Shulker Box

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

↑ 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.

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:

Sound	Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
File:Stone dig1.oggFile:Stone dig2.oggFile:Stone dig3.oggFile:Stone dig4.ogg	Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	`block.stone.break`	`subtitles.block.generic.break`	1.0	0.8	16
	Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	`block.stone.place`	`subtitles.block.generic.place`	1.0	0.8	16
File:Stone mining1.oggFile:Stone mining2.oggFile:Stone mining3.oggFile:Stone mining4.oggFile:Stone mining5.oggFile:Stone mining6.ogg	Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	`block.stone.hit`	`subtitles.block.generic.hit`	0.25	0.5	16
File:Stone hit1.oggFile:Stone hit2.oggFile:Stone hit3.oggFile:Stone hit4.oggFile:Stone hit5.oggFile:Stone hit6.ogg	None^{[sound 1]}	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	`block.stone.fall`	None^{[sound 1]}	0.5	0.75	16
File:Stone hit1.oggFile:Stone hit2.oggFile:Stone hit3.oggFile:Stone hit4.oggFile:Stone hit5.oggFile:Stone hit6.ogg	Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	`block.stone.step`	`subtitles.block.generic.footsteps`	0.15	1.0	16

↑ ^a ^b MC-177082

Bedrock Edition:

Sound	Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
File:Stone dig1.oggFile:Stone dig2.oggFile:Stone dig3.oggFile:Stone dig4.ogg	Blocks	Once the block has broken	`dig.stone`	1.0	0.8-1.0
	Blocks	When the block is placed	`dig.stone`	1.0	0.8-1.0
File:Stone hit1.oggFile:Stone hit2.oggFile:Stone hit3.oggFile:Stone hit4.oggFile:Stone hit5.oggFile:Stone hit6.ogg	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	`hit.stone`	0.37	0.5
	Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	`fall.stone`	0.4	1.0
	Players	Walking on the block	`step.stone`	0.3	1.0
	Players	Jumping from the block	`jump.stone`	0.12	1.0
	Players	Falling on the block without fall damage	`land.stone`	0.22	1.0

Unique[]

Java Edition:

Sound	Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
File:Shulker box close.ogg	Shulker closes	Blocks	When a shulker box closes	`block.shulker_box.close`	`subtitles.block.shulker_box.close`	0.5	0.9-1.0	16
File:Shulker box open.ogg	Shulker opens	Blocks	When a shulker box opens	`block.shulker_box.open`	`subtitles.block.shulker_box.open`	0.5	0.9-1.0	16
File:Door close.oggFile:Door open.ogg	Chest locked^{[sound 1]}	Blocks	When a player attempts to open a shulker box locked using the Lock tag	`block.chest.locked`^{[sound 1]}	`subtitles.block.chest.locked`^{[sound 1]}	1.0	1.0	16

↑ ^a ^b ^c MC-98316 — Wrong subtitles caused by missing distinction

Bedrock Edition:

Sound	Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
File:Shulker box close.ogg	Blocks	When a shulker box closes	`random.shulkerboxclosed`	0.5	0.9-1.0
File:Shulker box open.ogg	Blocks	When a shulker box opens	`random.shulkerboxopen`	0.5	0.9-1.0

Data values[]

ID[]

