Renewable |
Yes |
---|---|
Stackable |
Yes (64) |
Tool | |
Blast resistance |
2.5 |
Hardness |
2.5 |
Luminant |
No |
Transparent |
No |
Flammable |
No |
Catches fire from lava |
Yes |
A barrel is a fisherman's job site block, used to store items. It functions like a single chest although it requires no air space above it to be opened.
Contents
Obtaining[]
Natural generation[]
Empty barrels can generate naturally in fisher cottages in villages. Up to 3 barrels can generate in a village fisher cottage.
Breaking[]
Barrels can be mined with or without any tool, but axes are the quickest.
Block | Barrel | |
---|---|---|
Hardness | 2.5 | |
Tool | ||
Breaking time[A] | ||
Default | 3.75 | |
Wooden | 1.9 | |
Stone | 0.95 | |
Iron | 0.65 | |
Diamond | 0.5 | |
Netherite | 0.45 | |
Golden | 0.35 |
- ↑ Times are for unenchanted tools as wielded by players with no status effects, measured in seconds. For more information, see Breaking § Speed.
Chest loot[]
Item | Structure | Container | Quantity | Chance |
---|---|---|---|---|
Java Edition | ||||
Barrel | Village | Fisherman's chest | 1–3 | 24.2% |
Crafting[]
Name | Ingredients | Crafting recipe | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Barrel | Any Planks + Any wood Slab |
[Java Edition only] | |
Barrel | Stick + Any wood Slab |
[Bedrock Edition only] |
Usage[]
Barrels can be moved by pistons,[Bedrock Edition only] water and lava flow around barrels without affecting them. Lava can create fire in air blocks next to barrels as if the barrel was flammable, but the barrel does not actually catch fire and can't be burned.
Container[]

The GUI of the barrel.
Barrels have a container inventory with 27 slots, which is the same as a single chest. Unlike chests, a barrel can be placed below a solid block and still be able to be opened. They can be filled by droppers and both filled and emptied by hoppers. When broken, barrels drop the contents of the container and the barrel item itself.
To open the barrel GUI, use the Use Item control. To move items between the barrel inventory and the player inventory or hotbar while the barrel GUI is open, drag or shift-click the items. Holding Alt and double-clicking while holding an item moves all items of the type clicked on in or out of the barrel to the extent that space is available for them.[Java Edition only] To exit the barrel GUI, use the Esc control.
By default, the GUI of a barrel is labeled "Barrel". A barrel's GUI label can be changed by naming the barrel in an anvil before placing it or by using the /data
command[Java Edition only] (for example, to label a chest at (0,64,0) as "Bonus Barrel!", use /data merge block 0 64 0 {CustomName:'"Bonus Barrel!"'}
).
In Java Edition, a barrel can be "locked" by setting its Lock
tag using the /data
command. If a barrel's Lock
tag is not blank, the barrel cannot be opened unless the player is holding an item with the same name as the Lock
tag's text. For example, to lock a barrel at (0,64,0) so that the barrel cannot be opened unless the player is holding an item named "Barrel Key", use /data merge block 0 64 0 {Lock:"Barrel Key"}
.
Changing profession[]
If a village has a barrel that has not been claimed by a villager, any villager who does not have a chosen job site block has a chance to change their profession into a fisherman.
Fuel[]
Barrels can be used as a fuel in furnaces, smelting 1.5 items per block.
Note Blocks[]
Barrels can be placed under note blocks to produce "bass" sound.
Piglins[]
Piglins become hostile toward players who open or break barrels.
Sounds[]
Generic[]
Sound | Subtitles | Source | Description | Resource location | Translation key | Volume | Pitch | Attenuation distance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Block broken | Blocks | Once the block has broken | block.wood.break | subtitles.block.generic.break | 1.0 | 0.8 | 16 | |
None[sound 1] | Blocks | Falling on the block with fall damage | block.wood.fall | None[sound 1] | 0.5 | 0.75 | 16 | |
Block breaking | Blocks | While the block is in the process of being broken | block.wood.hit | subtitles.block.generic.hit | 0.25 | 0.5 | 16 | |
Block placed | Blocks | When the block is placed | block.wood.place | subtitles.block.generic.place | 1.0 | 0.8 | 16 | |
Footsteps | Blocks | Walking on the block | block.wood.step | subtitles.block.generic.footsteps | 0.15 | 1.0 | 16 |
Sound | Source | Description | Resource location | Volume | Pitch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
? | Blocks | Once the block has broken | dig.wood | 1.0 | 0.8 |
? | Blocks | Falling on the block with fall damage | fall.wood | 0.4 | 1.0 |
? | Blocks | While the block is in the process of being broken | hit.wood | 0.23 | 0.5 |
? | Blocks | Jumping from the block | jump.wood | 0.12 | 1.0 |
? | Blocks | Falling on the block without fall damage | land.wood | 0.18 | 1.0 |
? | Blocks | Walking on the block | step.wood | 0.3 | 1.0 |
? | Blocks | When the block is placed | use.wood | 1.0 | 0.8 |
Unique[]
Sound | Subtitles | Source | Description | Resource location | Translation key | Volume | Pitch | Attenuation distance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Barrel closes | Blocks | Closing the barrel | block.barrel.close | subtitles.block.barrel.close | 1.0 | 1.0 | 16 | |
Barrel opens | Blocks | Opening the barrel | block.barrel.open | subtitles.block.barrel.open | 1.0 | 1.0 | 16 |
Data values[]
ID[]
Name | Identifier | Form | Block tags | Translation key |
---|---|---|---|---|
Barrel | barrel | Block & Item | guarded_by_piglins | block.minecraft.barrel |
Name | Identifier |
---|---|
Block entity | barrel |
Name | Identifier | Numeric ID | Form | Item ID[i 1] | Translation key |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Barrel | barrel | 458 | Block & Giveable Item[i 2] | Identical[i 3] | tile.barrel.name |
Name | Savegame ID |
---|---|
Block entity | Barrel |
Block states[]
Name | Default value | Allowed values | Description |
---|---|---|---|
facing | north | down east north south up west | The direction the barrel is facing. |
open | false | false true | Whether the barrel is currently being looked at by a player; changes the texture on the top face. |
Name | Metadata Bits | Default value | Allowed values | Values for Metadata Bits |
Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
facing_direction | 0x1 0x2 0x4 | 0 | 0 1 2 3 4 5 | 0 1 2 3 4 5 | The direction the barrel is facing.
