Villager

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Not to be confused with IllagerPillager, or Wandering Trader.
This article is about the mob in Minecraft. For the mob in Minecraft Dungeons, see MCD:Villager. For the mob in Minecraft Legends, see MCL:Villager. For The zombified version, see Zombie Villager.
For the structure Villagers live in, see Village.
For for the Villagers before Village & Pillage, see Villager (old).
"Librarian" redirects here. For the achievement, see Achievements § Librarian.
Villager
Health points

20HP♥ × 10

Behavior

Passive[note 1]

Mob type

NPC[note 2]

Attack
strength

Damage decreases with distance: Firework Rocket:
Easy: 5HP♥♥♥
Normal: 8HP♥♥♥♥
Hard: 12HP♥ × 6

Hitbox size

In Java Edition:
Adult:
Height: 1.95 blocks
Width: 0.6 blocks
Baby:
Height: 0.975 blocks
Width: 0.3 blocks
In Bedrock Edition:
Adult:
Height: 1.9 blocks
Width: 0.6 blocks
Baby:
Height: 0.95 blocks
Width: 0.3 blocks

Speed

0.5

Spawn
  • Village
  • Igloo basement
  • When a zombie villager is cured
  • Upon successful breeding

Villagers are passive mobs that inhabit villages, work at their professions, breed, and interact with each other. Their outfit varies according to their occupation and biome. A player can trade with them using emeralds as currency.

Spawning

Natural generation

Villagers can be found in villages, which spawn in several biomes such as plains, snowy plains, savannas, deserts, taigas, and snowy taigas[Bedrock Edition only] and can cut into other biomes such as swamps and jungles. When the village is generated, unemployed villagers spawn in them, the number of which depends on the buildings in that village, as some buildings generate villagers inside and some do not.

Each villager spawns with an empty inventory. Villagers never spawn with armor or other equipment. In Java Edition a dispenser can be used to equip armor on a villager.

Igloo basements always generate with one villager in the left cell and one zombie villager in the right cell. In Java Edition, the villager and zombie villager are both clerics, while in Bedrock Edition, they have random professions. In Java Edition, the cleric villager can change into a leatherworker since the basement generates with a cauldron, which is closer than the brewing stand to the villager.

Curing

Giving a zombie villager the Weakness effect and then feeding it a golden apple starts the curing process. After five minutes, it transforms into a villager, displaying purple Nausea status effect particles for 10 seconds after being cured. The villager retains the profession it had as a zombie, if it had one before turning into a zombie villager. In Bedrock Edition, if the zombie villager is player spawned, it adopts a randomly chosen profession. The villager can also be a nitwit, meaning it cannot work once cured. If employed, the cured villager offers discounts on most of its trades.

Curing a zombie villager riding a chicken results in the villager riding a chicken. Eventually, the villager grows up and gains a profession while still being on the chicken. Curing a zombie villager with armor and items causes it to drop them as items.

Drops

A villager, either adult or baby, does not ordinarily drop any items or experience when killed. However, when a player holds an emerald or other item a villager is willing to trade for, the item it offers in trade appears in its hands, alternating between items if there are multiple items the villager wants to trade.

Villagers raise their arms when showing trade items.‌[Bedrock Edition only]

Upon successful trading, a villager drops 3–6XP.

Upon successful trading, while willing to breed, 8–11XP is dropped.

Hero of the Village

Main article: Hero of the Village

A villager can drop various items, depending on its profession, by throwing a gift toward a nearby player with the Hero of the Village effect. The gift is randomly selected from a list of items for the villager's individual profession, and there is a random cooldown before the villager can throw another gift.

Behavior

Movement patterns

Socializing

Nitwit and unemployed villagers leave their homes at day and begin to explore the village. Generally, they wander inside the village during the day. They may go indoors or outdoors, periodically making mumbling sounds. Occasionally, two villagers may stop and turn to look at each other, in a behavior called socializing, during which they stare at another villager for 4–5 seconds at a time. They continuously stare at a nearby player unless the villager is trying to get into a house at night, farm food, work, or flee from a zombie or illager. Baby villagers may jump on beds and play tag with each other, similarly to how baby piglins and baby hoglins play tag.

In Bedrock Edition, baby villagers do not stop in order to stare at players, and thus continue moving as if the player is not there.

A villager tries not to travel far from its bed in a large village unless the job site or the nearest gossip site (bell) is far away.

Villagers emit green particles if they join a village, set a bed, or acquire a job site/profession.

Villagers run inside at night or during rain, closing doors behind them. They attempt to sleep at night, but if they cannot claim a bed, they stay indoors near a bed until morning. In the morning, they head outside and resume normal behavior. However, some villagers, such as nitwits, stay outside later than others unless being chased by an illager or zombie.

Migration

If a villager finds itself outside the village boundary, or a villager without a village detects a village boundary within 32 blocks, it quickly moves back within the boundary. A villager taken more than 32 blocks away from its village boundary forgets the village within about 6 seconds. Whether in a village or not, a villager never despawns.

Pathfinding

Villagers, like other mobs, can find paths around obstructions, avoid walking off cliffs of heights greater than 3 blocks, and avoid some blocks that cause harm. However, in crowded situations, one villager can push another off a cliff or into harm's way.

Villagers can open all wooden doors and find paths to blocks of interest behind the doors. However, they cannot open any trapdoors, fence gates, or iron doors. Villagers can climb ladders, but do not recognize them as paths and do not deliberately use them. Any climbing of ladders seems to be a side effect of them being pushed into the block by another mob (usually by other villagers).

Stranded villagers

Climbing a ladder can leave a villager stranded on the second floor and roof of some village structures, as they lack the necessary AI to intentionally descend ladders.[verify] A simple fix for these situations is for the player to manually push the villager back toward the ladder hole. Then the player can place a wooden trapdoor at the top, to stop the villager from ever getting up there again. However, the villager can still get stuck on the ladder underneath the trapdoor. Another solution is to break the first ladder touching the ground, completely preventing the villager from climbing the ladder. However, this means the player has to jump up one block to use the ladder.

Getting attacked

Villagers flee from zombies, zombie villagers, husks, drowned, zombified piglins (even though they don't attack villagers)‌[Bedrock Edition only], zoglins, vindicators, pillagers (even if their crossbow has been broken), ravagers, and vexes within 8 blocks, and evokers and illusioners within 12 blocks. Like other passive mobs, villagers sprint away when attacked. Villagers do not run away from skeletons (and their variants), spiders, or cave spiders since these hostile mobs are passive toward villagers.

Preferred path

This feature is exclusive to Bedrock Edition.
 

When pathfinding, villagers prefer to stay on low cost blocks, such as dirt paths, cobblestone, bricks, and planks. They do this by trying to minimize the path cost of all of the blocks they walk across. They also avoid jumping, because it has a high path cost, but babies don't avoid it as much.

Preferred path blocks [hide]Path cost
Adult villager Baby villager
Dirt Path
0

Block of Diamond
Block of Emerald
Block of Lapis Lazuli
Block of Gold
Block of Redstone
Bricks
Cobblestone
Chiseled Sandstone
Chiseled Red Sandstone
Cut Sandstone
Cut Red Sandstone
End Stone Bricks
Glass
Glazed Terracotta

Glowstone Mossy Cobblestone
Nether Bricks
Planks
Prismarine
Red Nether Bricks
Red Sandstone
Sandstone
Slabs
Smooth Sandstone
Smooth Red Sandstone
Stained Glass
Stone
Stone Bricks

1

Barrel
Beds
Blast Furnace
Brewing Stand
Cartography Table
Cauldron
Composter

Fletching Table
Grindstone
Lectern
Loom
Smithing Table
Smoker
Stonecutter

50
Other 3 1.5
Jump cost 20 5

Job site blocks

For a list of job site blocks and the professions they are required for, see  § Professions.

Unemployed villagers (other than babies and nitwits) seek employment at job site blocks (also referred to as workstations), and employed villagers use job site blocks to refresh their trades (see § Working). Villagers who have made their first trade must claim a site block that corresponds with their profession, whereas tradeless villagers may change their profession to match a site block.

In Java Edition, an unemployed villager claims job site blocks by searching for the nearest unclaimed site in a 48-block sphere. When a suitable site block is detected, the villager starts pathfinding to it, staking a provisional claim. This can occur only while the villager is awake. A provisional claim is released if the villager cannot reach the block within 60 seconds, however the villager may try again immediately.[1] To fully claim the site and change profession, the villager must approach within a 2-block radius of the job site's center. When a job site block is fully claimed, its owner emits green particles, and no other villager can claim the block unless the owner relinquishes it.

In Bedrock Edition, all villagers in a village search for unclaimed job sites in a 16 block radius and 4 block height. If a site block is found, it is added to a shared list of valid job site blocks for the whole village. An unemployed villager with a bed claims the first site block on that list and immediately acquires the profession to match, regardless of the distance or accessibility to the site block.[2] The villager can even claim the site block while sleeping. When a job site block is claimed, both the block and the villager making the claim emit green particles and the site block is removed from the list. If a villager cannot pathfind to its claimed site, both the site block and villager emit anger particles. The site block may need to be broken or interacted by a piston before the villager unclaims it.[verify for Bedrock Edition]

A desert villager and a plains villager gossiping.