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	Block tags	Translation key
Shulker Box	`shulker_box`	Block & Item	`guarded_by_piglins` `shulker_boxes`	`block.minecraft.shulker_box`
White Shulker Box	`white_shulker_box`	Block & Item	`guarded_by_piglins` `shulker_boxes`	`block.minecraft.white_shulker_box`
Orange Shulker Box	`orange_shulker_box`	Block & Item	`guarded_by_piglins` `shulker_boxes`	`block.minecraft.orange_shulker_box`
Magenta Shulker Box	`magenta_shulker_box`	Block & Item	`guarded_by_piglins` `shulker_boxes`	`block.minecraft.magenta_shulker_box`
Light Blue Shulker Box	`light_blue_shulker_box`	Block & Item	`guarded_by_piglins` `shulker_boxes`	`block.minecraft.light_blue_shulker_box`
Yellow Shulker Box	`yellow_shulker_box`	Block & Item	`guarded_by_piglins` `shulker_boxes`	`block.minecraft.yellow_shulker_box`
Lime Shulker Box	`lime_shulker_box`	Block & Item	`guarded_by_piglins` `shulker_boxes`	`block.minecraft.lime_shulker_box`
Pink Shulker Box	`pink_shulker_box`	Block & Item	`guarded_by_piglins` `shulker_boxes`	`block.minecraft.pink_shulker_box`
Gray Shulker Box	`gray_shulker_box`	Block & Item	`guarded_by_piglins` `shulker_boxes`	`block.minecraft.gray_shulker_box`
Light Gray Shulker Box	`light_gray_shulker_box`	Block & Item	`guarded_by_piglins` `shulker_boxes`	`block.minecraft.light_gray_shulker_box`
Cyan Shulker Box	`cyan_shulker_box`	Block & Item	`guarded_by_piglins` `shulker_boxes`	`block.minecraft.cyan_shulker_box`
Purple Shulker Box	`purple_shulker_box`	Block & Item	`guarded_by_piglins` `shulker_boxes`	`block.minecraft.purple_shulker_box`
Blue Shulker Box	`blue_shulker_box`	Block & Item	`guarded_by_piglins` `shulker_boxes`	`block.minecraft.blue_shulker_box`
Brown Shulker Box	`brown_shulker_box`	Block & Item	`guarded_by_piglins` `shulker_boxes`	`block.minecraft.brown_shulker_box`
Green Shulker Box	`green_shulker_box`	Block & Item	`guarded_by_piglins` `shulker_boxes`	`block.minecraft.green_shulker_box`
Red Shulker Box	`red_shulker_box`	Block & Item	`guarded_by_piglins` `shulker_boxes`	`block.minecraft.red_shulker_box`
Black Shulker Box	`black_shulker_box`	Block & Item	`guarded_by_piglins` `shulker_boxes`	`block.minecraft.black_shulker_box`

Name	Identifier
Block entity	`shulker_box`

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Alias ID	Numeric ID	Form	Item ID^{[i 1]}	Translation key
Shulker Box	`undyed_shulker_box`	None	`205`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.shulkerBox.name`
White Shulker Box	`white_shulker_box`	`shulker_box / 0`	`218`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.shulkerBoxWhite.name`
Orange Shulker Box	`orange_shulker_box`	`shulker_box / 1`	`-613`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.shulkerBoxOrange.name`
Magenta Shulker Box	`magenta_shulker_box`	`shulker_box / 2`	`-614`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.shulkerBoxMagenta.name`
Light Blue Shulker Box	`light_blue_shulker_box`	`shulker_box / 3`	`-615`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.shulkerBoxLightBlue.name`
Yellow Shulker Box	`yellow_shulker_box`	`shulker_box / 4`	`-616`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.shulkerBoxYellow.name`
Lime Shulker Box	`lime_shulker_box`	`shulker_box / 5`	`-617`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.shulkerBoxLime.name`
Pink Shulker Box	`pink_shulker_box`	`shulker_box / 6`	`-618`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.shulkerBoxPink.name`
Gray Shulker Box	`gray_shulker_box`	`shulker_box / 7`	`-619`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.shulkerBoxGray.name`
Light Gray Shulker Box	`light_gray_shulker_box`	`shulker_box / 8`	`-620`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.shulkerBoxSilver.name`
Cyan Shulker Box	`cyan_shulker_box`	`shulker_box / 9`	`-621`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.shulkerBoxCyan.name`
Purple Shulker Box	`purple_shulker_box`	`shulker_box / 10`	`-622`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.shulkerBoxPurple.name`
Blue Shulker Box	`blue_shulker_box`	`shulker_box / 11`	`-623`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.shulkerBoxBlue.name`
Brown Shulker Box	`brown_shulker_box`	`shulker_box / 12`	`-624`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.shulkerBoxBrown.name`
Green Shulker Box	`green_shulker_box`	`shulker_box / 13`	`-625`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.shulkerBoxGreen.name`
Red Shulker Box	`red_shulker_box`	`shulker_box / 14`	`-626`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.shulkerBoxRed.name`
Black Shulker Box	`black_shulker_box`	`shulker_box / 15`	`-627`	Block & Giveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.shulkerBoxBlack.name`

↑ ID of block's direct item form, which is used in savegame files and addons.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q Available with /give command.
↑ ^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.

