How to Build an Iron Farm in Minecraft (Java and Bedrock)

An iron farm traps a few villagers where they can sleep and get scared, and that makes them summon iron golems. The golems spawn on a platform next to the villagers, get pushed by water into a kill chamber, and die, dropping 3 to 5 iron ingots each. Once it’s running you’ll have more iron than you can use, which is why it’s the first big farm most survival worlds get.

The rules for golem summoning are completely different between Java and Bedrock, so read the section for your edition before you copy any design.

How golems get summoned on Java

On Java, villagers call for a golem when they’re frightened or gossiping. In farm terms, the reliable trigger is fear:

• At least 3 villagers close together get scared by a zombie they can see.
• Each of them must have slept in a bed within the last 20 minutes (roughly one Minecraft day).
• No golem can have been detected nearby in the last 30 seconds.

When that happens, the game tries to spawn an iron golem on a solid block near the villagers. So a farm is just a small room with three beds, three villagers and a zombie they can see, plus a spawning floor where the golem can appear.

A simple Java layout

This is the classic beginner design, shown in the diagram above.

1. The villager pod. A small enclosed room, raised a few blocks off the ground, with 3 beds and 3 villagers. Each villager needs to reach its own bed. Workstations are optional on Java, but they keep villagers from wandering around the room.
2. The zombie. Put a zombie in a boat or minecart a few blocks below or beside the pod, in view of the villagers but where it can’t reach them. Name it with a name tag so it never despawns, and put a block over its head so it doesn’t burn in sunlight.
3. The spawning floor. A platform next to the pod where golems can appear. Golems need a solid block to stand on with enough room above them, so leave the space open.
4. The flush. Water on the platform pushes golems toward a central hole.
5. The kill chamber. Golems fall into a 1×1 space with lava held above their heads (by a sign, for example). They burn, and the iron drops into hoppers below, leading into a chest.

Getting villagers into the pod is the fiddly part. Bring them by boat, by rail, or breed them on site.

How it works on Bedrock

Bedrock doesn’t use fear. Instead, a village spawns golems based on its size:

• The village needs at least 10 villagers and 20 beds.
• At least 75% of the villagers must have worked at a workstation in the last 20 minutes, and every villager must be linked to a bed.
• One extra golem can exist for every 10 more villagers.

Bedrock farms are bigger, need workstations, and have golems spawn around the village center. They’re a different build from the Java one above. Golems can spawn on glass and top slabs on Bedrock, which the designs rely on.

Where to build it

• Away from other villages. If another village’s beds or workstations are close by, your villagers can link to them and the farm stops making sense. On Java, keep it well clear of any natural village and your trading hall.
• Near where you spend time. The farm only runs while you’re within simulation distance.
• Spawn-proof the area. On Java, light up the ground under and around the farm so random mobs don’t take up space or attack the villagers.

Why it stops working

Most broken iron farms come down to one of these:

• A villager can’t reach its bed, so it hasn’t slept.
• The zombie despawned (you forgot the name tag) or got killed.
• A golem spawned outside the platform and is still alive. While it’s around, villagers don’t feel the need for another.
• Lightning turned a villager into a witch.
• You’re too far away.

What to do with all that iron

A lot of iron goes into hoppers, rails and anvils. The biggest sink is a full beacon pyramid: 164 iron blocks, or 1,476 ingots. If you only need a few ingots now, mining iron at the right Y level is still faster than building a farm.