How to Make a Copper Golem in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Place a block of copper (any oxidation stage, waxed works too) and put a carved pumpkin or jack o'lantern on top - the pumpkin must be placed last. The copper block turns into a copper chest and the golem spawns on it, ready to sort your items.

What you need

1 block of copper (9 copper ingots)
1 carved pumpkin (pumpkin + shears) or jack o'lantern
Optional: honeycomb to wax the golem
Optional: copper chests and wooden chests for the sorting setup

Step by step

Gather the materials: 1 block of copper (9 copper ingots) and 1 carved pumpkin - shear a regular pumpkin - or a jack o'lantern.
Place the block of copper where you want the golem. Any oxidation stage works, waxed blocks too, and the pattern works horizontally or even upside-down.
Place the carved pumpkin or jack o'lantern last - by hand, with a dispenser, or even let an enderman do it.
The copper block transforms into a copper chest facing the pumpkin's direction and the copper golem spawns where the pumpkin was, matching the block's oxidation stage.
Put it to work: the golem takes up to 16 of the first item it finds in copper chests and files them into nearby wooden chests or trapped chests that are empty or already contain that item type - a fully automatic sorting system.
Maintain it: use a honeycomb to wax it and freeze oxidation, or scrape with an axe to revert one stage. Unwaxed golems take 21-23 in-game days per oxidation stage, and once fully oxidized they turn into a copper golem statue. Scrape the statue with an axe one stage at a time; an unoxidized statue comes back to life.

Java vs Bedrock

The build is identical in Java (1.21.9) and Bedrock (1.21.111). When sorting, Java golems cannot tell apart potion contents, tipped arrow types or suspicious stews - Bedrock golems can. Both ignore durability, enchantments and custom names.

Versions: Added in Java 1.21.9 and Bedrock 1.21.111. The copper golem lost the 2021 mob vote and finally arrived four years later with a chest-sorting job instead of pressing buttons.

Frequently asked questions

Does the copper golem spawn naturally?

No. It only exists when a player builds it (copper block + pumpkin placed last), from a spawn egg, or when you reanimate an unwaxed copper golem statue with an axe.

What happens when a copper golem fully oxidizes?

It freezes into a copper golem statue and drops whatever it was holding. Scrape an unwaxed statue with an axe until it is unoxidized to bring the golem back - waxing with honeycomb at any stage prevents this entirely.

How does copper golem sorting work?

It opens copper chests, takes up to 16 of the first item type it finds, and places them in nearby wooden or trapped chests that are empty or already contain that item. It remembers up to 9 copper chests and resets after checking 10 empty ones.