Name	Savegame ID
Block entity	`ShulkerBox`

Block states[]

Java Edition:

Name	Default value	Allowed values	Description
facing	`up`	`down` `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:

Name	Metadata Bits	Default value	Allowed values	Values for Metadata Bits	Description
color (Deprecated)	`0x1` `0x2` `0x4` `0x8`	`white`	`white`	`0`	White Shulker Box
			`orange`	`1`	Orange Shulker Box
			`magenta`	`2`	Magenta Shulker Box
			`light_blue`	`3`	Light Blue Shulker Box
			`yellow`	`4`	Yellow Shulker Box
			`lime`	`5`	Lime Shulker Box
			`pink`	`6`	Pink Shulker Box
			`gray`	`7`	Gray Shulker Box
			`silver`	`8`	Light Gray Shulker Box
			`cyan`	`9`	Cyan Shulker Box
			`purple`	`10`	Purple Shulker Box
			`blue`	`11`	Blue Shulker Box
			`brown`	`12`	Brown Shulker Box
			`green`	`13`	Green Shulker Box
			`red`	`14`	Red Shulker Box
			`black`	`15`	Black 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]}

↑ ^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:

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	Achievement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)	Gamerscore earned	Trophy type (PS4)
		Organizational Wizard	Name a Shulker Box with an Anvil	—	30G	Bronze

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
1.11		16w39a			Added shulker boxes.
1.11		16w39c			"Silver Shulker Boxes" have been now renamed to "Light Gray Shulker Boxes", in keeping with naming consistencies across dyed blocks.
1.12		17w16a			Shulker boxes have been recolored.
1.12		17w17a			The color of purple shulker boxes has been reverted.
1.13		17w47a			The ID has been changed from `silver_shulker_box` to `light_gray_shulker_box`.
		17w47a			Prior to The Flattening, these blocks' numeral IDs were 219 through 234.
		18w10b			Added a default shulker box.
		18w10b			The purple shulker box texture has been changed to the one used in 17w16a.
		18w10d			Shulker boxes can now be undyed in a cauldron.
1.14.2		Pre-Release 1			Empty shulker boxes no longer drops themselves when destroyed in Creative mode.^[2]
1.17		20w45a			Shulker post-generation mechanic is now added, making shulker boxes renewable.
		20w45a			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.
		20w46a			Shulker boxes no longer have a "peeking" animation.
		20w51a			Shulker boxes now drop their contents when destroyed as an item entity.
1.19.3		22w45a			Blocks attached to the sides and lid of a shulker box now pop off when the shulker box opens.^[4]
Pocket Edition
1.1.0		alpha 1.1.0.0			Added shulker boxes.
1.1.0		alpha 1.1.0.9			The color palette for shulker boxes has been updated.
?		?			Shulker boxes no longer use the wood sound.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.0		beta 1.2.0.2			Added a default shulker box.
1.2.0		beta 1.2.0.2			The purple shulker box color has been changed to the new palette.
1.8.0		beta 1.8.0.13			A recipe for undyed shulker boxes has been added.
1.16.0		beta 1.16.0.51			Shulker boxes can now be undyed in a cauldron.
1.17.30		beta 1.17.30.22			Shulker boxes now drop their contents when destroyed as an item entity.
1.18.30		beta 1.18.30.22			Shulker post-generation mechanic is now added, making shulker boxes renewable.
1.20.10		beta 1.20.10.20			The different block states for the `shulker_box` ID have now been split up into their own IDs.
Legacy Console Edition
TU53	CU43	1.49	Patch 23	1.0.3	Added shulker boxes.^[5]
		1.88			Added a default shulker box.
		1.88			The purple shulker box color has been changed to the new palette.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
1.9.19					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[]

Shulker 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

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[]

↑ MC-189485 — resolved as "Works As Intended".
↑ MC-148805
↑ MC-203562
↑ MC-177789
↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5xI3RA152g

External Links[]

Block of the Week: Shulker Box – Minecraft.net on November 19, 2020

[breakingtimenote-1] Times are for unenchanted tools as wielded by players with no status effects, measured in seconds. For more information, see Breaking § Speed.

[bugMC-177082-3] MC-177082

[lock-4] MC-98316 — Wrong subtitles caused by missing distinction

[bedrock-item-id-5] ID of block's direct item form, which is used in savegame files and addons.

[bedrock-give-available-6] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q Available with /give command.

[bedrock-item-form-7] ↑ ^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.

[loot-8] Both loot table tags are removed once the items have been generated.

[2] MC-189485 — resolved as "Works As Intended".

[9] MC-148805

[10] MC-203562

[11] MC-177789

[12] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5xI3RA152g

[A]

[1]

[sound 1]

[sound 1]

[i 1]

[i 2]

[i 3]

[note 1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]