How to Use an Anvil in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Put the target item in the left anvil slot and a supported repair material, enchanted book or matching item in the second. Review the result and XP cost before taking it. Ordinary Survival work must cost less than 40 levels; renaming alone does not increase the prior-work penalty.

What you need

1 anvil (3 iron blocks + 4 iron ingots, 31 ingots total)
Repair materials or enchanted books
Experience levels (up to 39 per operation)

Step by step

Craft an anvil with 3 blocks of iron across the top row, 1 iron ingot in the center and 3 iron ingots along the bottom (31 iron ingots total).
Place the anvil and right-click it to open the two-slot interface.
To repair: put the damaged item on the left and its material (iron ingots for iron gear, diamonds for diamond gear) or a matching item on the right.
To enchant: put the item on the left and an enchanted book on the right. The preview shows the result and level cost.
To rename: put any item in and type the new name in the text field.
Take the result and pay the experience levels shown. If the anvil says 'Too Expensive!', the operation needs more than 39 levels and is impossible in survival.
Watch the anvil itself: every use has a 12% chance to degrade it from anvil to chipped to damaged, and a damaged anvil that degrades breaks.

Java vs Bedrock

Repairing and enchanting increase the resulting item's prior-work penalty from the larger penalty of the two inputs: 0, 1, 3, 7, 15, 31. Renaming alone does not raise it. Exact enchantment costs differ by edition, and Java caps rename-only cost at 39 levels.

Versions: Describes the current Java and Bedrock releases. See the edition note for differences.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my anvil say Too Expensive?

The total for ordinary Survival work reaches 40 levels or more. Prior-work penalties from both inputs and the repair/enchantment cost contribute; the total does not simply double each time. A grindstone resets prior work but removes non-curse enchantments.

How do you repair an anvil?

You cannot. Anvils degrade as you use them: each use has a 12% chance to move it from anvil to chipped anvil to damaged anvil, and one more degradation breaks it. Craft a new one from 31 iron ingots.

Is it better to repair with an anvil or materials?

Both material repair and combining matching items increase prior work. Compare the displayed costs: materials restore 25% per unit on supported items; combining adds remaining durability plus a 12% bonus, capped at full durability. Mending avoids repeated anvil repair costs.