Gossiping

Villagers can store memories about players in the form of gossip. These get spread to other villagers whenever they talk with each other. Each piece of gossip is one of five types, and it stores a value as well as a target. Gossips generate and increase in value as a result of various player actions. The target is the player who caused the gossip. Together the gossip values determine a player's reputation with villagers, which influence trading prices and the hostility of naturally spawned iron golems.

Type Caused by Amount gained Decay Share penalty Max value Reputation multiplier
Major positive Curing 20 0 100 20 5
Minor positive Curing 25 1 5 200 1
Minor negative Attacking 25 20 20 200 -1
Major negative Killing 25 10 10 100 -5
Trade Trading 2 2 20 25 1

Trading with or curing a villager increases the value of the corresponding gossips for the targeted villager only. When a villager is attacked or killed, however, it instead generates the major negative gossip in every other villager it could see (eye-to-eye line of sight) inside a box extending 16 blocks from the villager in all coordinate directions. When a piece of gossip is shared, it is received at a lower value than the sharer has it. Gossips also decay a certain amount (see Decay column) every 20 minutes. Since major positive gossip has a share penalty >= its max value and a decay of 0, it cannot be shared and never decays.

A player's total reputation with a villager is determined by multiplying each gossip's value by its respective multiplier and adding the results together. For example, if a player has recently cured a villager for the first time but also attacked the villager twice, their reputation with that villager would be 5×20 + 25 - 50 = 75. After 40 minutes the gossips have decayed twice, making the player's reputation 5×20 + 23 - 10 = 113.

The prices of a villager's trades all get reduced by reputation times the price multiplier rounded down, meaning that a positive reputation lowers prices but a negative reputation increase them. The price multiplier is either 0.05 or 0.2 depending on the item, see trading. Prices can not get lower than 1 or higher than the item's stack size. The exact function to calculate the price affected by the gossips is y = x - floor((5a + b + c - d - 5e) × p), Where y is the final price, x is the base price, a is the value of major_positive, b is the value of minor_positive, c is the value of trading, d is the value of minor_negative, e is the value of major_negative, and p is the value of PriceMultiplier.

An iron golem that was not built by a player becomes hostile toward all players whose reputation with any nearby villager is -100 or lower. The golem checks all villagers inside a box centered on the golem and extending 10 blocks in every horizontal direction and 8 blocks in both vertical directions.

Players can set villagers on fire using flint and steel or lava without affecting gossips. The same is true for TNT activated by redstone or a dispenser. However, TNT ignited directly by a player (using flint and steel, fire charges or flaming arrows) does generate gossip for damaged or killed villagers, because the TNT's damage is attributed to the player.

Picking up items

Each villager has eight hidden inventory slots, which are initially empty when the villager is spawned. A villager can fill its inventory slots with items it picks up.

The villager does not intentionally seek out items to pick up,​[more information needed] but does collect any bread, carrots, potatoes, wheat, wheat seeds, beetroot, beetroot seeds, torchflower seeds, pitcher pods, and bone meal within range.​[more information needed] The listed items are the only items villagers can pick up, although the the /item replace command can put any arbitrary item into a villager's inventory. Bone meal can be picked up only by a farmer villager. In Bedrock Edition only farmers can pick up seeds and wheat.

If a player and a villager are in the pickup range of an item at the same time, the player always picks it up first. If several villagers are next to an item, the same one picks up the item every time. This behavior prevents villagers from effectively sharing food (and thus breeding) in a small space.

When killed or converted to a zombie villager, any inventory item of the villager is lost, even when /gamerule keepInventory is set to true.

If /gamerule mobGriefing is false, villagers cannot pick up items, and farmer villagers cannot plant or harvest crops.

Like other mobs, villagers have four slots for worn armor, separate from their inventory slots. An adjacent dispenser can equip armor, elytra, mob heads or carved pumpkins to a villager‌[Java Edition only][3], but the armor is not rendered (except for carved pumpkins and mob heads). The equipment functions as normal; for example, a villager wearing an armor piece enchanted with Thorns can inflict Thorns damage to attackers, and a villager wearing Frost Walker boots is able to create frosted ice. If a villager is converted into a zombie villager, the armor it was wearing is dropped, though it may be able to pick it up and equip it again. A villager with thorns 3 deals more damage to zombies that attacked the villager than the villager takes damage.

Sharing food

Villagers sharing carrots.

In Java Edition, villagers collect bread, carrots, potatoes, beetroots, wheat seeds, beetroot seeds, and wheat. If a villager has at least 24 of these items, it gives the extra amount to a villager with 4 or fewer of each these food items. That other villager can also do this until all villagers have shared all items they could (for example, on a group of three villagers one receives 60 bread, then it shares 36 to another villager to keep 24[4], and that same villager then shares 12 to the third villager).

In the case of wheat, villagers have a distinct behavior. They do the same as other crops, but if a villager has at least 32 wheat, it tries to give half of it to another villager, making both have 16 wheat.

If a villager has 8 full ​[more information needed] stacks of any kind of food or seeds and then tries to share with another villager, it leaves at least 24 items in each stack. Thus it can never empty inventory slots to pick up other items, unless it uses the items when trying to breed or when farming if it is a farmer villager.[5][6] A bait villager can be used in a farm taking advantage of this mechanic to have a farmer villager collect and deposit crops.

In Bedrock Edition, if a villager has enough food in one inventory stack (6 bread or 24 carrots, potatoes, beetroots, or 18 wheat for farmers only) and sees a villager without enough food in one inventory stack (3 bread, 12 carrots, 12 potatoes, or 12 beetroots for non-farmers; 15 bread, 60 carrots, 60 potatoes, or 60 beetroots, or 45 wheat for farmers), the villager may decide to share food with that villager.

To share, a villager finds its first inventory stack with at least 4 bread, carrots, potatoes, or beetroot or with at least 6 wheat, and then throws half the stack (rounded down) in the direction of the target villager. When wheat is shared, it is first crafted to bread, which may result in 1 or 2 less than half the stack being shared.

Farming

Farmer villager picking and planting carrots.

In Java Edition, during the "work" portion of their schedule, farmers tend nearby crops.

  • Farmers sometimes move to random farmland blocks they detect within ±4 on the X and Z axes and ±2 on the Y axis, rather than going to their jobsite.
  • If there are fully-grown crop blocks or air above farmland within ±1 of the villager on each axis, the farmer spends 10 seconds tending them (not counting time spend walking to the next block), one per second. The block is harvested if necessary and (re-)planted if the farmer has any seeds.
    • If /gamerule mobGriefing is false, villagers cannot farm.
    • Harvesting is done regardless of the villager's current inventory, even if they lack space to pick up the results.
    • Planting is done as from the first eligible inventory slot.
  • If there is at least one non-fully-grown crop block within ±1 of the farmer on each axis, the farmer has bone meal, and it has been at least 8 seconds since the farmer last did some fertilization, then the farmer fertilizes up to four crop blocks (one every two seconds).
  • When the farmer works at their composter, it composts excess wheat and beetroot seeds, and extracts bone meal if it is full. Up to 20 seeds are composted in one work session, but at least 10 of each type of seed are first kept. Inventory slots are checked in reverse order.

In Bedrock Edition, farmers tend crops within the village boundary. Villagers far enough outside the boundary of any village also tend nearby crops. Farmland to be tended is found by seeking for certain blocks up to 9 blocks away from the villager in the X and Z coordinates and up to 1 away in the Y coordinate (a 19×19×3 volume total).

  • If a farmer villager does not have enough food in one stack in its inventory (15 bread, 60 carrots, 60 potatoes, 60 beetroots, or 45 wheat) and finds fully-grown wheat, carrots, potatoes, or beetroot, the villager moves to the crop block and harvests it.
  • If a farmer villager has any seeds, carrots, potatoes, or beetroot seeds in its inventory and finds an air block above farmland, the villager moves to it and plants a crop. They always plant from the first eligible slot in their inventory.
  • Farmer villagers use and pick up bone meal. They also fill their composter with seeds.
  • Farmer villagers start farming only if a crop is planted on farmland previously.
  • Farmer villagers continue to plant on the farmland even if all crops are destroyed.

For both editions,

  • Farmer villagers cannot turn dirt, grass blocks, or dirt paths into farmland, nor they pick up any hoes to till the blocks.
  • If a hoe is placed into a farmer villager's mainhand or offhand via commands, they still cannot till any blocks.
  • Farmer villagers often share their crops and food with other villagers if they have any extras.

Breeding

Adult villagers breed depending on the time of the day and need to be willing to spawn § Baby villagers, who also require beds with at least 2 empty blocks above the head. Job sites are not required for villagers to breed.

The breeding depends on the number of valid beds. If a villager is "willing" (see § Willingness below), villagers breed as long as there are unclaimed beds available within the limits of the village. All baby villagers are initially unemployed.

In Java Edition, two villagers nearby one another periodically enter mating mode if both have enough food and are not on cooldown. Breeding fails (with anger particles displayed) if no unclaimed bed can be reached via pathfinding within a 48 block radius. The appearance of the child is randomly determined by either the biome type of the parents or by the biome where the breeding occurred.

