How to Get Mending in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Mending is a treasure enchantment, so the enchanting table never offers it. The reliable way: place a lectern next to an unemployed villager, check the librarian's first book trade, break and replace the lectern until it offers Mending, then lock the trade. Fishing, structure chests and raid drops can also yield it. Apply the book to gear at an anvil.

What you need

Lectern (4 slabs + 1 bookshelf)
An unemployed villager + a bed
10-38 emeralds per Mending book
Anvil to apply the book

Step by step

Set up a librarian: place a Lectern (4 wood slabs + 1 bookshelf) next to any unemployed villager with a bed nearby. It takes the librarian profession.
Check its first (novice) book trade. If it is not Mending, break the lectern and place it again - the trade rerolls. Do NOT trade anything yet: one trade locks all offers forever.
Repeat until the novice trade shows Mending. It can cost anywhere from 10 to 38 emeralds (5-64 range exists but 10-38 covers nearly all rolls).
Trade once to lock it, then buy as many Mending books as you need (the trade restocks twice a day at the workstation).
Alternative sources if you hate lectern rerolling: fishing treasure loot, chests in ancient cities, End cities, mineshafts, dungeons, stronghold libraries and pillager outposts, plus raid drops and jungle/pyramid loot.
Apply the book at an Anvil to your tool, weapon, armor or Elytra. With Mending, XP you collect repairs the item instead of filling your XP bar (items held or worn share the XP with your bar).

Java vs Bedrock

Sources are the same on Java and Bedrock. The big caveat is the experimental Villager Trade Rebalance (a Java world-creation toggle): with it ON, librarians are biome-locked and Mending is the master-level trade of SWAMP librarians only, which requires breeding villagers in a swamp. With the default trades (rebalance off), any librarian anywhere can offer Mending at any level.

Versions: Lectern rerolling works in all current default versions; the biome-locked swamp rule applies only to the experimental trade rebalance. Current as of 26.3.

Frequently asked questions

Why won't the enchanting table give me Mending?

Mending is a treasure enchantment: it never appears on the enchanting table at any setup. You need villager trading, fishing, or structure loot - the librarian lectern method is by far the most reliable.

How do I get Mending if the villager trade rebalance is enabled?

Breed two villagers inside a swamp biome (or cure zombie villagers there) so the baby counts as swamp type, level the resulting librarian to master, and its final book trade is Mending. There is no lectern reroll for the special books under the rebalance.

Does Mending repair items in my inventory?

No. Only items you wear or hold in a hand absorb XP for repairs; pick the item up in your off-hand or wear it while farming XP. One Mending item at a time is targeted if several are damaged.