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This article is about the storage block. For the hostile End city mob, see Shulker. For the item that drops from the mob, see Shulker Shell.

A shulker box is a dyeable block that stores items, and, unlike all other storage blocks, keeps its contents in item form when broken.

Obtaining[]

Breaking[]

Shulker boxes can be mined with any tool or by hand, but using a pickaxe is the most effective. Shulker boxes drop themselves when mined. Unlike other containers, the contents of shulker boxes are stored within the dropped item, and not dropped separately. When instantly mined in Creative mode, shulker boxes drop as an item if there are items stored within, unless /gamerule doTileDrops is set to "false".

Block Shulker Box
Hardness 2
Tool
Breaking time[A]
Default 3
Wooden 1.5
Stone 0.75
Iron 0.5
Diamond 0.4
Netherite 0.35
Golden 0.25
  1. Times are for unenchanted tools as wielded by players with no status effects, measured in seconds. For more information, see Breaking § Speed.

Crafting[]

Name Ingredients Crafting recipe Description
Shulker Box Shulker Shell +
Chest

Shulker Box Any Shulker Box +
Matching Dye


The shulker box retains its contents. If it is renamed on an anvil, it also retains its name.
Ingredients Crafting recipe Description
Any Shulker Box +
Bone Meal or
Lapis Lazuli or
Cocoa Beans or
Ink Sac


[Bedrock Edition and Minecraft Education only]

Usage[]

Shulker Box GUI

GUI of the shulker box.

A shulker box has 27 inventory slots, the same as a chest.

Shulker boxes are portable chests: they keep their items when broken, which can be retrieved when placed again. This is different from other containers, which drop their contained items as item entities when broken. A shulker box drops itself as an item if pushed by pistons or destroyed by an explosion. Unlike most blocks with inventory, shulker boxes always drop themselves when destroyed by explosions. When a shulker box with items inside is being held ‌[Bedrock Edition only] or is in a container's inventory, the items are listed on the tooltip as properties.

Item propertiesofficial

Items inside the shulker box are listed below the block type properties.

A shulker box's items can be fed or removed by a hopper.

Shulker boxes can be stored in all containers except for other shulker boxes and bundles.

When placed on a wall or ceiling, shulker boxes face and open sideways or upside-down, respectively. Shulker boxes cannot be opened if a solid opaque block is on their top surface, similar to a chest. For example, if a shulker box is facing upside-down and a solid opaque block is below it, the shulker box cannot be opened. A shulker box can also be placed using dispensers.

Like a chest, a shulker box requires a transparent area above to be opened, and it opens only if the hitbox of the top of the open shulker box does not intersect with another hitbox. This way, a shulker box can be opened with an upside-down slab or an upper trapdoor on top of it. It is also unique in that when opened, its hitbox expands to 1.5 blocks high/wide, physically pushing entities where it is facing.

By default, the GUI of a shulker box is labeled "Shulker Box", which can be changed by naming it in an anvil or by changing the CustomName tag using the /data command‌[Java Edition only].

When a shulker box item is destroyed, the contents of the shulker box are dropped as items.

Undyeing[]

Dyed shulker boxes can be undyed using a cauldron. To do this, use a dyed shulker box on a cauldron that has water in it. This causes the cauldron's water level to decrease by 1, and the shulker box loses its dye color.

Piglins[]

Piglins become hostile toward players who open or mine shulker boxes.[1]

Sounds[]

Generic[]

Java Edition:

SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
Block brokenBlocksOnce the block has brokenblock.stone.breaksubtitles.block.generic.break1.00.816
Block placedBlocksWhen the block is placedblock.stone.placesubtitles.block.generic.place1.00.816
Block breakingBlocksWhile the block is in the process of being brokenblock.stone.hitsubtitles.block.generic.hit0.250.516
None[sound 1]Entity-DependentFalling on the block with fall damageblock.stone.fallNone[sound 1]0.50.7516
FootstepsEntity-DependentWalking on the blockblock.stone.stepsubtitles.block.generic.footsteps0.151.016
  1. a b MC-177082

Bedrock Edition:

SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch
BlocksOnce the block has brokendig.stone1.00.8-1.0
BlocksWhen the block is placeddig.stone1.00.8-1.0
BlocksWhile the block is in the process of being brokenhit.stone0.370.5
PlayersFalling on the block with fall damagefall.stone0.41.0
PlayersWalking on the blockstep.stone0.31.0
PlayersJumping from the blockjump.stone0.121.0
PlayersFalling on the block without fall damageland.stone0.221.0

Unique[]

Java Edition:

SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
Shulker closesBlocksWhen a shulker box closesblock.shulker_box.closesubtitles.block.shulker_box.close0.50.9-1.016
Shulker opensBlocksWhen a shulker box opensblock.shulker_box.opensubtitles.block.shulker_box.open0.50.9-1.016
Chest locked[sound 1]BlocksWhen a player attempts to open a shulker box locked using the  Lock tagblock.chest.locked[sound 1]subtitles.block.chest.locked[sound 1]1.01.016
  1. a b c MC-98316 — Wrong subtitles caused by missing distinction

Bedrock Edition:

SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch
BlocksWhen a shulker box closesrandom.shulkerboxclosed0.50.9-1.0
BlocksWhen a shulker box opensrandom.shulkerboxopen0.50.9-1.0

Data values[]

ID[]

Java Edition:

NameIdentifierFormBlock tagsTranslation key
Shulker Boxshulker_boxBlock & Itemguarded_by_piglins
shulker_boxes
block.minecraft.shulker_box
White Shulker Boxwhite_shulker_boxBlock & Itemguarded_by_piglins
shulker_boxes
block.minecraft.white_shulker_box
Orange Shulker Boxorange_shulker_boxBlock & Itemguarded_by_piglins
shulker_boxes
block.minecraft.orange_shulker_box
Magenta Shulker Boxmagenta_shulker_boxBlock & Itemguarded_by_piglins
shulker_boxes
block.minecraft.magenta_shulker_box
Light Blue Shulker Boxlight_blue_shulker_boxBlock & Itemguarded_by_piglins
shulker_boxes
block.minecraft.light_blue_shulker_box
Yellow Shulker Boxyellow_shulker_boxBlock & Itemguarded_by_piglins
shulker_boxes
block.minecraft.yellow_shulker_box
Lime Shulker Boxlime_shulker_boxBlock & Itemguarded_by_piglins
shulker_boxes
block.minecraft.lime_shulker_box
Pink Shulker Boxpink_shulker_boxBlock & Itemguarded_by_piglins
shulker_boxes
block.minecraft.pink_shulker_box
Gray Shulker Boxgray_shulker_boxBlock & Itemguarded_by_piglins
shulker_boxes
block.minecraft.gray_shulker_box
Light Gray Shulker Boxlight_gray_shulker_boxBlock & Itemguarded_by_piglins
shulker_boxes
block.minecraft.light_gray_shulker_box
Cyan Shulker Boxcyan_shulker_boxBlock & Itemguarded_by_piglins
shulker_boxes
block.minecraft.cyan_shulker_box
Purple Shulker Boxpurple_shulker_boxBlock & Itemguarded_by_piglins
shulker_boxes
block.minecraft.purple_shulker_box
Blue Shulker Boxblue_shulker_boxBlock & Itemguarded_by_piglins
shulker_boxes
block.minecraft.blue_shulker_box
Brown Shulker Boxbrown_shulker_boxBlock & Itemguarded_by_piglins
shulker_boxes
block.minecraft.brown_shulker_box
Green Shulker Boxgreen_shulker_boxBlock & Itemguarded_by_piglins
shulker_boxes
block.minecraft.green_shulker_box
Red Shulker Boxred_shulker_boxBlock & Itemguarded_by_piglins
shulker_boxes
block.minecraft.red_shulker_box
Black Shulker Boxblack_shulker_boxBlock & Itemguarded_by_piglins
shulker_boxes
block.minecraft.black_shulker_box
NameIdentifier
Block entityshulker_box

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifierAlias ID Numeric ID FormItem ID[i 1]Translation key
Shulker Boxundyed_shulker_boxNone205Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.shulkerBox.name
White Shulker Boxwhite_shulker_boxshulker_box / 0218Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.shulkerBoxWhite.name
Orange Shulker Boxorange_shulker_boxshulker_box / 1-613Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.shulkerBoxOrange.name
Magenta Shulker Boxmagenta_shulker_boxshulker_box / 2-614Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.shulkerBoxMagenta.name
Light Blue Shulker Boxlight_blue_shulker_boxshulker_box / 3-615Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.shulkerBoxLightBlue.name
Yellow Shulker Boxyellow_shulker_boxshulker_box / 4-616Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.shulkerBoxYellow.name
Lime Shulker Boxlime_shulker_boxshulker_box / 5-617Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.shulkerBoxLime.name
Pink Shulker Boxpink_shulker_boxshulker_box / 6-618Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.shulkerBoxPink.name
Gray Shulker Boxgray_shulker_boxshulker_box / 7-619Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.shulkerBoxGray.name
Light Gray Shulker Boxlight_gray_shulker_boxshulker_box / 8-620Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.shulkerBoxSilver.name
Cyan Shulker Boxcyan_shulker_boxshulker_box / 9-621Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.shulkerBoxCyan.name
Purple Shulker Boxpurple_shulker_boxshulker_box / 10-622Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.shulkerBoxPurple.name
Blue Shulker Boxblue_shulker_boxshulker_box / 11-623Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.shulkerBoxBlue.name
Brown Shulker Boxbrown_shulker_boxshulker_box / 12-624Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.shulkerBoxBrown.name
Green Shulker Boxgreen_shulker_boxshulker_box / 13-625Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.shulkerBoxGreen.name
Red Shulker Boxred_shulker_boxshulker_box / 14-626Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.shulkerBoxRed.name
Black Shulker Boxblack_shulker_boxshulker_box / 15-627Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.shulkerBoxBlack.name
  1. ID of block's direct item form, which is used in savegame files and addons.
  2. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Available with /give command.
  3. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q The block's direct item form has the same id as the block.
NameSavegame ID
Block entityShulkerBox

