row 2 col 3), front (row 3 col 2), result; output gets a pot_decorations component from the ingredients.
• crafting_special_bannerduplicate — banner, result. Exactly 2 stacks; both must be banners of the same base color; pattern source's banner_patterns must be ≤ 6 layers. The pattern source is NOT consumed (unless it has a remainder item).
• crafting_special_bookcloning — source (must have written_book_content), material, allowed_generations (default [0,1], subrange of [0,2]; 0 = original, 1 = copy of original, 2 = copy of copy, 3 = tattered), result. Copies the content with generation +1; consumed material count adds to the output count; the source is not consumed.
• crafting_special_firework_rocket — shell (exactly one), fuel (≤3, +1 flight_duration each), star (provides firework_explosion components in grid order), result; output gets a fireworks component.
• crafting_special_firework_star — trail, twinkle, fuel, dye (must have dye component; each modifier at most once), shapes (small_ball, large_ball, burst, star, creeper; default small ball), result; output gets a firework_explosion component.
• crafting_special_firework_star_fade — target, fuel (dyes), result; sets fade_colors in the firework_explosion component (≥2 items, exactly one target).
• crafting_special_mapextending — map (center; must have map_id, the map data must exist, not be an explorer map, scale ≠ 4), material (8 around), result; sets map_post_processing to 1.
• crafting_special_repairitem — no other fields. Two items of the same type with damage/max_damage components; output takes the max max-durability, sums remaining durability + 5%; keeps both curse enchantments; other enchantments take the highest level.
• crafting_special_shielddecoration — banner (must be a banner), target (no or empty banner_patterns), result; sets base_color and banner_patterns from the banner.

Smelting Recipes

Common fields: group, category (food, blocks, misc), show_notification, experience (default 0), cookingtime (default 200 for smelting; 100 for blasting, smoking, campfire_cooking), ingredient, result.

• smelting — furnace.
• blasting — blast furnace.
• smoking — smoker.
• campfire_cooking — campfire and soul campfire. All vanilla campfire recipes use 600 ticks (30 s). Does not trigger the recipe_unlocked advancement trigger.

Stonecutting

stonecutting — ingredient, result (no group/category).

Brewing (Java 26.3 dev)

brewing — input (item + optional potion_contents), output (item template), reagent (item).

Smithing

• smithing_transform — template, base (required), addition, result; the base item is transmuted into the result (components preserved).
• smithing_trim — template, base (required), addition (required; its provides_trim_material component determines the trim material), pattern (trim pattern).

Bedrock Edition

Files are JSON in the behavior pack's recipes/ directory. Ingredient format: {item, data (int or Molang), tag}; output format: {item, data, count}. Types (each under format_version + the type key, with description.identifier, tags (valid vanilla tags listed per type), group, priority (lower = higher priority), unlock (list of required items or {context: AlwaysUnlocked | PlayerInWater | PlayerHasManyItems})):

• minecraft:recipe_shaped — key + pattern + result (single item or list), assume_symmetry (default true). Tags: crafting_table.
• minecraft:recipe_shapeless — ingredients + result (exactly one). Tags: crafting_table, stonecutter, cartography_table. The stonecutter uses this system.
• minecraft:recipe_furnace — input + output. Tags: furnace, blast_furnace, smoker, campfire, soul_campfire.
• minecraft:recipe_brewing_container — input, output, reagent. Tag: brewing_stand.
• minecraft:recipe_brewing_mix — input (potion effect), output (potion effect), reagent. Tag: brewing_stand.
• minecraft:recipe_smithing_transform — template, base, addition, result. Tag: smithing_table; items need minecraft:trim_templates/trimmable_armors/trim_materials tags to be placeable (only netherite ingots are valid additions in vanilla).
• minecraft:recipe_smithing_trim — template, base, addition. Tag: smithing_table.
• minecraft:recipe_material_reduction (Education) — input + output (≤9). Tag: material_reducer.