In Bedrock Edition a census is periodically taken to determine the current population of the village. All villagers within the horizontal boundary of the village are counted as part of the population to determine if continued villager mating is allowed. However, any villager within the horizontal boundary of the village and the spherical boundary of the village attempts to enter mating mode as long as there is at least one villager within the boundary. If two villagers simultaneously enter mating mode while they are close to one another, they breed and produce a child. The appearance is determined by the biome where the breeding occurs in Bedrock Edition.[7]

Two villagers breeding.

Willingness

Villagers must be willing to breed. Willingness is determined by the amount of food items a villager has. Becoming willing consumes the villager's food stock, therefore, after mating, villagers cease to be willing for 5 minutes, at which point they must gather a sufficient stock of food items to breed again.

Villagers must have enough beds within village bounds for baby villagers to spawn. The villager must be able to path-find the bed from their current position. (Note that mobs view certain blocks, such as slabs, trapdoors, etc., as full blocks for pathfinding, so putting these types of blocks above a bed invalidates the bed.)

Villagers can become willing by having either 3 bread, 12 carrots, 12 potatoes, or 12 beetroots in one slot in their inventory. Any villager with an excess of food (usually farmers) throws food to other villagers, allowing them to pick it up and obtain enough food to become willing. The player can also throw bread, carrots, beetroots, or potatoes at the villagers themselves to encourage breeding. Villagers consume the required food upon becoming willing. If /gamerule mobGriefing is false, villagers don't pick up food or break crops.

Some baby villagers in Java Edition. Their heads are smaller than Bedrock Edition or Minecraft Education baby villagers.

Baby villagers

Baby villagers sprint around, entering and leaving houses at will. They sometimes stop sprinting to stare at other villagers, the player‌[Java Edition only], or an iron golem. If the iron golem is holding out a poppy, the children may cautiously take the flower from its hands. Baby villagers tend to group and chase one another around the village as if playing tag. They also jump on beds.

Illagers (except "Johnny" vindicators in Bedrock Edition) ignore baby villagers until they reach adulthood.

Baby villagers give gifts of poppies or wheat seeds to players who have the Hero of the Village effect in Java Edition.

Baby villagers in Bedrock Edition and Minecraft Education have a slightly bigger head than in Java Edition; this also can be seen in other baby mobs in the game as well. Java Edition baby villagers look like tiny normal villagers.[8]

Baby villagers can fit through 1×1 block gaps.

A baby villager becomes an adult 20 minutes after birth, even when in a boat or a minecart. Baby villagers with no AI do not grow up.

Lightning

A villager gets struck by lightning.

When lightning strikes within 3–4 blocks of a villager, the villager is replaced by a witch that can't despawn. Even a baby villager that is struck by lightning is turned into a two-block-tall witch.

Iron golems also attack any villagers that turn into witches.

Iron golem summoning

In Java Edition, villagers can summon an iron golem to protect themselves from hostile mobs. This requires either 3 panicking villagers or 5 gossiping villagers. If they don't find an iron golem within 16 blocks of their location for 30 seconds, another one is summoned.

In Bedrock Edition, villagers can summon an iron golem if there are more than 10 villagers per existing golem, the village has at least 20 beds, and 75% of these villagers must have worked in the past day.

Panicking

A villager panicking.

Villagers sometimes panic during a raid or a zombie siege by emitting water particles and shaking.

In Java Edition, villagers panic if they see a mob that is hostile toward villagers, like a zombie, zombie villager, husk, drowned, zoglin, illager, vex, wither, or ravager and flee frantically from them, sometimes hiding in houses. In Bedrock Edition, villagers panic by running around in circles around a bed in a village house, such as when a raid happens or when the player rings the village bell. Java Edition villagers in panic are more likely to summon iron golems. To see these mobs, the villager must have an unobstructed line of sight to it (eye-level to eye-level), and be within a certain range (spherical distance between feet center bottom-most point of the villager and hostile mob):

Mob Panic radius
Zombie, husk, drowned, zombie villager, vex 8
Vindicator, zoglin 10
Evoker, illusioner, ravager 12
Pillager 15

Zombies

Main articles: Siege and Zombie

Zombies, zombie villagers, husks, and drowned seek out and attack villagers within a 35– to 52.5–block radius (depending on regional difficulty)‌[Java Edition only] or a 16-block radius‌[Bedrock Edition only] (even when the villager is invisible). Zombies attempt to break down doors, but only a fraction of zombies can do so and can succeed only when difficulty is set to hard. Zombies who cannot break doors tend to crowd around a door that separates them from a villager. If a zombie or a drowned comes across a set of doors with one open, it usually tries to go through the closed door.

Both zombies and drowned either kill villagers or convert them to zombie villagers. The chance of the villager becoming a zombie villager upon death is 0% on Easy, 50% on Normal, and 100% on Hard. Baby villagers can be infected by zombies as well. Drowned are able to convert villagers to zombie villagers, even when attacking with a trident from a distance.

Raids

Main article: Raid

During a raid, villagers flee from illagers and run to the nearest house, similar to a zombie siege. For a villager to hide, the house must have a door and at least one bed.

Before the first raid wave in Java Edition, at least one villager rushes to ring the bell in the center of the village (if they are close enough) to warn the other villagers of an incoming raid before going into their house. In Bedrock Edition, the bell rings automatically regardless of whether a villager is nearby. In Java Edition, when a bell is rung, all illagers within 48 blocks get the glowing effect for 3 seconds.

A villager often stays in the house it first entered, but may exit the house occasionally. The player can still trade with villagers during a raid.

On random occasions, the villager displays water particles as if sweating.

Hero of the Village

Main article: Hero of the Village

In Java Edition, once the player gains the Hero of the Village status after defeating a raid, villagers give them a discount for their trades and throw them gifts related to their profession.

Staring

A lot of villagers staring at the player.
A lot of villagers staring at the player.

Villagers stare at any player that stares at them, or goes near them. This also applies for some mobs, especially cats. A villager first turns its head toward the player, then the body. Villagers can keep staring at the player unless a raid happens or a zombie comes and chases them off.

A villager staring at the player.
A villager staring at the player.


Schedules

Villagers have set schedules depending on their age and employment status. Schedules define the villager's goals, which mostly determine how they behave throughout the day. However, their goals can be interrupted by higher priority behaviors most villagers have, such as fleeing from an attack, trading, and getting out of the rain.

Villager schedule in Java Edition
Image Ticks (time) Employed Unemployed/Nitwit Child
00010 (06:00:36) Wander Wander
02000 (08:00:00) Work Wander
03000 (09:00:00) Play
06000 (12:00:00) Wander
09000 (15:00:00) Gather
10000 (16:00:00) Play
11000 (17:00:00) Wander
12000 (18:00:00) Sleep
Villager schedule in Bedrock Edition
Image Ticks (time) Employed Unemployed Child Nitwit
00000 (06:00:00) Work Wander Play Sleep
02000 (08:00:00) Wander
08000 (14:00:00) Gather
10000 (16:00:00) Work Wander
11000 (17:00:00) Home
12000 (18:00:00) Sleep
13000 (19:00:00) Home
14000 (20:00:00) Sleep

Working

Employed villagers spend most of their day standing next to their job site blocks. From time to time, they "gather supplies" by wandering a short distance away, then returning.

Some professions have additional job-specific goals that are part of their work schedule:

  • Farmers harvest and sow crops.
  • Librarians inspect bookshelves.‌[Bedrock Edition only]

When a villager reaches its job site block, it commences "work". Two times a day, this action of working resupplies any locked trades. Villagers can resupply twice per day, even without having a bed or while sitting in a minecart. A villager can "reach" its job site block if the block is in any of the 8 directly adjacent or diagonal block spaces horizontally around it at the height of their feet, or at the 9 blocks below that. Villagers can still "reach" them diagonally, even if they can't see or touch the face of the block.

Employed villagers do not breed with each other during their work schedule. Nitwits and the unemployed do not follow this rule. They can breed with each other and the employed villagers.

Leatherworker villagers work at any cauldron; the cauldron does not have to be filled with water in order for the villager to work at it.

Wandering

All villagers wander from time to time, but for the unemployed and nitwits, they wander for the majority of their day. A wandering villager chooses a random block and walks toward it, then stands there for a variable amount of time before wandering again. If at any time it detects a job site block it can claim, it does so, assumes the skin for the associated profession, and immediately begins following the appropriate schedule.

A villager attempts to claim a job site block by finding a path to a block next to one, showing angry particles when unable to reach it. After a villager fails to reach the job site block several times, it becomes unclaimed, indicated by showing angry particles on it. The villager loses its job site block and eventually becomes unemployed if the villager is at novice-level and no nearby job site block is available. Any other nearby unemployed villager has a chance to become the block's new owner. If there are no unemployed villagers nearby, then the villager who lost the job site block seeks for another unclaimed one or tries to reclaim the same unreachable one in an endless loop (this also happens for claiming beds).

The wander schedule includes a job-specific goal called "exploring the outskirts" that causes villagers to wander near the edges of the village. This enables them to detect new beds, job site blocks, bells, and houses that players have used to extend the village.

During this time of the day, they may also share items.

Gathering

Late in the day, adult villagers gather at a meeting place (the area around a bell). When two villagers encounter one another, they mingle (look at each other and "converse" by humming at other villagers). They may also share food, or breed if both are willing.

