Greetings.
I am a man in a suit who has fallen into the world of Minecraft.
Mending is an enchantment that restores durability to tools and equipment using XP orbs you collect.
Buy a Mending book from a librarian and apply it with an anvil, and you can look after gear you want to keep using.
Applying the book does not instantly restore all its durability, though.
That is an easy distinction for this old man to muddle up!
This guide focuses on Minecraft Java Edition 1.21.11 without the Villager Trade Rebalance experiment enabled.
We separate official guidance from our OjiCra examples rather than treating Bedrock or experimental trades as the same rules.
Set up a lectern and check the books a librarian sells
Librarians stand beside their lecterns.
This workplace is where the search for a useful book begins.
Minecraft officially describes the lectern as the librarian job-site block and librarians as sellers of enchanted books.
A lectern uses four wooden slabs and one bookshelf.
Place it where an adult unemployed villager you have not traded with can use it, then open the trades once the villager becomes a librarian.
The green-robed Nitwit does not trade, so do not choose one as your librarian candidate.
I face a villager with a lectern in hand.
First check which lectern belongs to the villager, then look at the offers.
In Java 1.21.11, an untraded novice with no villager XP can lose its profession when it loses its job site.
If the book is not the one you want, remove the lectern used by that librarian, wait for the villager to become unemployed, and replace it to check new offers.
Also check that another villager has not claimed the lectern.
Do not use a villager you have already traded with for this rerolling method.
Avoid completing a paper trade or another offer before finding the book you want.
An enchanted-book icon alone does not tell you whether the book has Mending.
Hover over the book and read its tooltip.
This screenshot shows the icon, but not the book tooltip.
Check the book being sold, not the name given to the villager.
In Episode 81, I buy a Mending book from this librarian.
Before buying, hover over the book and confirm that it says Mending.
The pictured offer shows twenty-two emeralds and a book.
Bring the number of emeralds shown in your own trade screen, along with the book.
Twenty-two is the price in this example, not a fixed Mending price.
Official Minecraft guidance also explains that reputation and demand can affect prices.
If Mending is not appearing, check the experimental settings for your world too.
Villager Trade Rebalance uses different rules for book offers, involving biome and profession level.
Do not apply advice about needing a swamp librarian under that experiment to an ordinary world without it.
There is no guaranteed number of rerolls before Mending appears.
Applying Mending and repairing durability are separate steps
Put the elytra in the left anvil slot and the enchanted book in the right slot.
Check the output item and required XP levels before taking it out.
In Episode 81, I use this operation to apply Mending to the elytra.
The displayed cost of two belongs to this combination; other gear does not necessarily cost the same.
This diamond sword tooltip does show Mending by name.
After buying the book, it is reassuring to check the tooltip on the gear itself as well.
To repair it, hold a Mending tool or wear Mending equipment while collecting XP orbs.
A tool left in an ordinary inventory slot is not eligible for this repair.
Having XP levels stored up does not repair it automatically either.
In Java 1.21.11, when several damaged equipped items have Mending, the selected repair target can vary.
To focus on one item, remove the other Mending equipment, hold or equip the item you want to repair, and watch its durability bar.
Before setting off in Episode 89, the elytra durability bar is short and red.
Let us compare the bar before and after the repairs.
After collecting XP from Endermen, the short bar no longer appears on the elytra in the inventory.
Having working wings again is a relief.
This is our XP collection and repair example from Episode 89, not a promise that everyone needs the same time or number of defeated mobs.
Checks when you cannot buy the book or repair the gear
If a trade is marked unavailable, it may be sold out.
First check whether the librarian can return to and work at its own lectern.
Official guidance connects working at the job site with restocking, but placing a lectern does not mean unlimited immediate purchases.
If the anvil output is empty, check the book enchantment, its compatibility with the item, the required XP levels, and any warning in the interface.
An anvil application problem and a durability-repair problem are easier to investigate separately.
- QDoes applying a Mending book instantly make an item new again?
- AApplying the enchantment and restoring durability are separate. Hold or equip the Mending item, then collect XP orbs to repair it.
- QCan I reroll a librarian after trading with it?
- ADo not use an already-traded villager for the ordinary Java 1.21.11 rerolling method. Choose an untraded novice.
- QIs Mending missing because I am not in a swamp?
- AOrdinary settings and the Villager Trade Rebalance experiment use different rules. Check the world settings first, and do not apply experimental conditions to an ordinary world.
- QWhat should I check if collecting XP does not repair an item?
- ACheck for Mending, make sure the item is held or worn, and check for other damaged Mending equipment. Stored XP levels alone do not repair it.
You can also read about the search for the book in Episode 24, our librarian and Mending story.
For more practical guides, visit the Minecraft Memo collection.
Sources: Minecraft: Lectern / Java Village & Pillage / Villager Trade Rebalance experiment / Meet the Nitwit / Java Edition 1.21.11
That is all for this time.
Greetings.