How to Get a Happy Ghast in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Waterlog a dried ghast block for about 20 minutes: it hatches into a ghastling, which needs another 20 minutes (or snowballs) to grow into a happy ghast. Dried ghasts generate next to Nether fossils in soul sand valleys (1 in 3 chance), can be crafted from 8 ghast tears plus soul sand, or bartered from piglins (~2.13%). Equip the adult with a harness to fly with up to four players.

What you need

Dried ghast (fossil loot, ghast tear crafting, or piglin bartering)
A water bucket (for waterlogging)
Snowballs (optional, faster growth)
3 leather + 2 glass + 1 wool (harness)
Shears (to take the harness off)

Step by step

Get a dried ghast: loot one next to a Nether fossil in a soul sand valley (1/3 of fossils), craft it with 8 ghast tears around 1 soul sand, or barter gold ingots with piglins (~2.13% each).
Place the dried ghast in water or use a water bucket to waterlog it. Keep it waterlogged until it transforms.
Wait about 20 minutes while it hydrates in visible stages and becomes a ghastling. The timing varies. Removing water makes hydration reverse gradually; breaking the block resets it to the dried state.
The ghastling normally takes 20 minutes to grow. Feed it snowballs to speed this up: each snowball cuts the remaining time by 10% in Java, while 10 snowballs grow a newly spawned ghastling into an adult in Bedrock.
Craft 1 harness: put 3 leather across the top row and glass, wool, glass across the middle row, leaving the bottom row empty. The wool color determines the harness color.
Use the harness on the adult happy ghast. Up to four players can now mount; the first rider pilots with normal movement keys.
Use shears on the adult to remove and retrieve its harness. Keep the ghast safe and use leads when you need to keep it nearby.

Java vs Bedrock

Snowball growth differs: Java reduces the remaining growth time by 10% per snowball; Bedrock needs 10 snowballs for a newly spawned ghastling. In both editions, breaking a hydrating dried ghast resets its hydration.

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

Frequently asked questions

Can you breed happy ghasts?

No. Happy ghasts cannot be bred. Hatch more dried ghasts if you want more happy ghasts.

How many players can ride a happy ghast?

Four at once. The first player to mount pilots from the front seat; the others fill the remaining sides clockwise.

Can a happy ghast carry mobs or boats?

Yes. Use leads to attach boats or leashable mobs to the happy ghast for air transport. Some carried entities appear suspended by four ropes, but that is a visual design, not an instruction to use four leads per entity.