How to Get a Mending Book in Minecraft
Trade with a librarian until it offers a Mending enchanted book, buy it for 10 to 38 emeralds plus one regular book, then apply it with an anvil.
To get Mending, trade with a librarian until it offers a Mending enchanted book, buy that book for 10 to 38 emeralds plus one regular book, then apply it to your item on an anvil. Mending is a treasure enchantment, so it cannot come from a Level 30 enchanting table. The librarian method works because a librarian of any level can sell an enchanted book.
What you need
- A lectern
- One regular book
- 10 to 38 emeralds
- An anvil
- Enough experience levels to use the anvil
How to get Mending step by step
Find an unemployed villager. Place a lectern near it so the villager claims the job site block and becomes a librarian.
Open the librarian trading screen and check the enchanted book offer. If the book is not Mending, break the lectern before trading. The villager becomes unemployed again. Replace the lectern and check the new offer. Repeat until you see a Mending enchanted book.
Once the offer appears, buy the Mending book for 10 to 38 emeralds plus one regular book. Do not trade with the villager before confirming the Mending offer, because the first trade locks the profession and stops the re-roll method.
Use an anvil to apply the book. Put the item in the first slot and the Mending book in the second slot. The book is consumed, and the process costs experience levels.
Trade Rebalance note: If the Villager Trade Rebalance experimental datapack is enabled, Mending is sold only by master-level swamp librarians, so the standard lectern re-roll will not show it.
Enchanted book prices by level
| Enchantment level | Emerald cost |
|---|---|
| Level I | 5 to 19 |
| Level II | 8 to 32 |
| Level III | 11 to 45 |
| Level IV | 14 to 58 |
| Level V | 17 to 64 |
Treasure enchantments like Mending double their emerald price, so a Mending book costs 10 to 38 emeralds plus one regular book.
Where it goes wrong
- Trading with the villager before confirming the Mending offer. The first trade locks the profession and stops re-rolling.
- Trying to get Mending from an enchanting table. Mending is a treasure enchantment and will not appear there.
- Running out of emeralds or experience levels before buying the book and using the anvil.
- Pairing Mending with Infinity. The two enchantments are incompatible.
- Expecting the normal lectern re-roll to work when the Villager Trade Rebalance experimental datapack is enabled, since Mending is then sold only by master-level swamp librarians.
FAQ
Can Mending go above level I?
No. Mending has a maximum level of I, so you cannot stack Mending books to create Mending II. The anvil method still works after upgrading diamond gear to netherite, but the enchantment remains level I.
Are there ways to get Mending besides trading?
Yes. Mending can be obtained from non-village structure loot, from fishing, or from raid drops. Trading with a librarian is the repeatable method.
Does Mending repair an item automatically?
No. Mending restores an item’s durability when you collect experience orbs. It repairs two durability points per point of experience in the orb.
