How to Make a Glow Item Frame in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Combine 1 item frame with 1 glow ink sac anywhere in the crafting grid to get a glow item frame: a frame that makes the item inside it shine bright, visible in the dark. Glow ink sacs drop from glow squids in dark underwater caves.

What you need

1 item frame (8 sticks + 1 leather)
1 glow ink sac per frame (glow squid drops)
Any crafting grid - the recipe is shapeless

Step by step

Craft an item frame first: 8 sticks around 1 leather.
Get glow ink sacs: glow squids spawn in dark water underground and below Y=30; kill them for 1-3 sacs.
Combine the item frame and the glow ink sac anywhere in a crafting grid (shapeless recipe).
Place the glow item frame on a wall, floor or ceiling and put any item inside.
The item inside glows with a bright outline and stays readable in complete darkness - the frame itself does not emit light, so it does not affect mob spawning.
Uses: glowing map walls, item labels on chests you can read at night, enchanted-book displays and shop signs that pop.
Rotate the item inside with right-click like a normal frame; punch the frame once to pop the item out, twice to break it (it always drops itself).

Java vs Bedrock

Identical recipe and behavior in Java and Bedrock.

Versions: Glow item frames were added in 1.17 (Caves & Cliffs Part I) on both editions.

Frequently asked questions

Does a glow item frame light up the room?

No - the item inside is bright and self-lit, but the frame emits no actual light level. It will not melt snow or stop mobs.

Can I convert an existing item frame?

Not directly: use a glow ink sac on a placed normal item frame to turn it into a glowing one, or craft a new glow item frame. You can also apply a regular ink sac to a glow frame to revert it.

Where do glow squids spawn?

In total darkness in water below Y=30 - aquifers, underground lakes and deep ocean caves. They stop spawning when you light the water, so hunt before you glow-lichen the place.