Block states[]

See also: Block states

Java Edition:

Name Default value Allowed values Description
facingupdown
east
north
south
up
west
The direction the shulker box is pointing.
The opposite from the direction the player faces while placing the shulker box.

Bedrock Edition:
Dyed shulker box:

NameMetadata Bits Default value Allowed valuesValues for
Metadata Bits
Description
color
(Deprecated)
0x1
0x2
0x4
0x8
white white0White Shulker Box
orange1Orange Shulker Box
magenta2Magenta Shulker Box
light_blue3Light Blue Shulker Box
yellow4Yellow Shulker Box
lime5Lime Shulker Box
pink6Pink Shulker Box
gray7Gray Shulker Box
silver8Light Gray Shulker Box
cyan9Cyan Shulker Box
purple10Purple Shulker Box
blue11Blue Shulker Box
brown12Brown Shulker Box
green13Green Shulker Box
red14Red Shulker Box
black15Black Shulker Box

Block data[]

A shulker box has a block entity associated with it that identifies its contents.

Java Edition:

  • 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 this container.
      • : An item, including the slot tag. Shulker box slots are numbered 0–26, 0 starts in the top left corner.
        • Tags common to all items
    •  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 shulker box 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]
  1. a b Both loot table tags are removed once the items have been generated.

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Block entity format.

Item data[]

Java Edition:

Main article: Player.dat format

Shulker boxes, as items, use an NBT tag BlockEntityTag to indicate the contents and details of the box when it is placed.

The following NBT structure is provided to show how the BlockEntityTag tag is organized, and is not comprehensive above the tag tag. The full NBT for an item can be found here.

  • Entity data
    •  Item: The item
      •  tag: Additional information about the item. This tag is optional for most items.
        •  BlockEntityTag: The details of the shulker box.
          • All block data, except tags common to all block entities.

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Item format.

Achievements[]

Icon Achievement In-game description Actual requirements (if different) Gamerscore earned Trophy type (PS4)
PS4 Other
Organizational WizardName a Shulker Box with an Anvil30GBronze

History[]

