How to Get Smithing Templates in Minecraft (All 19 Locations)

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Smithing templates are loot found in structures: the netherite upgrade comes from bastion remnants, and 18 armor trims are spread across outposts, mansions, temples, shipwrecks, strongholds, ancient cities, end cities and trial chambers. Once you have one, duplicate it with 7 diamonds plus its matching block.

What you need

Access to the right structure (bastion, outpost, mansion, trail ruins...)
7 diamonds per duplication
The template's matching block (netherrack, cobblestone, etc.)
Smithing table
Brush for trail ruins suspicious gravel

Step by step

Know what you're hunting: there's 1 netherite upgrade (required to craft netherite gear) and 18 armor trims (purely cosmetic patterns). Each has its own structure.
Netherite upgrade: loot bastion remnant chests - 10% per chest. Guaranteed in the treasure room bastion type, so hunt those if you can.
Overworld trims: sentry (pillager outposts, 25%), vex (woodland mansions, 50%), wild (jungle temples, 33%), coast (shipwrecks, 16.7%), dune (desert temples, 14.3%). Dune, coast, wild and sentry chests always contain two templates when they roll one.
Trail ruins trims: brush suspicious gravel with archaeology - wayfinder, raiser, shaper and host each have a 1-in-12 chance per suspicious gravel block.
Ancient city trims: ward (5% per chest) and silence (about 1% - the rarest template in the game). Bring wool and patience.
Nether trims: snout (bastion remnants, 8.3%) and rib (nether fortress chests, 6.7%).
End and ocean trims: eye (strongholds - 10% in altar chests but 100% in library chests), spire (end cities, 6.7%), tide (elder guardians drop it 20% of the time; Looting doesn't change the chance).
Trial chambers trims: bolt comes from standard vaults and flow from ominous vaults, so bring trial keys and Ominous Bottles.
Duplicate instead of re-farming: craft the template with 7 diamonds and its matching block (netherrack for netherite upgrade, cobblestone for sentry/vex/coast, and so on) to get two back. Always duplicate before your first use.
Apply it: on a smithing table, combine template + armor piece + a material (amethyst, copper, diamond, emerald, gold, iron, lapis, quartz, redstone or resin) to set the trim color. For netherite: template + diamond gear + netherite ingot.

Java vs Bedrock

Chest chances and the duplication recipe are the same in both editions. Bedrock is more forgiving on duplication blocks: tide trims also copy with prismarine bricks or dark prismarine, dune with smooth/cut/chiseled sandstone, and spire with purpur pillars.

Versions: Added behind the 'Update 1.20' experiment in Java 1.19.4 (23w04a) and Bedrock 1.19.80, fully released in 1.20 / Bedrock 1.20.0. Wayfinder, raiser, shaper, host and silence arrived with the 1.20 release snapshots; bolt and flow came in 1.21 / Bedrock 1.20.80 experiment and 1.21 full.

Frequently asked questions

How do you get more smithing templates?

Duplicate them: combine the template with 7 diamonds and its matching block in a crafting table to get two templates back. Never use your only copy without duplicating first.

Where is the netherite upgrade template?

In bastion remnant chests in the Nether - 10% chance per chest, and guaranteed inside treasure room bastions. You need one template per piece of netherite gear, so duplicate it with 7 diamonds and netherrack.

What is the rarest smithing template?

The silence armor trim, at about a 1% chance per ancient city chest. Ward is also in ancient cities at 5%. Mojang designed silence to be the hardest trim to collect.

Do armor trims do anything?

No - armor trims are purely cosmetic. They change the look of your armor with a colored pattern, but add no stats or protection. The netherite upgrade is the only smithing template with gameplay impact.