How to Get Channeling in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Channeling, maximum I, summons lightning when a thrown trident hits a qualifying target during a thunderstorm with unobstructed sky above it. Bedrock lightning rods also work in ordinary rain. It is incompatible with Riptide.

What you need

Trident (from drowned)
Enchanting table, or anvil + Channeling book
XP levels
A thunderstorm (the hard part)

Step by step

Get a trident. Kill drowned that spawn holding one in rivers and oceans - Looting III improves your odds.
Enchant it with Channeling. Enchanting table roll, anvil plus book from a librarian or loot chest, or combine two tridents. Channeling is a single-level enchant: no II or III to chase.
Use a thunderstorm for entity targets. Ordinary rain is not enough for those targets. In Bedrock, a lightning rod hit by the trident can trigger lightning during ordinary rain.
Aim at a qualifying target with no opaque or partially transparent blocks above it. Java mobs in water, lava, powder snow or cobwebs, and some other positions, do not summon lightning when hit directly. A nearby valid target can summon lightning that reaches them. Lightning damage is not guaranteed after the trident hit.
Lightning can transform pigs into zombified piglins, villagers into witches, creepers into charged creepers and swap red/brown mooshrooms. Use a charged creeper explosion to get heads from eligible mobs. Bedrock lightning rods can be struck in ordinary rain.

Java vs Bedrock

Entity targets need a thunderstorm and clear sky above them; Java also restricts targets in some blocks or positions. Java lightning rods need thunderstorms. Bedrock lightning rods can trigger in ordinary rain. Riptide is incompatible in both editions.

Versions: Describes the current Java and Bedrock releases. See the edition note for differences.

Frequently asked questions

Channeling or Riptide?

Channeling is for lightning and mob transformations; Riptide is for movement. They cannot coexist normally. Loyalty can coexist with Channeling.

Why won't my Channeling trident summon lightning?

Check the weather, sky above the target and target position. Entity targets need a thunderstorm; Java targets in water and some other blocks can fail. Java rods also need thunder, while Bedrock rods work in ordinary rain.

How do I get mob heads with Channeling?

Charge a creeper with lightning, then let its explosion kill an eligible zombie, skeleton, wither skeleton, piglin or another creeper. Java chooses one eligible victim to drop a head per explosion; Bedrock lets all eligible victims drop their heads.