This section is missing information about Jeb (or someone else) mentioned plans to add a specific undyed shulker box after the 1.12 change was reverted and before 1.13. 
Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.
This section is missing information about Shulker textures from Legacy Console Edition - the terrain.png only contained a single white "shulker top" texture rather than a textue per color, so were color variants generated via a tint system?. 
Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.
Java Edition
1.1116w39aWhite Shulker Box Revision 1 Light Gray Shulker Box Revision 1 Gray Shulker Box Revision 1 Black Shulker Box Revision 1 Brown Shulker Box Revision 1 Red Shulker Box Revision 1 Orange Shulker Box Revision 1 Yellow Shulker Box Revision 1 Lime Shulker Box Revision 1 Green Shulker Box Revision 1 Cyan Shulker Box Revision 1 Light Blue Shulker Box Revision 1 Blue Shulker Box Revision 1 Purple Shulker Box Revision 1 Magenta Shulker Box Revision 1 Pink Shulker Box Revision 1 Added shulker boxes.
16w39c"Silver Shulker Boxes" have been now renamed to "Light Gray Shulker Boxes", in keeping with naming consistencies across dyed blocks.
1.1217w16aWhite Shulker Box Light Gray Shulker Box Gray Shulker Box Black Shulker Box Brown Shulker Box Red Shulker Box Orange Shulker Box Yellow Shulker Box Lime Shulker Box Green Shulker Box Cyan Shulker Box Light Blue Shulker Box Blue Shulker Box Purple Shulker Box Magenta Shulker Box Pink Shulker Box Shulker boxes have been recolored.
17w17aPurple Shulker Box Revision 1 The color of purple shulker boxes has been reverted.
1.1317w47aThe ID has been changed from silver_shulker_box to light_gray_shulker_box.
Prior to The Flattening, these blocks' numeral IDs were 219 through 234.
18w10bShulker Box Added a default shulker box.
Purple Shulker Box The purple shulker box texture has been changed to the one used in 17w16a.
18w10dShulker boxes can now be undyed in a cauldron.
1.14.2Pre-Release 1Empty shulker boxes no longer drop themselves when destroyed in Creative mode.[2]
1.1720w45aShulker post-generation mechanic is now added, making shulker boxes renewable.
Shulker Box MC-203562 Due to a bug,[3] when Shulkers run their "peeking" animation, shulker boxes make a "peeking" animation too, including the inventory item in the players hand, and in its dropped item form.
20w46aShulker boxes no longer have a "peeking" animation.
20w51aShulker boxes now drop their contents when destroyed as an item entity.
1.19.322w45aBlocks attached to the sides and lid of a shulker box now pop off when the shulker box opens.[4]
Pocket Edition
1.1.0alpha 1.1.0.0White Shulker Box Revision 1 Light Gray Shulker Box Revision 1 Gray Shulker Box Revision 1 Black Shulker Box Revision 1 Brown Shulker Box Revision 1 Red Shulker Box Revision 1 Orange Shulker Box Revision 1 Yellow Shulker Box Revision 1 Lime Shulker Box Revision 1 Green Shulker Box Revision 1 Cyan Shulker Box Revision 1 Light Blue Shulker Box Revision 1 Blue Shulker Box Revision 1 Purple Shulker Box Revision 1 Magenta Shulker Box Revision 1 Pink Shulker Box Revision 1 Added shulker boxes.
alpha 1.1.0.9White Shulker Box Light Gray Shulker Box Gray Shulker Box Black Shulker Box Brown Shulker Box Red Shulker Box Orange Shulker Box Yellow Shulker Box Lime Shulker Box Green Shulker Box Cyan Shulker Box Light Blue Shulker Box Blue Shulker Box Magenta Shulker Box Pink Shulker Box The color palette for shulker boxes has been updated.
??Shulker boxes no longer use the wood sound.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.0beta 1.2.0.2Shulker Box Added a default shulker box.
Purple Shulker Box The purple shulker box color has been changed to the new palette.
1.8.0beta 1.8.0.13A recipe for undyed shulker boxes has been added.
1.16.0beta 1.16.0.51Shulker boxes can now be undyed in a cauldron.
1.17.30beta 1.17.30.22Shulker boxes now drop their contents when destroyed as an item entity.
1.18.30beta 1.18.30.22Shulker post-generation mechanic is now added, making shulker boxes renewable.
1.20.10beta 1.20.10.20The different block states for the shulker_box ID have now been split up into their own IDs.
Legacy Console Edition
TU53CU43 1.49 Patch 231.0.3White Shulker Box Light Gray Shulker Box Gray Shulker Box Black Shulker Box Brown Shulker Box Red Shulker Box Orange Shulker Box Yellow Shulker Box Lime Shulker Box Green Shulker Box Cyan Shulker Box Light Blue Shulker Box Blue Shulker Box Purple Shulker Box Revision 1 Magenta Shulker Box Pink Shulker Box Added shulker boxes.[5]
1.88 Shulker Box Added a default shulker box.
Purple Shulker Box The purple shulker box color has been changed to the new palette.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
1.9.19Shulker Box White Shulker Box Light Gray Shulker Box Gray Shulker Box Black Shulker Box Brown Shulker Box Red Shulker Box Orange Shulker Box Yellow Shulker Box Lime Shulker Box Green Shulker Box Cyan Shulker Box Light Blue Shulker Box Blue Shulker Box Purple Shulker Box Magenta Shulker Box Pink Shulker Box Added 16 variants of shulker boxes. There is no default shulker box separate from the purple shulker box; the purple shulker box uses the texture of the default shulker box.[more information needed]

Gallery[]

Issues[]

Issues relating to "Shulker Box" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia[]

  • With 37 shulker boxes in a player's inventory, hotbar, and off-hand slot, 999 stacks of up to 64 items (up to 63,936 total items; 63,973 if counting shulker boxes themselves) can be held. With 37 shulker boxes and an ender chest with 27 shulker boxes in one of the shulker box slots, 1,727 stacks (up to 110,528 items; 1,728 stacks with up to 110,592 items if counting stacked ender chests) can be held.
  • When the camera is far enough from a shulker box, the shulker box is invisible, even though it is still within the render distance, this is because the shulker box is still considered a mob.
  • Before they were added to Minecraft, storage objects that keep their inventory when picked up were already present in Minicraft.

References[]

External Links[]

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