How to Make a Barrel in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Craft a barrel with 6 planks of any type and 2 wooden slabs: planks filling both columns and the slab in the top and bottom middle slots. It stores 27 stacks like a chest, works even with a block on top, and is the fisherman villager's job site block.

What you need

6 planks of any type
2 wooden slabs of any type

Step by step

Gather 6 planks of any wood type and 2 wooden slabs.
Open the crafting table.
Fill the left and right columns completely with planks (3 each).
Place 1 slab in the top-middle slot and 1 slab in the bottom-middle slot.
Take the barrel.
Place it and right-click to open 27 storage slots, the same as a single chest.
Unlike chests, barrels open even with a solid block directly above, which makes them perfect for tight storage walls and floors. Hoppers feed and empty them for storage systems.

Java vs Bedrock

The barrel works the same in Java and Bedrock and was added in 1.14. It is the storage block of choice in compact builds because its lid never needs clearance. Barrels also generate naturally in fisher cottages in villages, and an unemployed villager claiming one becomes a fisherman.

Versions: javabedrock

Frequently asked questions

How much can a barrel hold?

27 stacks, exactly the same as a single chest. Two barrels do not combine into a double version, but their smaller footprint and lid-free opening often beats chests in tight spaces.

Barrel vs chest: which is better?

Barrels open with blocks on top, so they stack flush in walls, floors and ceilings. Chests cost less wood per slot and combine into doubles. For storage rooms with items above them, barrels win.

What villager uses a barrel?

The fisherman. An unemployed villager claiming a barrel becomes a fisherman, buying string, coal and fish, and selling cooked fish, buckets of cod, campfires and fishing rods.