If a villager isn't close enough to detect a bell, it wanders randomly, searching for one.

Playing

Four villager children chasing another baby villager.

Baby villagers wander randomly around the village. When they encounter another baby villager, the two of them follow each other for a while and sometimes run as if racing or chasing each other.

In Java Edition, they sometimes stop to jump and bounce on a bed or to stare at an iron golem they encounter. If the iron golem offers them a poppy, the baby villager cautiously accepts it.

Returning home

All villagers head home a short time before sunset. They roam around until they get near their beds, then target a block beside the bed. The bed's head must be accessible for the villagers to "see" it. Once they reach their beds, they do not go through a door again before sleeping.

A villager who has no bed simply waits inside a house until morning. This includes players stealing a villager's bed to sleep in, mostly the villager stays in the house and doesn't move until sunrise. But sometimes, if they detect a unclaimed bed nearby they walk out of the house and toward the bed.

A villager pushed on a bed in Java Edition. The villager falls off the bed if it is pushed again.
Dropping an anvil on a villager that is sleeping in Java Edition does not hurt the villager nor causes the villager to wake up.

Sleeping

A top view of a savanna villager sleeping in a bed at night.

At sunset, villagers lie down in their beds and remain there until morning. Villagers wake early if food is thrown at them‌[Java Edition only], they are pushed out of bed, or if their bed is destroyed. They also wake up when their bed is used, if they are attacked, or when a bell is rung. If possible, they return to sleeping in a bed after the interruption.

Jumping on a bed with a villager sleeping in it does not cause the villager to get up.

In Java Edition, a villager can be pushed on its bed and sometimes turn its head. A villager can be pushed off a bed,[9] but is most likely to go back to sleeping after staring at the player who pushed the villager for a few seconds.

When sleeping in Java Edition, a villager's hitbox reduces to a cube restricted to the pillow part of the bed. If an anvil is dropped on the hitbox, the villager takes damage and wakes up and the anvil is dropped as item.

In Bedrock Edition, dropping an anvil on a villager that is sleeping causes the villager to take damage but remain sleeping in the bed and the anvil remains on top of the bed.

A villager who has no bed continues wandering in search of a bed to claim.

Villagers follow their Overworld schedules regardless of which dimension they are in. They can sleep in the Nether or the End, without causing the usual consequences of the bed exploding (See Bed § Sleeping), if the Overworld's time is correct.[10] This is because the daylight cycle continues in these dimensions, even though it is not normally apparent to the player.

Sometimes when a villager gets in a bed from another direction they turn their body until their head is on the pillow of the bed. Villagers also sleep with their eyes open.

Healing

A villager gets a brief regeneration effect once leveling up in its profession. Pink regeneration particles appear while it is healing.

In Bedrock Edition, when a villager successfully sleeps, it immediately heals itself when waking up at dawn (if it is damaged).

Professions

Job site blocks next to each other.
All plains biome variant professions (except unemployed) corresponding to their different job site blocks.

Each villager can have a profession except for the nitwit, indicated by their clothing as well as by the title at the top of the trading interface. A villager can choose their profession by claiming a job site block. When they go to work, they use their daily schedule to get to their claimed job site block. Some professions, like farmers and librarians, do other things. Farmers plant crops, and librarians can inspect bookshelves. If an adult villager does not have a profession (either they are unemployed or a nitwit), they wander instead.

A job site block can be claimed only if it is unclaimed and within a village boundary with at least 1 bed. Removal of a claimed job site block causes the owner to switch to another profession or become unemployed, provided that the villager has no prior trades with the player. If the villager has prior trades, it keeps its profession and claims a new job site block that matches its profession if one is available. So, once a player trades with a villager, the villager keeps its profession forever.

Nitwits and baby villagers cannot change their profession.

In Java Edition, villagers summoned by a spawn egg or via command /summon are always unemployed until they have claimed a job site block. In Bedrock Edition, however, villagers summoned in similar ways have a random profession[11]; their profession can be changed by a job site block, though.

Novice-level villagers who have not yet traded can lose their profession and change into unemployed villagers.

Unemployed adults actively seek for an unclaimed job site block and change into the corresponding profession.

Below is a table listing the various professions, along with the specific job site block that each profession requires:


Profession

Job site block /

Workstation

[hide]Biome
Desert Jungle
[12]
Plains Savanna Snow Swamp[12] Taiga
Unemployed None
Nitwit None
Armorer Blast Furnace
Butcher Smoker
Cartographer Cartography Table
Cleric Brewing Stand
Farmer Composter
Fisherman Barrel
Fletcher Fletching Table
Leatherworker Cauldron
Librarian Lectern
Mason Stonecutter
Shepherd Loom
Toolsmith Smithing Table
Weaponsmith Grindstone

Nitwit

It started because players could summon villagers without a career by using commands: it was the only way to get villagers with green robes. Whenever we discover we have a bug which is used by the community we just see it as 'undefined behaviour' - and 'fix' it by making it a feature. In this case we just needed a profession for the green-robed villager. I don't remember what name we came up with first - I think it was 'unemployed' or something, but it doesn't really fit in the world, because I don't really think the other villagers are employed by anyone either. So I think the next suggestion was 'village idiot' but I thought 'nitwit' was a more fun name.

Jeb about the Nitwit[13]
A nitwit bobbling its head.‌[Java Edition only]

Nitwit villagers wear robes that are green on top. They cannot acquire a profession, trade, or gather around bells, but are still able to breed. They are not equipped with a level stone since they cannot trade. Pressing use on a nitwit in Java Edition causes it to grunt and bobble its head at the player. A nitwit must be born or spawned; no villagers change to nitwit from unemployed or a profession, and vice versa. Nitwits can be found naturally or by curing naturally spawned zombie villagers. Zombie villagers can also be spawned as babies, so this is the only way to encounter baby nitwits in survival mode.

In Bedrock Edition, every baby villager has a 10% chance to become a nitwit when they become an adult, as well as having a different sleep schedule where they wander around the village for about 2000 ticks (1 minute 40 seconds) after other villagers go to sleep, before seeking a bed. If they can claim a bed, they arise in the morning 2000 ticks after the rest of the village wakes up.

Appearance

Villagers and zombie villagers have seven skin types corresponding to the biome they spawn in. Their appearance also varies based on their profession and their five tiers. They show which trade tier they have unlocked by a badge of a varying material on their belt. A new tier is obtained every time a player trades with a villager and the badge appears as stone, iron, gold, emerald, and finally diamond.

Villagers have different outfits depending on their biome. Naturally generated villagers take on the outfit from the biome they were spawned in. When breeding occurs, the outfit of the child is determined by the biome where the breeding occurs, but in Java Edition, there is a 50% chance it's inherited from the biome type of the parents (equal chance for both parents). In case the villager's outfit is determined by biome but the biome has no specific villager type, it always becomes a plains villager. The outfits available are the following:

EntitySprite villager-desert.png: Sprite image for villager-desert in Minecraft Desert
EntitySprite villager-savanna.png: Sprite image for villager-savanna in Minecraft Savanna
EntitySprite villager-taiga.png: Sprite image for villager-taiga in Minecraft Taiga
EntitySprite villager-snowy.png: Sprite image for villager-snowy in Minecraft Snowy
EntitySprite villager-swamp.png: Sprite image for villager-swamp in Minecraft Swamp
EntitySprite villager-jungle.png: Sprite image for villager-jungle in Minecraft Jungle
EntitySprite villager-plains.png: Sprite image for villager-plains in Minecraft Plains
Notes
  1. Jump up to: a b c d e f Villages occur naturally in this biome.
  2. Jump up to: a b Villages occur naturally in this biome in Bedrock Edition.

Villagers have 13 professions and 2 non professions for a total of 15 outfits:

  • Farmer (straw hat)
    • Trades crops and natural foods, such as bread and cookies.
  • Fisherman (fisher hat)
    • Trades campfires and fishing items.
  • Shepherd (brown hat with white apron)
    • Trades shears, wool, dyes, paintings and beds.
  • Fletcher (hat with feather and quiver on the back)
    • Trades bows, crossbows, all types of arrows (except luck) and archery ingredients.
  • Cleric (purple apron and creeper cloak)
    • Trades magic items like ender pearls, redstone dust, glowstone dust, and other enchanting or potion ingredients.
  • Weaponsmith (eyepatch and black apron)
    • Trades minerals, bells and enchanted melee weapons. The axe enchantments are weapon related, such as Sharpness or Smite.
  • Armorer (welding mask)
    • Trades foundry items and sells chain, iron and enchanted diamond armor tiers.
  • Toolsmith (black apron)
    • Trades minerals, bells and harvest tools. The axe enchantments are tool related.
  • Librarian (eyeglasses and a book as a hat)
    • Trades enchanted books, clocks, compasses, name tags, glass, ink sacs, lanterns, and book and quills.
  • Cartographer (golden monocle)
    • Trades banners, compasses, banner patterns, papers and various maps, including explorer maps.
  • Leatherworker (brown apron and brown gloves)
    • Trades scutes, rabbit hide, and leather-related items.
  • Butcher (red headband and white apron)
    • Trades meats, sweet berries, rabbit stew, and dried kelp blocks.
  • Mason (black apron and black gloves)
    • Trades polished stones, terracotta, clay, glazed terracotta and quartz.
  • Nitwit (green coated, no badge)
    • No trades, no badge
  • Unemployed (no overlay, base clothing of biome without any extra features)
    • No trades until employed. No badge until employed.
  • Villagers have different trades based on the biome in which they spawn.