|
open_bit | 0x8 | 0 | 0 1 | 0 1 | Whether the barrel is currently being looked at by a player; changes the texture on the top face. |
Block data[]
A barrel has a block entity associated with it that holds additional data about the block.
- Block entity data
- Tags common to all block entities
- CustomName: Optional. The name of this container in JSON text component, which appears in its GUI where the default name ordinarily appears.
- Items: List of items in the container.
- : An item, including the slot tag. Barrel slots are numbered 0-26, 0 starts in the top left corner.
- Tags common to all items
- : An item, including the slot tag. Barrel slots are numbered 0-26, 0 starts in the top left corner.
- Lock: Optional. When not blank, prevents the container from being opened unless the opener is holding an item whose name matches this string.
- LootTable: Optional. Loot table to be used to fill the barrel when it is next opened, or the items are otherwise interacted with.[note 1]
- LootTableSeed: Optional. Seed for generating the loot table. 0 or omitted uses a random seed.[note 1]
History[]
Java Edition | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.14 | 18w44a | ![]() | |||
Barrels have been added to creative inventory. | |||||
Barrels currently have the inventory of a chest. | |||||
Barrels can currently be filled only by hoppers and droppers. | |||||
Barrels can currently be emptied only by hoppers. | |||||
Barrels currently do not drop the items they contain when broken. | |||||
18w47b | The facing=south block state texture of barrels has been changed.[more information needed] | ||||
18w48a | Barrel items are now found in chests in village fisher cottages. | ||||
Barrels can now generate naturally in plains villages. | |||||
18w49a | Barrels can now generate naturally in savanna and snowy villages. | ||||
18w50a | Barrels can now generate naturally in desert and taiga villages. | ||||
Barrels now act as a storage unit. | |||||
Barrels can now be used in tight spaces, even if there is a block above it, unlike a chest. | |||||
Barrels can now be crafted using 6 wood planks and 2 wood slabs. | |||||
19w03a | Sounds have been added for barrels. | ||||
19w07a | ![]() open block state has been added to barrels. | ||||
19w11a | Barrels now serve as fisherman villagers' job site block. | ||||
1.16 | 20w15a | Piglins now become hostile toward players who open or break barrels. | |||
1.18 | Pre-release 5 | Bottom texture was changed. | |||
Bedrock Edition | |||||
1.9.0 | beta 1.9.0.2 | ![]() ![]() | |||
![]() | |||||
![]() | |||||
A barrel can be used to smelt 1.5 items in a furnace. | |||||
1.10.0 | beta 1.10.0.3 | A crafting recipe has been added to barrels, which is different compared from Java Edition's crafting recipe. | |||
Barrels now generate in fisher cottages in villages. | |||||
1.11.0 | beta 1.11.0.1 | The functionality of barrels has been added. | |||
1.18.10 | beta 1.18.10.22 | Changed the bottom texture to match the spruce planks. | |||
PlayStation 4 Edition | |||||
1.91 | ![]() ![]() |
Issues[]
Issues relating to "Barrel" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.
Trivia[]
- In the 2022's April Fool's update, a barrel can be thrown onto a player and make them appear as if they were "wearing" or "hiding" under the block.
Gallery[]
LadyAgnes tweets a screenshot of an updated savanna village, which features some barrels.[1]
Something similar to the unused fish barrel in the camp in Minecraft Dungeons.
Player's vision while hiding inside a barrel in the April Fool's update 2022.
References[]
- ↑ "Me and the amazing @ProfMobius are working on the updated looks of villages, here is a savanna village!" – @_LadyAgnes on Twitter, November 23, 2018