Shahrukh Sial is a gaming content writer at Sparked Host. He covers game guides, tips, and updates to help players improve their skills and enjoy a better gaming experience.

When playing Minecraft, have you ever spotted one of those shiny bells in a village and thought, “How do I make one of those?” Turns out, it's not that simple, you actually can't craft a bell in Minecraft. Yep, no crafting table recipe for this one. But don't worry! In this quick guide, I'll show you how to get your hands on a bell and what you can actually do with it in your world.

What Does the Bell Do in Minecraft?

Bells might seem like simple decorations, but they're actually super useful. They're not just there to make a cool sound—they play a key role in village life and can help you interact with villagers in some useful ways.

Keeping Villagers Safe and Sound

Ring a bell in Minecraft, and villagers within 32 blocks will stop what they’re doing and run to the nearest bed. It works like a built-in warning siren. This is especially useful during raids or when mobs are nearby, giving you a quick way to send everyone into hiding. Whether it’s their own bed or just the closest safe spot, the bell helps guide them to shelter fast.

Helping During Raids

Bells are a big help when defending a village. As soon as a raid begins, nearby villagers will try to ring the bell to alert everyone. Even better — if you ring the bell yourself during a raid (in Java Edition), any raid mobs within 48 blocks will glow for about 3 seconds. That makes them way easier to spot and take down, giving you a serious edge in the fight.

Gathering Point

Bells aren’t just for alarms — they also serve as a meeting spot for villagers, especially in the afternoon. You’ll often see them hanging out around the bell like it’s the village square. If your villagers ever wander off, checking the bell is a good way to find them. It’s basically the social hub of your Minecraft village.

How to Ring Your Bell In Minecraft

The bell’s surprisingly flexible for such a simple block. You’ve got a few easy ways to ring a bell in Minecraft:

  • Right-click – Just aim at the bell and right-click. You’ll hear the classic gong sound, and a sound wave animation will ripple out.

  • Redstone – You can hook the bell up to a Redstone signal to make it ring automatically, like setting up alarms or traps.

  • Projectiles – In Java Edition, anything that causes damage (like arrows) can ring the bell. In Bedrock, any thrown item works. It’s a fun way to trigger the bell without touching it.

Easy to Place Anywhere

The Minecraft bell offers flexible placement options. It can be attached to normal blocks, hung from ceilings (ceiling bells), or even placed on the floor. It has two wall attachments that make it easy to place it on different sides of a nearby block. The block state of the Minecraft bell lets it change how it faces.

Methods to Get a Bell in Minecraft

You can’t craft a Minecraft bell — but don’t worry, there are a couple of easy ways to get one.

Finding Bells in Villages

The most common method is to explore villages. Bells naturally generate in the village center, often between market stalls or near the meeting area.

Once you spot a bell, use any pickaxe to break it. When mined, it drops as an item that you can pick up and move wherever you want. No special enchantments or tools required.

Just a heads up: if you're on a multiplayer server, taking a village bell might annoy other players — especially if it’s part of a claimed village. Always ask or check before removing it.

Trading with Villagers

If you don’t want to steal one from a village, trading is another reliable way to get a Minecraft bell — as long as you’ve got enough emeralds.

  • Java Edition: 50% chance they'll offer a bell for 36 emeralds

  • Bedrock Edition: 1 in 3 chance to sell a bell for 36 emeralds

These odds aren’t guaranteed, but it’s worth checking if you have armorers nearby. These villagers always offer a bell trade at apprentice level, the price for a bell is always 36 emeralds.

Ruined Portal Chests

You can also find a Minecraft bell in ruined portal chests, though it’s pretty rare. Ruined portals are those broken structures made of obsidian and netherrack that you’ll often see scattered across the world, sometimes partially buried. In Bedrock Edition, these always come with a chest. In Java Edition, the chest might be hidden underground or covered by blocks, so you may need to dig around to find it.

Once you open the chest, there’s a small chance—about 1.5%—that a bell will be inside. It’s definitely not the most reliable way to get one, but if you come across a ruined portal while exploring, it’s worth checking just in case.

Ringing a Bell

Once you have your Minecraft bell, ringing it is simple and can be done in a few different ways.

The easiest method is to just right-click on the bell. You’ll hear the classic gong sound, and a wave animation will ripple out from the bell.

You can also ring it using projectiles. In Java Edition, hitting the bell’s block with something like an arrow will trigger the sound and make the bell shake. In Bedrock Edition, it’s even more flexible—any thrown item will do the trick.

If you want to automate it, you can use Redstone. Hook the bell up to a Redstone circuit, and it will ring whenever the signal activates.

When a bell rings, villagers within 32 blocks will react—you’ll see green particles appear around them to show they heard it. The bell's sound direction is also tracked internally, which helps the game determine how entities respond. Just keep in mind: if the bell is in item form (like after being broken), it won’t ring until you place it again. Once placed, ringing it works instantly, no delay.

Fun Facts About The Minecraft Bell

Here are some extra interesting things about the Minecraft bell:

  • Block Entities: Bells are considered special "block entities." This means they store extra block entity data like where they are attached, unlike regular solid blocks. This also explains why they are not a note block instrument.

  • Claimed Bell: When a villager has a claimed bell defines their specific meeting point. If a claimed bell is a broken block, the villager will need to find a new one. When a bell in Minecraft is a broken block, it turns back into its regular item form, called its block's direct item form, which you can pick up.

  • Visuals: You can admire bells for how they look. The bell texture has even changed over time. There was an old bell texture in earlier versions of the game.

  • Sounds: The bell sound is unique and often comes with those cool green particles appearing when it rings. Sometimes, you might hear incorrect sounds or see strange text about sounds ("break subtitles") that do not quite match what is happening.

  • Mob Interactions: Believe it or not, bells deflect small things that hit them, which is a neat trick.

  • Village Mechanics: The claimed bed and even the village leader's head are important parts of villager behavior tied to bells. When villagers wake up, they might gather at the bell's meeting point.

  • Unused Bells: Sometimes in villages, you might find unused bells that no villager has claimed yet.

  • Damage: If you drop a bell in Minecraft (a throwing dropped item), it will not cause any fall damage block or fall damage land when it hits the ground or a creature.

  • Technical Details: In the game's code, the block state of a bell tells it how to act. This includes things like its "attachment" point and which way it is "facing." There is also something called "metadata bits default value" which is usually zero. If game elements are not properly implemented, some block entities can cause problems. The "metadata bits default" and "default value" help make sure the bell works correctly.

  • Not for Jumping: A bell is a solid anchor, not a block jump item that you can bounce on.

  • Nearby Block: Its effects, like making villagers run, spread out to any nearby block.

  • Polished Granite: Just a side note, polished granite is another type of decorative block you can find in your Minecraft world, but it is not related to bells.

  • Villager Food: Bells have nothing to do with villager food.

  • Broken Hit: The broken hit effect occurs when the Minecraft bell is destroyed.

  • Previous Image: This refers to any image that might have been used to illustrate the Minecraft bell.