Trading

Main article: Trading

Right click on a villager and you can trade with them, offering them emeralds in exchange for better equipment, maps to notable treasures or food. Unless you are trying to trade with a nitwit, of course, in which case you're going to get squat. Who's the nitwit now?

Marsh Davies[14]
The Java Edition trading interface, displaying basic novice-level trading options.
Trading options of a max-level weaponsmith.
Villager badge changes color depending on the level of the villager.
From left to right: stone (novice), iron (apprentice), gold (journeyman), emerald (expert), and diamond (master).

The trading system is a gameplay mechanic that allows players to buy and sell various items to and from villagers, using emeralds as a currency. Their trades can be valuable or somewhat meaningless, depending on the cost, the items the player might get, and how the player treats the villagers. Only adult villagers with professions can trade; the player cannot trade with nitwits, unemployed villagers, or baby villagers. Attempting to do so causes the villager to display a head-bobbling animation and play the villager's declined trade sound‌[Java Edition only].

Pressing the use control on an employed villager allows a player to trade, making offers based on the villager's profession and profession level. All offers involve emeralds as a currency, and items related to the villager's profession. Trading can allow the acquisition of items that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to obtain, such as enchanted books with "treasure" enchantments (e.g. Mending), bottles o' enchanting, or chainmail armor. When a villager gets a new trade, they receive 10 seconds of Regeneration I (totaling to 4HP♥♥ of restoration), which emits pink particles. The villager also emits green particles suggesting contentment.

Completing a trade with a villager increases its professional level. Some trades grant higher levels to the villager than others. As it advances through its profession, the villager offers additional trades. When a villager unlocks a new trade at a higher level, it almost always grants more experience than lower-level trades.

Villagers have a maximum supply of items and after the player has traded for an item that many times, the villager's supply of the item is exhausted. This results in the trade being temporarily locked. A player can continue to trade for the villager's other available items if any. Exhausted items are restocked when the villager works at a job site, up to twice per day.

In Bedrock Edition, librarian villagers have a 50% chance to sell enchanted books as part of their trades at novice, apprentice, and journeyman-level, and have 13 chance to sell enchanted books at expert-level as part of their trades, meaning each librarian villager can sell up to four books. The price ranges between 5-64 emeralds per book. Based on the level of the enchantment and whether it is classified as a "treasure enchantment" (meaning they are not obtainable by enchanting, e.g. Mending), which doubles the cost, or not a price is determined.

In Java Edition, librarian villagers have a 23 chance to sell an enchanted book as part of their trades at the novice, apprentice, and journeyman level, and have a 50% chance to sell an enchanted book at the expert level, meaning each librarian can sell up to four books. The price ranges from 5-64 emeralds per book, depending on the enchantment's level as well as whether or not it is a treasure enchantment.

Cost of enchanted books based on their level
Level Lowest price Highest price
I (1) 5 19
II (2) 8 32
III (3) 11 45
IV (4) 14 58
V (5) 17 71 (capped at 64)

They may contain any available enchantment (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst) at any available level. See trading notes for more information on enchantments and prices.

Clicking use on an unemployed or nitwit villager in Java Edition causes it to grunt and bobble their head; doing so in Bedrock Edition does nothing.

Using a name tag on a villager always names the villager instead of opening the trading interface.

In Java Edition, using space inside of the trading interface after one trade was made refills the trading slots with items from the inventory.[verify]

Supply and demand

For detailed information on Villager economics, see Trading § Economics.

The price of an item can rise and fall with changes in demand. The price of a traded item can rise when next resupplied, or fall from a risen price if not traded. Demand is stored per item, not per villager.

Trade offering

Several villagers offering trade items to a player.

When a player holds an item near a villager who wants that item, the villager holds up an item it offers in exchange. For example, a farmer villager who buys 20 wheat for one emerald holds up an emerald, offering it to a player holding wheat. Villagers do not offer trades that are currently out of stock. If the villager has more than one trade for an item, it cycles through the trades, offering a different item every few seconds. This kind of trading interaction makes it easier to find villagers who offer a particular trade, but the player must still open the trading interface to complete the trade. Note that villagers do not hold items to offer trades during their gather or sleep phases, even though it is still possible to trade with them.

Economic trade

Villagers have levels and require experience to unlock the next tiers of trade; level 1 is a novice, level 2 is apprentice, level 3 is journeyman, level 4 is expert, and level 5 is master. Villagers can resupply trades by themselves by working more at their job site block.

Popularity or reputation

In Bedrock Edition, villagers increase their prices of trades if a player's popularity is low, (e.g. from damaging villagers), and decrease it if their popularity is high (e.g. from trading with multiple villagers). Curing a zombie villager also increases the player's popularity by 10.

In Java Edition, a villager's prices are affected by the player's reputation with that villager rather than by village popularity.

Hero of the Village

Main article: Hero of the Village

When a player receives Hero of the Village, players receive discounted prices on all the items traded by villagers in both editions. The Hero of the Village also gets gifts.‌[Java Edition only] Each villager throws gifts related to its profession, and nitwits and unemployed villagers throw wheat seeds instead. These gifts range in value from common (like seeds) to rare items (like chainmail armor). A player's popularity increases by 10 in Java Edition and doesn't increase in Bedrock Edition. Villagers also shoot off fireworks, with different colored fireworks with no pattern.

Similar mobs

Zombie villagers

An example of a zombie villager.
Main article: Zombie Villager

When a zombie kills a villager, it can turn the villager into a zombie villager, depending on the difficulty: 0% chance on Easy, 50% chance on Normal and 100% chance on Hard. Zombie villagers also spawn naturally in the Overworld in the same conditions as a normal zombie, although much less commonly, with a 5% chance. Zombie villagers also spawn in abandoned villages (zombie villages) and igloos. They do not spawn from the zombie monster spawner in Java Edition.

Wandering trader

A wandering trader.
Main article: Wandering Trader

Wandering traders are passive mobs that spawn randomly close to the player in both editions, or periodically in village gathering sites in Bedrock Edition. Wandering traders also spawn near bells. Two trader llamas spawn leashed to the wandering trader when a wandering trader is naturally spawned, and in Bedrock Edition when summoned or spawned using a spawn egg.

Players may use emeralds to buy items from wandering traders without the need of unlocking the previous trade, but cannot trade items for emeralds. They also lock trades like villagers, but never unlock the trade, nor can they work at any job site blocks. Like villagers, wandering traders are attacked by most zombie variants (though they do not have a zombified form, they die if a zombie kills it, even on hard difficulty), illagers, ravagers[Java Edition only], and vexes.

Wandering traders also drink a Potion of Invisibility at night (or when they see a hostile mob such as an illager or zombie). They also drink a milk bucket in the morning to remove the Invisibility. They despawn after 40 minutes (even with a name tag or in a minecart or boat) with their llamas.

Sounds

Generic

Java Edition:

[hide]Sounds
SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
​Villager mumblesFriendly CreaturesRandomly while awakeentity.villager.ambientsubtitles.entity.villager.ambient1.00.8-1.2
(Baby: 1.3-1.7)
16
​Villager tradesFriendly CreaturesRandomly while the trade UI on a villager is openentity.villager.tradesubtitles.entity.villager.trading1.00.8-1.216
​Villager diesFriendly CreaturesWhen a villager dies or becomes zombifiedentity.villager.deathsubtitles.entity.villager.death1.00.8-1.2
(Baby: 1.3-1.7)
16
​Villager hurtsFriendly CreaturesWhen a villager is damagedentity.villager.hurtsubtitles.entity.villager.hurt1.00.8-1.2
(Baby: 1.3-1.7)
16
​Villager cheersFriendly CreaturesWhen a villager wins a raidentity.villager.celebratesubtitles.entity.villager.celebrate1.00.8-1.2
(Baby: 1.3-1.7)
16
​Villager agreesFriendly CreaturesWhen a player successfully trades with a villager or when a villager's stock has been updated [needs testing]entity.villager.yessubtitles.entity.villager.yes1.00.8-1.216
​Villager disagreesFriendly CreaturesWhen a player trades with either an unemployed villager, a nitwit, or fails to trade with an employed villager due to lack of resourcesentity.villager.nosubtitles.entity.villager.no1.00.8-1.216

Bedrock Edition:

[hide]Sounds
SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch
Friendly CreaturesRandomly while awakemob.villager.idle1.00.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7)
Friendly CreaturesWhen a villager dies or becomes zombifiedmob.villager.death1.00.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7)
Friendly CreaturesWhen a villager is damagedmob.villager.hit1.00.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7)
Friendly CreaturesWhen a player successfully trades with a villager or a player places the required items to make a trade in the trade UImob.villager.yes1.00.8-1.2
Friendly CreaturesWhen a player is unable to complete a trademob.villager.no1.00.8-1.2
Friendly CreaturesRandomly while the trade UI on a villager is openmob.villager.haggle1.00.8-1.2

