Potion

Potions are bottled substances. Most of them are brewable items, many of which give the consumer a time-limited effect when drunk.

Witches
Witches can drop potions of Healing, Fire Resistance, Swiftness, and Water Breathing, but only when they die while drinking that potion.

Wandering traders
Wandering traders have a chance to drop potions of Invisibility, but only when they die drinking the potion.

Fishing
Water bottles may be caught as junk when fishing.

Filling bottles
Using a glass bottle on a water source block or a cauldron that has water turns it into a water bottle. Using a glass bottle on a cauldron that contains potion turns it into a bottle of that potion. Using a glass bottle on a cauldron also removes $1/3$ of that cauldron's contents, but using a glass bottle on a water source block does not affect the water. Filling bottles from a water source (but not a cauldron) can be automated by placing the bottle(s) in a dispenser (again, the water source block remains unaffected).

Brewing
Almost all potions can be obtained by brewing, starting with the water bottle as the base.

The potion of Luck and the potion of Decay cannot be brewed. A potion of luck can be obtained via commands such as, while a potion of decay can generate rarely in a cauldron in a swamp hut. Both are also available through the creative inventory.

Natural generation
Two Instant Health II potions can be found in a brewing stand on ships in end cities, and one splash potion of Weakness can be found in a brewing stand in igloo basements.

The cauldron in swamp huts contains a random potion, making it the only way to obtain potion of Decay in survival.

Usage
Potions can be used by pressing and holding, similarly to eating food. Upon using, they apply the corresponding status effect to the player.

Modifiers
Potions can be modified in five ways. The first is by adding glowstone to enhance the effect level. The second is by adding redstone to extend the duration of the effect. The third is by adding gunpowder to make a potion a splash potion. The fourth is by adding dragon's breath to turn a splash potion into a lingering potion. The fifth is by adding a fermented spider eye to corrupt the effect, if corruptable, turning it into a different one. The result of a corruption is usually the inverse of the original effect (for example: Swiftness to Slowness).

Corrupting an extended or enhanced potion usually results in a corrupted potion with the same modifier applied, if it is supported by the corrupted effect. Of the four corrupted potions, Harming is the only one which cannot be extended, and also the only one which can be enhanced.

Some potions cannot be enhanced. For example, the Potion of Invisibility cannot be enhanced, as players cannot be more invisible than they normally are.

Base potions
Base potions are potions that are created first to brew into other potions. Base potions have no effect when the player drinks them.

Effect potions
Note that the duration of an enhanced potion is generally half the duration of its base potion, and that the duration of an extended potion is generally $2 2/3$ the duration of its base potion.

Uncraftable Potion
$$, the uncraftable potion is a potion with no effect that is unobtainable in regular gameplay. It is also available in splash potion and lingering potion forms, as well as for tipped arrows.

It can be obtained using the following command:. It is also obtained any time a potion has invalid or missing potion effect tags, and thus serves as a placeholder.

Filling cauldrons
$$, cauldrons can be filled up with water, dyed water, and potions. Tapping the cauldron with a potion or water bottle adds one level of the respective fluid to the cauldron. If the cauldron is already filled with a different fluid, the cauldron is emptied instead.

Custom effects
$$, potions can be obtained with any status effect using and the tag , which is an array of effects for the potion. See Item format for more information, and status effect for a list of effects and IDs.

Java Edition

 * : The item's tag tag.

Normal potions use an NBT "Potion" tag to indicate the potion type. The values of the tag (to be prefixed with ) are:

Bedrock Edition
Potions use the following item data values to indicate the kind of potion:

Trivia

 * Taking a potion while already under the effects of the same potion does not add onto the effects time, but simply resets it. A potion effect does not "downgrade" if a lower level is activated. For example, if a player has Regeneration II, drinking a regular Potion of Regeneration does not have any effect.
 * A potion can reach a maximum tier of 127, but using the command, effect levels can reach 255.
 * When a player drinks two potions by quickly switching to another potion immediately after drinking one, the second drinking animation is not shown.
 * An Instant Damage IV potion is powerful enough to instantly kill players.
 * Potion of Poison II lasts for 22.5 seconds, but it is displayed as 22 seconds because the item hover display shows rounded-down integer values.
 * All potions are renewable, as long as they can be brewed. The bottles can be obtained from a witch (as can some potions), glass can be purchased from librarian villagers to craft into bottles, and already filled ones can be fished up. All potion ingredients from then on have renewable ingredients, provided blocks of farmland, water and soul sand exist in the world.
 * Potions of Harming do not harm undead mobs (Zombies, Skeletons, etc.) and instead heals them. Likewise, Potions of Healing damage undead mobs.
 * Potions of Regeneration do not harm undead mobs, but do not heal them either.
 * Potions of Poison do not heal undead mobs, but do not harm them either.
 * If a player uses a Potion of Night Vision in the End, the Endermen and end portal appears white when far enough away.
 * The "Local Brewery" advancement uses the Uncraftable Potion texture for its picture.
 * Potion of the Turtle Master is the only potion that gives multiple effects (Slowness and Resistance).