How to Get Amethyst Shards in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Mine fully grown amethyst clusters inside amethyst geodes - 4 shards per cluster with a pickaxe (up to 8.8 on average with Fortune III). Shards also appear in ancient city and trial chambers chests, and they duplicate allays, craft spyglasses and tinted glass.

What you need

Pickaxe (Fortune III ideal, Silk Touch for relocating clusters)
Torches and food for caving
Nothing else - budding amethyst stays put

Step by step

Find an amethyst geode: round structures hidden underground (most common around Y=30 and below), walled with smooth basalt and calcite, and glowing purple inside. You can also listen - amethyst makes a distinct chime.
Harvest only the big ones: small, medium and large buds drop NOTHING when mined. Only the fully grown amethyst cluster drops shards - leave the buds to grow.
Use the right tool: a pickaxe gets 4 shards per cluster. Any other tool, explosion or piston gets just 2. Silk Touch drops the cluster block itself instead (great for decoration, zero for farming).
Max out with Fortune: Fortune I averages 5.33 shards, Fortune II 7, and Fortune III 8.8 per cluster (with shots at 8, 12 or 16). A Fortune pickaxe nearly doubles your haul.
Respect the budding blocks: budding amethyst (the blocks with X-shaped cracks) grows new buds over time but CANNOT be collected - not even with Silk Touch. A geode farm means building a harvesting room around the budding blocks in place.
Chest sources: amethyst shards also generate in ancient city and trial chambers chests - a nice trickle while exploring, though geodes outproduce them.
Best uses: spyglass (1 shard + 2 copper), tinted glass (4 shards + glass, blocks ALL light while staying transparent), amethyst blocks, calibrated sculk sensors - and armor trims.
Allay magic: give a shard to an allay dancing to a jukebox and it duplicates into a second allay (5-minute cooldown). The only way to multiply allays.

Java vs Bedrock

Identical mining drops, Fortune scaling and allay duplication in Java and Bedrock. Geode generation and chest loot match too.

Versions: Added in 1.17 - Caves & Cliffs Part I (20w45a), alongside amethyst geodes. Allay duplication arrived with the allay itself in 1.19, and calibrated sculk sensors in 1.20.

Frequently asked questions

How do you get amethyst shards?

Mine fully grown amethyst clusters in amethyst geodes with a pickaxe - 4 shards each, or up to 8.8 on average with Fortune III. Smaller buds drop nothing, so let them grow. Shards also appear in ancient city and trial chambers chests. You cannot move budding amethyst, so farms are built in place around the geode.

Does Fortune work on amethyst?

Yes - Fortune I averages 5.33 shards per cluster, Fortune II 7, and Fortune III 8.8 (rolling 8, 12 or 16 at 20% each). Without Fortune a pickaxe gets a flat 4. Silk Touch instead drops the cluster block for decoration.

What are amethyst shards used for?

Crafting spyglasses, tinted glass (transparent but blocks all light), amethyst blocks and calibrated sculk sensors; trimming armor; and duplicating allays - give a shard to a dancing allay and it splits into two.