Working

Java Edition

[hide]Sounds
SoundSubtitlesSourceDescriptionResource locationTranslation keyVolumePitchAttenuation
distance
​Armorer worksFriendly CreaturesRandomly while an EntitySprite armorer.png: Sprite image for armorer in Minecraftarmorer is workingentity.villager.work_armorersubtitles.entity.villager.work_armorer1.00.8-1.216
​Butcher worksFriendly CreaturesRandomly while a EntitySprite butcher.png: Sprite image for butcher in Minecraftbutcher is workingentity.villager.work_butchersubtitles.entity.villager.work_butcher1.00.8-1.216
​Cartographer worksFriendly CreaturesRandomly while a EntitySprite cartographer.png: Sprite image for cartographer in Minecraftcartographer is workingentity.villager.work_cartographersubtitles.entity.villager.work_cartographer1.00.8-1.216
​Cleric worksFriendly CreaturesRandomly while a EntitySprite cleric.png: Sprite image for cleric in Minecraftcleric is workingentity.villager.work_clericsubtitles.entity.villager.work_cleric1.00.8-1.216
​Farmer worksFriendly CreaturesRandomly while a EntitySprite farmer.png: Sprite image for farmer in Minecraftfarmer is workingentity.villager.work_farmersubtitles.entity.villager.work_farmer1.00.8-1.216
​Fisherman worksFriendly CreaturesRandomly while a EntitySprite fisherman.png: Sprite image for fisherman in Minecraftfisherman is workingentity.villager.work_fishermansubtitles.entity.villager.work_fisherman1.00.8-1.216
​Fletcher worksFriendly CreaturesRandomly while a EntitySprite fletcher.png: Sprite image for fletcher in Minecraftfletcher is workingentity.villager.work_fletchersubtitles.entity.villager.work_fletcher1.00.8-1.216
​Leatherworker worksFriendly CreaturesRandomly while a EntitySprite leatherworker.png: Sprite image for leatherworker in Minecraftleatherworker is workingentity.villager.work_leatherworkersubtitles.entity.villager.work_leatherworker0.90.8-1.216
​Librarian worksFriendly CreaturesRandomly while a EntitySprite librarian.png: Sprite image for librarian in Minecraftlibrarian is workingentity.villager.work_librariansubtitles.entity.villager.work_librarian2.00.8-1.216
​Mason worksFriendly CreaturesRandomly while a EntitySprite mason.png: Sprite image for mason in Minecraftmason is workingentity.villager.work_masonsubtitles.entity.villager.work_mason1.00.8-1.2 [sound 1]16
​Shepherd worksFriendly CreaturesRandomly while a EntitySprite shepherd.png: Sprite image for shepherd in Minecraftshepherd is workingentity.villager.work_shepherdsubtitles.entity.villager.work_shepherd0.50.8-1.216
​Toolsmith worksFriendly CreaturesRandomly while a EntitySprite toolsmith.png: Sprite image for toolsmith in Minecrafttoolsmith is workingentity.villager.work_toolsmithsubtitles.entity.villager.work_toolsmith1.00.8-1.216
​Weaponsmith worksFriendly CreaturesRandomly while a EntitySprite weaponsmith.png: Sprite image for weaponsmith in Minecraftweaponsmith is workingentity.villager.work_weaponsmithsubtitles.entity.villager.work_weaponsmith0.50.8-1.216
  1. Can be multiplied by 1.0 or 0.92 for each sound

Bedrock Edition:

[hide]Sounds
SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch
BlocksRandomly while an EntitySprite armorer.png: Sprite image for armorer in Minecraftarmorer is workingblock.blastfurnace.fire_crackle3.00.6
BlocksRandomly while a EntitySprite butcher.png: Sprite image for butcher in Minecraftbutcher is workingblock.smoker.smoke3.0varies [sound 1]
BlocksRandomly while a EntitySprite cartographer.png: Sprite image for cartographer in Minecraftcartographer is workingblock.cartography_table.use0.8varies [sound 2]
BlocksRandomly while a EntitySprite cleric.png: Sprite image for cleric in Minecraftcleric is workingrandom.potion.brewed1.01.0
BlocksRandomly while a EntitySprite farmer.png: Sprite image for farmer in Minecraftfarmer is workingblock.composter.fill1.30.8
BlocksRandomly while a EntitySprite fisherman.png: Sprite image for fisherman in Minecraftfisherman is workingblock.barrel.open1.01.0
BlocksRandomly while a EntitySprite fletcher.png: Sprite image for fletcher in Minecraftfletcher is workingdig.wood12.01.0
BlocksRandomly while a EntitySprite leatherworker.png: Sprite image for leatherworker in Minecraftleatherworker is workingbucket.fill_water1.01.0
BlocksRandomly while a EntitySprite librarian.png: Sprite image for librarian in Minecraftlibrarian is workingitem.book.put4.81.0
BlocksRandomly while a EntitySprite mason.png: Sprite image for mason in Minecraftmason is workingblock.stonecutter.use0.71.0
BlocksRandomly while a EntitySprite shepherd.png: Sprite image for shepherd in Minecraftshepherd is workingblock.loom.use0.751.0
BlocksRandomly while a EntitySprite toolsmith.png: Sprite image for toolsmith in Minecrafttoolsmith is workingsmithing_table.use1.01.0
BlocksRandomly while a EntitySprite weaponsmith.png: Sprite image for weaponsmith in Minecraftweaponsmith is workingblock.grindstone.use0.51.0
  1. 1.0 for all except fire_crackle4 (the last sound), which is 0.8
  2. Can be 1.0 or 0.92 for each sound

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

NameIdentifier[hide]Translation key
EntitySprite villager.png: Sprite image for villager in Minecraft Villagervillagerentity.minecraft.villager

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifierNumeric ID [hide]Translation key
EntitySprite villager-revision-1.png: Sprite image for villager-revision-1 in Minecraft Villager (old)villager15entity.villager.name
EntitySprite villager.png: Sprite image for villager in Minecraft Villager (new)villager_v2115entity.villager_v2.name

Entity data

Villagers have entity data associated with them that contains various properties.

Java Edition:

Main article: Entity format
  • [NBT Compound / JSON Object] Entity data
    • Additional fields for mobs that can breed see Template:Nbt inherit/breedable/template[show]
    • Tags common to all entities see Template:Nbt inherit/entity/template[show]
    • Tags common to all mobs see Template:Nbt inherit/mob/template[show]
    • Tags common to all villagers see Template:Nbt inherit/villager/template[show]
    • [NBT List / JSON Array] Inventory: Each compound tag in this list is an item in the villager's inventory, up to a maximum of 8 slots. Items in two or more slots that can be stacked together are automatically condensed into one slot. If there are more than 8 slots, the last slot is removed until the total is 8. If there are 9 slots but two previous slots can be condensed, the last slot returns after the two other slots are combined.
    • [Long] LastRestock: The last tick the villager went to their job site block to resupply their trades.
    • [Long] LastGossipDecay: The last tick all gossip of the villager has decreased strength naturally.
    • [Int] RestocksToday: The number of restocks a villager has done in 10 minutes from the last restock, or 0 if the villager has not restocked in the last 10 minutes. When a villager has restocked twice in less than 10 minutes, it waits at least 10 minutes for another restock.
    • [Byte] Willing: 1 or 0 (true/false) – true if the villager is willing to mate. Becomes true after certain trades (those that would cause offers to be refreshed), and false after mating.

Villager type[show][edit]

Main article: Villager/DV

Villager profession[show][edit]

Main article: Villager/DV2

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Entity format.

Achievements

[hide]
IconAchievementIn-game descriptionActual requirements (if different)Gamerscore earnedTrophy type (PS)
PS4Other
Master TraderTrade for 1,000 emeralds.Obtain 1,000 emeralds from trading with villagers.30Silver
OverkillDeal nine hearts of damage in a single hit.Damage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have nine hearts of health overall.30Bronze
Over-OverkillDeal 50 hearts of damage in a single hit using the Mace20Silver
Star traderTrade with a villager at the build height limit.20Silver
The HagglerAcquire or spend 30 Emeralds by trading with villagers or with wandering trader. [sic]30Silver
Treasure HunterAcquire a map from a cartographer villager, then enter the revealed structureVisit the structure indicated while the purchased map is in your main hand (hotbar).40Silver

Advancements

IconAdvancementIn-game descriptionActual requirements (if different)
A Throwaway JokeThrow a Trident at something.
Note: Throwing away your only weapon is not a good idea.
Hit a mob with a thrown trident.
AdventureAdventure, exploration and combatKill any mob, or be killed by any living entity.
ArbalisticKill five unique mobs with one crossbow shotArmor Stand also counts for this advancement.
This is a hidden advancement, meaning that it can be viewed by the player only after completing it, regardless of if its child advancement(s), if any, have been completed.
Over-OverkillDeal 50 hearts of damage in a single hit using the Mace
Star TraderTrade with a Villager at the build height limitStand on any block that is higher than 318 and trade with a villager or wandering trader.
Surge ProtectorProtect a Villager from an undesired shock without starting a fireBe within 30 blocks of a lightning strike that doesn't set any blocks on fire, while an unharmed villager is within or up to six blocks above a 30×30×30 volume centered on the lightning strike.
Take AimShoot something with an ArrowUsing a bow or a crossbow, shoot a mob with an arrow, tipped arrow, or spectral arrow.
Very Very FrighteningStrike a Villager with lightningHit a villager with lightning created by a trident with the Channeling enchantment, turning it into a witch.
What a Deal!Successfully trade with a VillagerTake an item from a villager or wandering trader's trading output slot.
Zombie DoctorWeaken and then cure a Zombie VillagerUse a golden apple on a zombie villager under the Weakness effect; the advancement is granted when the zombie villager converts into a villager.
In multiplayer, only the player that feeds the golden apple gets the advancement.

