Minecraft Villager Trading Guide: Trades & Discounts

The best villager trades are enchanted books from librarians, followed by cheap emerald farming through farmers, fletchers and clerics. Cure a zombie villager once to cut a book's price by up to 25 emeralds on Java, and place every villager next to its own job block so it can restock.

Everything below reflects Java 26.3 and Bedrock 26.60. The default game still uses the older librarian rules, so Mending is available from any librarian unless you switch on an experiment.

Which job block gives which villager profession?

An unemployed villager claims the nearest free job site block and takes that profession. Nitwits, the villagers in green robes, and babies cannot take a job.

Java villagers search a 48-block sphere for a free block. Bedrock villagers search 16 blocks out and 4 up or down, and they also need a bed.

What are the best villager trades?

Two types of trade do most of the work: ones that make emeralds and ones that spend them well.

Villagers level at 10, 70, 150 and 250 total XP, so a few repeated trades unlock the next tier fairly quickly. Each one restocks up to twice a day.

How much do enchanted books cost from librarians?

Book prices depend on level and on whether the enchantment is a treasure type. A normal book costs 2 + 3×level up to 6 + 13×level emeralds. Treasure books double that range, so a Mending book runs 10 to 38 emeralds before any discount. Every price caps at 64.

Soul Speed, Swift Sneak and Wind Burst never appear in trades. Anything else can, and all eligible enchantments are equally likely, with a random level after that. A villager can also repeat a book it already offers.

To reroll, place a lectern next to a fresh villager and check its book. If you dislike it, break the lectern and place it again. This works only before your first trade, because trading locks the profession and its offers for good. The best enchantments table can help you decide which books to hold out for.

Did recent updates change librarian trades or enchanted books?

Not in default survival. The Villager Trade Rebalance is still an experiment that you must enable: a data pack on Java, a toggle named Villager Trade Rebalancing on Bedrock. It has been that way since 2023, and the wiki's history and the 26.3 notes show no move to the default game.

With it on, librarians sell books based on the biome they come from, and each biome has one special book that only a master librarian offers.

Crossbow, fishing rod, trident, mace and spear enchantments are also removed from trading in that mode. Armorers change too, charging diamonds as well as emeralds for diamond armor.

Three smaller changes did reach the regular game:

• The cartographer's and wandering trader's rebalance moved out of the experiment (Java 1.21.5, Bedrock 1.21.70).
• Master librarians stopped selling name tags and now sell red and yellow candles for 3 emeralds. Wandering traders picked up name tags (Java 26.1).
• New trades now appear in an open trading menu as soon as the villager levels up (Java 26.3).

How much does curing a zombie villager discount trades?

To cure one, hit it with a splash or lingering potion of Weakness, then feed it a normal golden apple. After 3 to 5 minutes it turns back. Iron bars and beds nearby speed that up slightly. Keep it under cover, since zombie villagers burn in sunlight.

On Java, the reputation from one cure adds up to 125 points. The discount is that value times the trade's price multiplier, rounded down. Book trades use a 0.2 multiplier, so a cure takes 25 emeralds off a book, and a 38-emerald Mending book drops to 13. Trades with a 0.05 multiplier lose only 6. The 25 temporary points fade over time, leaving a permanent 100, or 20 emeralds off a book. These sums are calculated from the wiki's gossip table and price formula.

Curing the same villager again adds nothing. Trading also adds a little reputation, and Java villagers spread some of it to their neighbours, though at reduced strength. Bedrock gives a permanent discount as well and adds a small bonus from nearby cured villagers, up to 10 of them. The sources used here do not publish exact Bedrock point values, so treat the Java numbers as a guide only.

Hero of the Village stacks with this: 30% off at level I, rising to 55% at level V. Attacking villagers makes things worse on Java, where bad reputation can raise prices. On Bedrock negative reputation can cancel discounts but never adds to the base price.

What is the simplest villager trading setup?

You do not need a giant hall. Build a roofed row of one-villager cells so zombies cannot reach anyone, and light the area well.

1. Bring in two villagers and breed them with bread and spare beds, or move villagers from a village by boat or minecart.
2. Give each one its own cell with a job block within reach. A villager can use the block from any of the 8 spaces around it.
3. Add a bed for each villager, which Bedrock needs for restocking. Sources conflict here: the wiki's trading article says Bedrock restocking needs a linked bed, while its villager article says restocking works without one. Adding a bed avoids the question.
4. Reroll librarians until you get the books you want, then trade once to lock them.
5. If you can spare the gold, cure your best traders.

Start with a farmer or fletcher for emeralds, then a librarian. Some expert toolsmiths buy diamonds for an emerald each, and the diamond mining guide covers where to get them.

FAQ

Why won't my villager restock its trades?

It needs to reach its job block during working hours. On Bedrock, make sure it has a bed too. Villagers restock at most twice a day, so a red X or red slot can simply mean it has already done so.

Can a librarian sell Mending?

Yes, in the default game any librarian can, at Novice through Expert level, for 10 to 38 emeralds before discounts. With the rebalance experiment on, it comes only from a master librarian of the swamp villager type.

Does curing a villager twice stack the discount?

No. The wiki says a second cure on the same villager adds nothing. You can still get a discount on each villager you cure once.