How to Obtain Mending in Minecraft

Key Takeaways

Point	Details
Mending is a treasure	Mending is a treasure enchantment – it cannot be obtained from an enchanting table.
Trading with a librarian	Trading with a librarian villager is the most reliable method to get a Mending book.
Alternative sources include fishing,	Alternative sources include fishing, structure chests (dungeons, temples, strongholds), and raid drops in Bedrock Edition.
Mending repairs items by	Mending repairs items by consuming experience orbs from any source, prioritizing damaged items.
Mending and Infinity cannot	Mending and Infinity cannot be placed on the same item; they are mutually exclusive.

Mending is one of the most sought-after enchantments in Minecraft because it lets you repair your gear simply by collecting experience orbs. Unlike most enchantments, you cannot get Mending from an enchanting table – it's a treasure enchantment, which means you have to find it through specific activities or trading.

The Reliable Villager Trading Method for Mending

The most popular and dependable way to get Mending is by trading with a librarian villager. The Minecraft Wiki's Mending page states:

Mending is a treasure enchantment; it can be obtained from non-village structure loot, fishing, raid drops,‌[BE only] or by trading with a librarian of any level (or if the "Villager Trade Rebalance" experimental datapack is enabled, a master level swamp librarian).

According to the Enchantment page, "Librarian villagers sell enchanted books that can have almost any enchantment, including most treasure enchantments, but excluding the Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst enchantments."

Librarian villagers sell enchanted books that can have almost any enchantment, including most treasure enchantments, but excluding the Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst enchantments.

To set this up, you need a village with a librarian (or create one by placing a lectern next an unemployed villager). The librarian's first trade slot (enchanted book) is random. If it isn't Mending, break and replace the lectern to reset the trade. Once you get a Mending book, you can buy it for emeralds – the price varies, but it's usually around 10-38 emeralds. This method works in both Java and Bedrock Edition without any experimental datapacks (though with the Villager Trade Rebalance datapack, only master-level swamp librarians offer Mending).

Alternative Methods: Fishing, Chest Loot, and Raid Drops

If you're not near a village, you can still find Mending through other means. The Mending page explains:

Mending is a treasure enchantment; it can be obtained from non-village structure loot, fishing, raid drops,‌[BE only] or by trading with a librarian of any level (or if the "Villager Trade Rebalance" experimental datapack is enabled, a master level swamp librarian).

This means Mending books can appear in chests inside dungeons, desert temples, jungle temples, strongholds, end cities, and other generated structures. Additionally, fishing can yield enchanted books – as noted on the Bow page, "When caught, the bow may be damaged and contain random enchantments equivalent to a level 30 enchantment from an enchanting table, including treasure enchantments like Mending."

When caught, the bow may be damaged and contain random enchantments equivalent to a level 30 enchantment from an enchanting table, including treasure enchantments like Mending.

In Bedrock Edition only, Mending books can also drop as raid rewards. If you're playing on Bedrock and have access to a raid farm, this can be a fast way to collect Mending gear.

How Mending Repairs Your Items

Once you have a Mending enchanted book, apply it to your tool, weapon, or armor using an anvil. The item will then repair itself automatically. The Mending page describes the repair process:

Any items with Mending in the player's main hand, offhand, or armor slots that are not at maximum durability are repaired by experience orbs collected from any source.

The wiki also specifies the repair rate: "The rate of repair is two durability per point of experience contained in the orb." Experience orbs prioritize Mending items over filling your XP bar – if any equipped item needs repair, the XP goes into that item first. However, only one item is repaired per orb, and the item is chosen randomly among those that are damaged. Durability level does not affect the random selection: a nearly broken pickaxe has the same chance as a sword missing one point.

Important Incompatibility: Mending and Infinity

A critical rule to remember: Mending and Infinity cannot coexist on the same item. The wiki states plainly:

Mending is incompatible with Infinity.

This means you cannot have a bow that both repairs itself (Mending) and shoots infinite arrows (Infinity). You must choose one or the other. For most players, Mending is more valuable because you can always craft more arrows, but if you prefer Infinity, leave Mending off your bow.

Quick Tips for Using Mending Effectively

• Always wear or hold the item – Mending only repairs items in your main hand, offhand, or armor slots. Items in your inventory do not get repaired.
• Combine with Unbreaking – Mending works well with Unbreaking because the item lasts longer between repairs, reducing the XP needed.
• Use an XP farm – A simple mob spawner or furnace array can provide a steady stream of XP orbs to keep your Mending gear topped up.
• Check for the trade early – Librarians are easiest to set up early game. Keep an eye out for a swamp biome if you've enabled the Villager Trade Rebalance datapack.
• Fishing is slow but possible – If you have patience and a good fishing rod with Luck of the Sea, you can fish up Mending books (though it's very rare).

If you want to use Mending on a trident, check our guide on How to Use the Trident in Minecraft: Riptide, Channeling & Impaling.