Tools · Basics · 1.21

How to Make a Bucket

One bucket, three iron, and a surprising amount of jobs. It hauls water and lava, doubles as a cure-all milk flask, scoops up fish, and even carries powder snow.

The recipe

Three iron ingots in a V: the two top corners and the centre.

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What it carries

Water

Place a source, make farms, or break your fall. A 2x2 is infinite.

Lava

Top furnace fuel (100 items), makes obsidian, and powers Nether travel.

Milk

Drink it to instantly clear every potion effect, good or bad.

Powder snow

Scoop and place it; mobs sink and freeze, and it softens falls.

Fish & axolotls

Scoop up aquatic mobs to carry and re-home them safely.

The infinite water trick

Dig a 2x2 hole and place water in two opposite corners. The whole square turns into an infinite source: scoop from any of the four cells forever and it refills. One of the most useful tricks in the game.

Quick answers

What is the recipe?

Three iron ingots in a V shape: top-left, top-right, and the centre slot. That makes one bucket.

Is water really infinite?

Yes. A 2x2 square of water becomes an endless source, so one bucket can fill it and you scoop from it forever.

Does milk cure effects?

Drinking milk clears all active potion effects at once, both buffs and debuffs. The classic panic button.

How do I carry a fish or axolotl?

Right-click the mob with an empty bucket to scoop it up, then right-click to release it wherever you want.

Is a lava bucket good fuel?

It is the best common fuel at 100 smelted items, and you keep the empty bucket afterwards.

What does powder snow do?

Mobs and players without leather boots sink into it and slowly freeze. It also breaks fall damage.

Can buckets stack?

An empty bucket stacks to 16. A filled bucket of any kind does not stack, so water, lava, milk, powder snow and fish buckets all sit one per slot.

Where do I find iron without mining?

Iron golems drop 3 to 5 iron when killed, and they spawn in villages. Zombies, husks and zombie villagers also have a small chance to drop an iron ingot. If you do mine, iron ore is most common around y=16.

Can I scoop lava in the Nether?

Yes. Right-click a still lava source block with an empty bucket and it fills, just like in the Overworld. The Nether has plenty of lava, so it is an easy place to stock up on fuel.

Why did my water disappear in the Nether?

Water evaporates instantly when placed in the Nether. The bucket empties but no source block stays. Use ice or a cauldron if you need water down there.

What is the fastest iron for one bucket?

Three iron ore smelt into three ingots, which is one full bucket. A single raw iron block is nine ingots, enough for three buckets.

Tips and common mistakes

Aim at the flat top of a fluid block to fill, not the side. Right-clicking a wall sometimes places a block instead.
To make obsidian, pour water onto a lava source. Flowing lava turns to cobblestone, so the lava must be a still source block.
Milk also stops your screen from shaking and clears the poison and wither effects, useful right before a boss fight.
Wear leather boots to walk on powder snow without sinking. Any other boots, or bare feet, let you fall straight in.
A water bucket cancels fall damage if you place the water under you just before you land, then scoop it back up.
Use an empty bucket on a fully filled water cauldron to fill the bucket. This works on both Java and Bedrock and empties the cauldron in one go.

Smelt the iron at a furnace (and a lava bucket fuels it). Look up every bucket fill on the items database, read about axolotls, or grab the recipe on crafting.