Right-click a passive or neutral animal while holding the lead. A taut rope appears between you and the mob.
2
Walk it home
Move and the animal trails behind, staying within about ten blocks. The lead snaps if you sprint too far or round a wall.
3
Tie it off
Right-click a fence post with the lead and the other end knots to the post, so the animal stays in your pen.
What you can lead
Yes
✓Cows, pigs, sheep, goats and most farm animals
✓Wolves, cats, horses, donkeys, mules and llamas
✓Striders, and boats with an animal aboard
✓Iron golems and a few other neutral mobs
No
✗Most hostile mobs ignore a lead entirely
✗Villagers cannot be leashed (move them by boat)
✗It snaps through solid walls or past ~10 blocks
✗Anything you cannot right-click to attach to
Handy to know
A lead reaches about ten blocks before it snaps. To ferry animals across water, sit them in a boat or lead them while you paddle. Tie several to a row of fence posts and you have an instant pen.
Quick answers
What is the recipe?
Four string and a slime ball in an L shape. One craft yields two leads, so a single slime ball goes a long way.
How do I leash a mob?
Hold the lead and right-click the animal. To release it, right-click it again, or sneak-attach it to a fence to tie it down.
How far does it reach?
About ten blocks. Beyond that, or through a solid wall, the lead snaps and drops as an item you can pick back up.
Can I tie one to a fence?
Yes. Right-click a fence post with the leashed mob's lead and it knots on, keeping the animal in place without you holding it.
What can't I lead?
Most hostile mobs, and villagers. For villagers use a boat or a minecart. Passive and neutral animals are fair game.
Can I pull animals across water?
Yes, put the animal in a boat, or lead it while you ride a boat. It is the standard way to ferry livestock across an ocean.
Four string is easy and the slimeball is not, so leads come in batches whenever you happen to have slime. A swamp at night or a slime chunk is the usual source, and two leads is worth more on a moving trip than a stack of string ever is.
Not every mob can be led
Leads attach to most passive mobs and to a few hostile ones, but villagers refuse outright, which is why villager transport uses boats and minecarts instead. Knowing this before you walk to a village saves a long trip back.
Tying to a fence frees your hands
A lead can be tied to a fence post, and the mob stays there while you go and do something else. Fence gates do not count, and a lead stretched too far snaps and drops as an item, so short tethers and a fence at each stop beat dragging an animal across a continent in one go.
Minecart