To enchant in Minecraft, craft an enchanting table from one book, two diamonds and four obsidian, place your item and some lapis lazuli in it, and spend experience levels on one of the three offers. You need 15 bookshelves around the table, each with a one-block gap between it and the table, to unlock the level 30 offers that carry the strongest enchantments. Below we cover every recipe, the exact bookshelf layout, what blocks a shelf, what each slot really costs, and how to reshuffle bad offers.
This guide is current for Minecraft Java Edition 26.3 and Bedrock Edition 26.50, the Wilderness Bound drop released September 15, 2026. The table works the same way on both editions except for the gap rule explained below, and none of this year’s drops changed how it works, per Mojang’s changelogs.
What You Need to Start Enchanting
Mojang’s official help article, Getting Started with Enchantments, lists the recipes:
| Item | Recipe |
|---|---|
| Enchanting table | 1 book, 2 diamonds, 4 obsidian |
| Book | 3 paper, 1 leather |
| Bookshelf | 6 wooden planks, 3 books |
| Lapis lazuli | Mined from lapis ore, used 1 to 3 per enchant |
The diamonds are the hard part early on, so start with our guide on where diamonds generate. Obsidian needs a diamond pickaxe to mine, or you can make it by pouring water over still lava, the same trick in our Nether portal obsidian guide.
A full set of 15 bookshelves takes 45 books, which works out to 135 paper (135 sugar cane) and 45 leather, plus 90 planks. Start a sugar cane farm and a cow pen early. Village libraries, stronghold libraries and woodland mansions also generate bookshelves, and per the community wiki a bookshelf broken without Silk Touch drops its 3 books, so raiding a library saves a lot of farming.
How to Use the Enchanting Table
- Open the table. Right-click it on PC, or press LT on Xbox, L2 on PlayStation and ZL on Switch. On mobile, tap it.
- Place your item in the left slot and lapis lazuli in the slot beside it.
- Read the three offers. The number on each is the level you must have. Hover over an offer (or highlight it on a controller) to see one of the enchantments it will apply, though there can be more.
- Pick one. The item is enchanted and the levels and lapis are taken.
The table enchants tools, armor, swords, spears, bows, crossbows, tridents, maces, fishing rods and plain books, as long as the item has no enchantments yet. Shields, elytra and shears can’t go in the table at all; they get enchantments from books at an anvil instead.
How Many Bookshelves and Where to Put Them
The maximum is 15 bookshelves. Mojang’s help article calls it the number that “will max out your enchanting table”, and the community wiki confirms any extra shelves are ignored. The rules for a shelf to count, per the community wiki:
- It sits exactly two blocks from the table horizontally, with one empty block between them.
- It sits at the same height as the table or one block higher.
- The gap block between it and the table is clear.
Mojang’s recommended layout is a square of 15 bookshelves in a 5×5 outline with the table in the middle, which leaves one open spot in the ring to walk in through:
B B B B B B . . . B B . T . B B . . . B B B . B B B is a bookshelf, T is the table and each dot is empty floor. You can build the ring at the table’s height or raise it one block, and you can stack two-high walls on fewer sides instead, as long as every shelf follows the distance and height rules.
What counts as blocked differs by edition, per the community wiki. On Java, the gap block must be air or a replaceable block such as snow layers or short grass; a torch, carpet or slab there cuts the shelf off. On Bedrock, both the gap block at table height and the one above it must be air. The simple rule for both: keep the whole ring between the table and the shelves empty, and put your torches on top of or behind the shelves.
Chiseled bookshelves don’t count. Mojang’s own Block of the Month article on them says they don’t increase the power of enchanting tables the way regular bookshelves do.
What Each Offer Costs
The level shown on an offer is a requirement, not the price. The table only ever charges 1, 2 or 3 levels, plus the same amount of lapis. The community wiki lists these ranges with a full 15 shelves:
| Slot | Lapis | Levels charged | Level required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top | 1 | 1 | 2 to 10 |
| Middle | 2 | 2 | 6 to 21 |
| Bottom | 3 | 3 | Always 30 |
That bottom row doubles as a quick check. If your bottom offer shows anything under 30, at least one shelf isn’t connected. Don’t trust the floating glyph particles for this, since the wiki notes they can drift toward blocked shelves too.
A level 30 offer still has a random element. It can land Fortune II or Efficiency III alone, and some enchantments, such as Mending, never come from the table at all.
How to Reroll Bad Offers
Offers come from a hidden enchanting seed tied to your player, and per the community wiki it only changes when you enchant something. Putting the same item in and out, or walking away, shows the same three offers every time. To reshuffle, enchant something cheap: a plain book in the top slot costs just 1 level and 1 lapis. Then put your real item back in for new offers.
Two more habits help. Save up past level 30 before a big session, since a level 30 offer still only charges 3 levels. And gather lapis in bulk, because rerolling eats it faster than anything else.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many bookshelves do you need for max enchantments? Fifteen. That gives the bottom slot its level 30 offer, and any shelves past 15 do nothing.
Do bookshelves need to touch the enchanting table? No. They must be exactly one empty block away, at table height or one block higher. A shelf placed right against the table does not count.
Why is my enchanting table not showing level 30? A shelf is blocked or out of range. Clear every block between the table and the shelves (torches and carpets included) and check that each shelf is two blocks out.
Can you enchant a golden apple? No. Enchanted golden apples can’t be crafted on either edition; they only turn up as loot in structure chests and vaults, such as ancient cities and trial chambers.
Did the 2026 drops change enchanting? Not the enchanting table itself. For what the next drop is testing, see our Minecraft 26.4 snapshot rundown, and find every other guide on our Minecraft hub.