How to Make a Respawn Anchor in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Craft 6 crying obsidian + 3 glowstone into a respawn anchor, place it in the Nether and feed it up to 4 glowstone blocks - each charge revives you once. Never click it in the Overworld: it explodes harder than TNT.

What you need

6 crying obsidian (piglin bartering or ruined portals)
3 glowstone blocks for the recipe, plus more for charges (Nether ceilings, witch drops, cleric trades)
Diamond or netherite pickaxe to mine the crying obsidian

Step by step

Get 6 crying obsidian: barter gold with piglins (about 8.5% per ingot, 1-3 per success) or mine it from ruined portals.
Get glowstone: mine the glowing clusters on Nether ceilings with any tool (Silk Touch for whole blocks, otherwise 2-4 dust - 4 dust crafts back into a block).
Craft the anchor: crying obsidian across the top and bottom rows, glowstone across the middle.
Place it in your Nether base and right-click with glowstone blocks to charge it - the anchor lights up brighter per charge: light 3, 7, 11 then 15.
Right-click the charged anchor once to set your spawn - you only need to do this once per anchor.
Each death consumes one charge; top it up with glowstone after every respawn.

Java vs Bedrock

Works the same in Java and Bedrock: 4 charges maximum, one per respawn, and a violent explosion if used in the Overworld or the End. A comparator reads the charge level (0-4), so redstone can tell you when to refuel.

Versions: Added in 1.16 (Nether Update). Charges and behavior unchanged through the current versions.

Frequently asked questions

Why did my respawn anchor explode?

You right-clicked it in the Overworld or the End. Respawn anchors only work in the Nether - anywhere else they detonate with more force than TNT and destroy the anchor.

Does breaking a charged anchor keep the charges?

No. The block drops itself but all glowstone charges are lost when mined, so only move it when it is empty.

How many times can I respawn on one anchor?

Four. Each glowstone block adds one charge, up to 4, and every death on the anchor consumes one.