Video

History

For the history of the villager before Village & Pillage, see Villager (old) § History.
September 29, 2018The Village and Pillage update, which improves villagers and villages, was announced at MINECON Earth 2018.
[hide]Java Edition
1.1418w47aVillagers now hide in houses during raids.
Villagers don't trade while a raid is ongoing, right-clicking them instead makes them emit sweat particles.
18w50aAdded new mason profession.
Villagers now have different skins based on biome (including swamps and jungles, which do not contain villages), as well as profession.
Added desert villagers, which all have unique textures for that biome. These villagers also spawn in badlands biomes.
Added jungle villagers, which all have unique textures for that biome. However, jungles do not contain villages, so these villagers spawn only after the player has created a village for them.
Added plains villagers, which all have unique textures for that biome.
Added savanna villagers, which all have unique textures for that biome.
Added snowy villagers, which all have unique textures in snowy biomes. These villagers spawn in any snowy biome, including frozen rivers, frozen oceans (and their variants) and snowy beaches.
Added swamp villagers, which all have unique textures for that biome. However, swamps do not contain villages, so these villagers spawn only after the player has created a village for them.
Added taiga villagers, which all have unique textures for the biome. These villagers also spawn in giant tree taiga and windswept hills biomes.
Added baby villagers to desert, jungle, plains, savanna, snowy, swamp and taiga biomes. However, jungles and swamps do not contain villages, so these villagers spawn only after the player has created a village for them.
Villagers now have five tiers and show which trade tier they've unlocked, by a badge of a varying material on their suit. The first trade tier appears as a stone badge, the next iron, then gold, emerald and finally diamond.
Villagers now run away from and get infected by giants.
19w03aVillagers no longer run away from nor get infected by giants.
19w11aAdded many new villager trades, for each villager profession.
Villager trading prices now also depend on the player's popularity in the village.
Villagers now resupply their trades up to two times a day, if they get to work at a job site block.
The villager trading UI has been updated.
Villagers now level up in a new way.
Villagers now have a daily schedule. They go to work and meet up at the village bell. Each villager tries to find its own bed and job site block. Each profession has a specific block that works as a job site block for them (e.g. lectern for the librarian and cauldron for the leatherworker).
Villagers now sleep in beds at night.
Iron golems now spawn when enough villagers meet.
19w13aVillagers can now trade during raids.
Villagers now sweat during raids.
Villagers now hide in houses when a bell is rung by the player.
Villagers now throw gifts to players with the different Hero of the Village status effects, with the gift item depending on their profession. Baby villagers throw poppies.
19w13bThe trading UI of villagers has been revamped.
Available trades are now listed in a left sidebar, similar to Bedrock Edition.
When players have the required materials, clicking on one of the trades now put the items into the slots automatically.
19w14a Nitwits and unemployed villagers now bobble their head and grunt if the player tries to trade with them.
Pre-Release 1Fletcher villagers no longer sell luck arrows.
100% of villager trades are now discounted when the player has the Hero of the Village effect.
1.14.3pre1Panicking villagers now have a higher chance of spawning iron golems.
Farmer villagers now spend more time farming when they are working.
Farmer villagers now always give away food even if other villagers do not need it.
pre2Panicked villagers now have to work and sleep, so they cannot be in a state of panic all the time.
The "last slept" and "last worked" properties for villagers are now saved properly.
1.14.4pre1Villagers now voluntarily pick up items.
pre2Villagers now stock more items, so they now can trade more items before they lock their trades.
Villagers now remember their gossip after becoming a zombie villager.
Gossip about players who converted a zombie villager now last longer.
Villagers can now work without also restocking at the same time.
The performance of villager pathfinding has been improved.
1.1519w35aNitwit villagers no longer have a leveling gemstone in their belt.
If a player tries to sleep in a bed that is occupied by a villager, that villager is now kicked out of the bed.
1.1620w19aVillagers can now spawn iron golems regardless of their profession status or latest working time.
20w22aVillagers no longer try to work at the same workstation.
When a workstation is placed, the most experienced nearby villager for that corresponding profession claims the workstation.
Villagers now have to walk to and reach the workstation before they can acquire the profession/work there.
Villagers can no longer claim workstations/professions during raids or nighttime.
Villagers now check that their workstation is valid at all times of day as long as they are within 16 blocks of their workstation.
1.16.220w28aVillagers now emit green particles when joining a village, setting a home bed, or acquiring a job site/profession to match Bedrock Edition.
Pre-release 1Villagers now lose their job sites when changing dimension.
1.1721w11a The overlay texture of the librarian has been changed.
21w13aCan now accept a filled cauldron as a valid workstation.
Mason villagers can now sell 4 dripstone blocks for an emerald.
1.1821w37aBaby villagers are no longer attacked by illagers.
21w41aTweaked the armorer zombie villager's and weaponsmith zombie villager's textures to remove stray villager pixels.
1.1922w17aThe model of villagers has been changed. The problem of cut-off hems on costumes for some professions has been resolved by extending the overlay model downward by two pixels. ​[more information needed]
1.2023w14aTorchflower seeds can now be picked up by farmer villagers.
23w16aFarmer villagers can now plant torchflower seeds and pitcher pods.
1.20.223w31aVillagers now give a big discount only the first time they're cured from a zombie villager. There are no longer multiple stacked discounts if a villager is zombified and cured multiple times.[15]
Existing villagers with multiple curing discounts keep their lowered prices when updating to the new version.
1.20.2
Experiment
Villager Trade Rebalance
23w31aLibrarians from different biomes now sell different Enchanted Books.
Each village biome has one special enchantment that is available only from master librarians with full XP and players must visit all seven village biomes to get the full set of villager enchantments.
The player must build two secret villages in biomes where villages do not generate to access their trades.
Some enchantments have been removed from village trading and must be found in other ways.
1.20.5
Experiment
Villager Trade Rebalance
24w03aVillagers who buy armor now ignore durability and can buy damaged armor.
[hide]Bedrock Edition
1.9.0beta 1.9.0.0Villagers now run away from pillagers.
1.10.0beta 1.10.0.3Added nitwit and unemployed villagers.
Added mason profession, which can be traded with.
Villagers now run away from the new ravager.
Added a new type of villager. Both the old (pre-Village & Pillage) and new types of villagers are able to be spawned in-game and have different spawn eggs, although they have the same name and same spawn egg texture.
Villagers now have different skins based on biome (including swamps and jungles, which do not contain villages) as well as professions. However, villagers spawned in igloo basements still use their old skin.
Added desert villagers, which all have unique textures for that biome. These villagers also spawn badlands biomes.
Added jungle villagers, which all have unique textures for that biome. However, jungles do not contain villages, so these villagers spawn only after the player has created a village for them.
Added plains villagers, which all have unique textures for that biome.
Added savanna villagers, which all have unique textures for that biome.
Added snowy villagers, which all have unique textures in snowy biomes. These villagers spawn in any snowy biome, including frozen rivers, frozen oceans (and their variants) and snowy beaches.
Added swamp villagers, which all have unique textures for that biome. However, swamps do not contain villages, so these villagers spawn only after the player has created a village for them.
Added taiga villagers, which all have unique textures for the biome. These villagers also spawn in giant tree taiga and mountains biomes.
Added baby villagers to desert, jungle, plains, savanna, snowy, swamp and taiga biomes. However, jungles and swamps do not contain villages, so these villagers spawn only after the player has created a village for them.
Villagers now have three tiers and show which trade tier they have unlocked, by a badge of a varying material on their suit. The first trade tier appears as an iron badge, then next gold and finally diamond.
Librarian villagers now inspect bookshelves.
Villagers can now occupy beds to sleep.
Villagers now have a schedule. Adult and child villagers have a different schedule and fishermen, farmers and librarians have special work schedules.
Villagers now hold the item they want to trade.
Villagers now have behavior to wander village outskirts.
Villagers can now mingle in gathering sites.
Villagers can now work in job sites with the corresponding job site block and can change professions depending on the available job site blocks in villages.
1.11.0beta 1.11.0.1The farmer job site block has been changed from farmland to composters.
Added economic trades, which makes villagers level up and require experience to unlock next tiers, which makes it possible to instantly change their tiers from iron to diamond.
Villager trades are no longer instantly refreshed as it now requires to resupply, which can be activated only by using /resupply.
Old villagers now convert to villager_v2 .
Baby villagers are now ignored by illagers, including ravagers and vexes.
beta 1.11.0.3Villager now heal themselves upon waking up at dawn.
beta 1.11.0.4Villagers now hide in houses during raids.
The villager economy trades have been changed.
The supply and demand feature for villagers now works properly.
Villagers now make sounds when they work.
1.13.0beta 1.13.0.9Villagers can now heal if they have bread in their inventory.
1.17.0beta 1.16.230.54Mason villagers can now sell 4 dripstone blocks for an emerald.
1.18.10beta 1.18.10.20Villagers spawning in the grove biome are now the snowy variant.[16]
1.18.10beta 1.18.10.26Removed the emerald icon above a Villager's head when trading.
1.19.40Preview 1.19.40.20Baby villagers again accept flowers from iron golems.
Preview 1.19.50.21While playing tag, baby villagers now run at a quicker speed that matches Java Edition.
1.19.60Preview 1.19.60.20Villagers now take damage from lightning bolts on Peaceful difficulty, like other mobs.
Villagers now ensure that rain can pass through the block above them before launching fireworks when celebrating after a raid victory.[17]
Preview 1.19.60.22Fixed an issue that prevented some tripwire hooks from being valid when trading with a fletcher villager.
1.19.80Preview 1.19.80.20Villagers now generate green particles when a successful trade is completed.
1.20.10Preview 1.20.10.20A zombie villager now drops its armor and held items once cured.
Farmer villagers can now pick up and plant torchflower seeds and pitcher pods.
1.20.30Preview 1.20.20.20Villagers no longer drop items held in their hands when killed by players.
1.21.30Preview 1.21.30.24Villagers no longer make any idle sounds when sleeping.
[hide]PlayStation 4 Edition
1.91Added nitwit, unemployed villagers.
Added mason villagers, which can be traded with.
Villagers have new clothing to indicate their level, profession, and biome.
Added desert villagers, which all have unique textures for that biome. These villagers also spawn badlands biomes.
Added jungle villagers, which all have unique textures for that biome. However, jungles do not contain villages, so these villagers spawn only after the player has created a village for them.
Added plains villagers, which all have unique textures for that biome.
Added savanna villagers, which all have unique textures for that biome.
Added snowy villagers, which all have unique textures in snowy biomes. These villagers spawn in any snowy biome, including frozen rivers, frozen oceans (and their variants) and snowy beaches.
Added swamp villagers, which all have unique textures for that biome. However, swamps do not contain villages, so these villagers spawn only after the player has created a village for them.
Added taiga villagers, which all have unique textures for the biome. These villagers also spawn in giant tree taiga and windswept hills biomes.
Added baby villagers to desert, jungle, plains, savanna, snowy, swamp and taiga biomes. However, jungles and swamps do not contain villages, so these villagers spawn only after the player has created a village for them.
Villagers now have a schedule. Adult and child villagers have a different schedule.
Villagers may now wander to the village outskirts.
Villagers now attempt to find a door when it rains during the day and navigate to their bed at night.
The pathfinding of villagers has been updated and improved.
Villagers now have a visual-based trading system, and now hold up the item they wish to trade.
Villagers now mingle together around gathering sites in the village.
Librarian villagers now inspect bookshelves.
Villagers can now switch professions depending on the job site blocks available in the village.
Villagers now interact with beds and corresponding job site blocks.

Issues

Issues relating to "Villager" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

  • The villagers were inspired by the shopkeepers in Dungeon Master II.[18]
  • Originally, the mobs populating villages were to be pigmen.[19]
  • When a villager is in love mode, it walks slowly. However, when a villager runs indoors as the night falls, it runs faster than the player's sprinting speed.
  • The villager skins added in the Village and Pillage update were inspired by 2018 fashion shows, such as Gucci's.[20]
  • Villagers are genderless, meaning they are neither male nor female.[21]
  • Villagers occasionally sleep in odd ways during the night inside their beds, sometimes hanging halfway off the side of the bed or even glitching into walls.
  • Although the villages in snowy taiga biomes spawn the snowy villager variant in Bedrock Edition, they use the taiga village variant.
  • In Java Edition, when the Programmer Art resource pack is enabled, all villagers wear a green hood on their heads.[22] This is because the Programmer Art nitwit texture (which is directly copied from the pre-1.14 vanilla resource pack and had the hood in the texture since its addition) is called the same as the Village & Pillage base villager texture (...\entity\villager\villager.png).
    • In Bedrock Edition, when the Classic Textures pack from the Marketplace is enabled, the villagers still use their default texture instead of the old texture.[23] This is because the old textures of villager are located in ...\entity\villager, while the textures for new villagers are in ...\entity\villager2.
  • Giving a villager any item (with commands) causes it to hold the item as if offering it, but it cannot be traded.
  • Fisherman villagers have been intentionally textured by Jasper Boerstra to display the long-since-removed raw fish texture.[24]
  • Villagers display their held items differently than most creatures do, using the "ground" parameter instead of the usual hand parameter in model display settings.
  • Villagers (and baby villagers) on boats that have claimed a bed can still sleep when the bed is near to them resulting in them sleeping in the boat instead.‌[Bedrock Edition only]
  • Ancient villagers have been shown in Minecraft Legends, although they were hinted at in Minecraft Dungeons.
  • In Java Edition, the death messages of villagers are recorded in the game's logs.[25]
  • Baby villagers taking poppies from iron golems is a reference to the 1986 Japanese animated movie Castle in the Sky, in which a giant robot covered in vines (inspiration for the iron golem) gives the main characters flowers to put on a memorial.[26]
  • Their vocal sounds are performed by Samuel Åberg.[27]

April Fools

Main article: Easter eggs § 2014
This feature is exclusive to Java Edition.
 

On April 1, 2014, Mojang announced that villagers have taken over the skin servers and content delivery networks (CDN) as an April Fools joke. This caused the player's current skin to turn into villager skins, and caused users to be unable to change their skins unless modifying the launcher.json file. Different career villager skins were used, including the then-unused nitwit villager (green robe).

Many of the sounds were also changed, supposedly by the villagers. They seem to be similar to a villager talking (with words, rather than their normal sounds). The in-game music has also been altered to include villager like noises, and also features a villager version of the "Game of Thrones" theme on the title screen. The sounds originate from the sound resource pack created by Element Animation, titled The Element Animation Villager Sound Resource Pack (T.E.A.V.S.R.P.), which is based on the villagers appearing in their fan videos. The villagers were voiced by Dan Lloyd, Director of Element Animation.

The skins and the sounds were reverted to the way they were before on April 2, 2014. However, this update cannot be activated by setting the computer's date to April 1, 2014.

Gallery

Renders

Idle

Asleep

Screenshots

Mojang images

In other media

See also

References

  1. Can unintentionally hurt the player with a firework rocket after a raid is defeated.
  2. Categorized as an NPC in the game code.
  1. MC-257069 — Trapped villager can prevent any other villagers from claiming a jobsite
  2. MCPE-63311 — Villagers claim workstations and beds that are too far away and/or get stuck unemployed
  3. "Villagers cannot be equipped with anything by a dispenser, but that would be a separate issue and a feature request rather than a bug." — Cannot dispense armor or mob heads onto villagers or zombies — resolved as "Cannot Reproduce".
  4. MC-181525
  5. MC-178019
  6. Villager food sharing (java 1.16) - Only the last part and the bugs are relevant
  7. https://youtube.com/watch?v=AnOeYZi4fgc&t=48m33s
  8. MC-180893 — resolved as "Invalid".
  9. MC-145707 — resolved as "Works As Intended".
  10. MC-146515 — Villagers can sleep in all dimensions — resolved as "Works As Intended".
  11. MCPE-46034
  12. Jump up to: a b Jungle and swamp villages do not exist, but a village from another biome can intersect with any biome, including jungles and swamps. Jungle and swamp villagers can naturally spawn in their corresponding biomes only if a village intersects with the desired biome. Jungle and swamp villagers can also be obtained by breeding villagers in the desired biome or by using a spawn egg in the desired biome, as well as by curing a zombie villager spawned in a jungle or swamp.
  13. "Meet the Nitwit"Minecraft.net, January 23, 2017.
  14. "Meet the Villagers" by Marsh Davies – Minecraft.net, March 13, 2017.
  15. MC-181190 — The discount for curing a villager is multiplied if the villager is reinfected and cured again — resolved as "Fixed".
  16. MCPE-147834 — resolved as "Fixed".
  17. MCPE-152386 — resolved as "Fixed".
  18. http://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/xfzdg/i_am_markus_persson_aka_notch_creator_of/c5m0p26
  19. "It's very likely the townspeople will be pigmen =)"@notch (Markus Persson) on X (formerly Twitter), April 25, 2011
  20. "Fun Fact: Most of the villager designs were inspired by 2018 fashion shows like Gucci's."@JasperBoerstra (Jasper Boerstra) on X (formerly Twitter), February 28, 2019
  21. "Villagers are genderless- they are neither male nor female."@HelenAngel on X (formerly Twitter), March 8, 2019
  22. MC-141075
  23. MCPE-119646 — resolved as "Invalid".
  24. MC-173917 — resolved as "Works As Intended".
  25. MC-165985 — Villager deaths are logged — resolved as "Works As Intended".
  26. "@scambot Yes, thanks to @pgeuder who sent me inspirational pictures!"@jonkagstrom (Jon Kågström) on X (formerly Twitter), February 23, 2012
  27. "HOW MINECRAFT SOUNDS ARE MADE" – Minecraft on YouTube, August 3, 2024
  28. "This is how I perform experiments on Testificates:"@jeb_ (Jens Bergensten) on X (formerly Twitter), May 21, 2012

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