A lead, also called a leash, lets you walk animals around, tie them to fences and move them between pens without luring them with food. It is one of the most useful utility items in Minecraft, especially for moving horses, sheep, cows and pets over long distances. The recipe needs slimeballs, which many players struggle to find early. This guide shows how to make a lead in Minecraft, where to get slimeballs and string, other ways to get leads, which mobs you can leash, and tips for using leads in Java and Bedrock Edition.
How to make a lead in Minecraft
Craft a lead on a crafting table with 4 string and 1 slimeball. The recipe makes 2 leads.
| Row | Left | Middle | Right |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top | String | String | Empty |
| Middle | String | Slimeball | Empty |
| Bottom | Empty | Empty | String |
The shape matters: two string across the top-left, one string on the left of the middle row, the slimeball in the center, and the last string in the bottom-right corner. The recipe can be mirrored, but it must be on a 3 by 3 crafting table.
Where to get string
- Spiders and cave spiders: drop 0 to 2 string when killed. Hunt them at night or in caves.
- Cobwebs: break them with a sword or shears to get string (shears drop the cobweb itself in Java). Mineshafts are full of cobwebs.
- Fishing: string sometimes comes up as junk.
- Cats: tamed cats occasionally bring you gifts, including string.
- Chests: dungeons, mineshafts and other structures often contain string.
Where to get slimeballs
Slimeballs are the harder ingredient. Here are the main sources:
- Slimes in swamps: slimes spawn in swamp biomes at night, most often around a full moon, at low light levels.
- Slime chunks: underground below Y 40, slimes spawn in certain chunks in any biome. Small slimes drop 0 to 2 slimeballs.
- Pandas: baby pandas sometimes sneeze and drop a slimeball. Bamboo jungles with pandas are a peaceful source.
- Wandering traders: they can sell slimeballs for emeralds.
- Trial chambers and other loot: some chests can contain slimeballs.
Other ways to get a lead without crafting
- Wandering trader llamas: the two trader llamas that follow a wandering trader are attached with leads. Kill the llamas, or wait for the trader to despawn, and the leads drop. This is the easiest early-game source.
- Loot chests: leads can appear in some structure chests, such as woodland mansions.
- Detaching: if you leash an animal to a fence and then break the knot, the lead drops back as an item.
How to use a lead
- Hold the lead and use it on an animal. A rope connects the animal to you.
- Walk; the animal follows. It can be pulled over blocks and into boats.
- Use the lead on a fence or wall post to tie the animal there. A knot appears on the fence.
- To unleash, use the animal again or break the knot.
A lead has a maximum length of about 10 blocks. If the animal gets farther away, for example because you teleported or ran too fast, the lead snaps and drops as an item. Leads work across water, which makes them handy for moving animals over rivers by boat.
What mobs can you put on a lead?
| Can be leashed | Cannot be leashed |
|---|---|
| Horses, donkeys, mules, camels, llamas | Villagers and wandering traders |
| Cows, mooshrooms, pigs, sheep, chickens, goats | Most hostile mobs such as zombies and creepers |
| Wolves, cats, foxes, ocelots, parrots, rabbits | Players |
| Iron golems, snow golems, bees, allays | The Ender Dragon and the Wither |
| Axolotls, frogs, dolphins, squid, sniffers, armadillos | Bats |
| Hoglins and zoglins, striders, happy ghasts |
Some mobs were added to the leashable list in recent updates, so if a mob will not accept a lead in your world, check that you are on the latest version.
Useful lead tricks
- Moving horses: lead untamed horses home so you can tame them safely. See how to tame horses.
- Boats: leash an animal, sit in a boat, and the animal will be dragged into a second boat or along the water.
- Pet parking: tie pets to fences outside your house so they do not wander into lava or fights.
- Moving iron golems: leash a golem to bring it to a new village or into a defense position.
- Happy ghast towing: in recent versions you can lead a happy ghast; see the happy ghast guide on the Minecraft hub.
- Decoration: leads tied between fences can look like rope bridges or clotheslines.
- Multiple animals: you can hold several leashed animals at once, as long as you have enough leads.
Common problems
- Lead keeps breaking: you moved more than 10 blocks from the animal; walk slower and avoid ender pearls or teleporting.
- Cannot leash a villager: villagers cannot be leashed in vanilla Minecraft; use a boat or minecart to move them instead.
- Recipe does not work: make sure you use a crafting table and the exact shape, with 4 string and 1 slimeball.
Java vs Bedrock
The recipe, yield and behavior of leads are the same in both editions. Both drop leads from trader llamas and allow leashing to fences and walls. Small differences exist in which rare mobs accept leads in older versions, so keep your game updated.
Lead FAQ
How do you make a lead in Minecraft?
Craft 4 string and 1 slimeball on a crafting table to get 2 leads.
Is a leash the same as a lead?
Yes. The item is called a lead in game; many players call it a leash.
How do you get a lead without slimeballs?
Kill a wandering trader’s llamas or wait for the trader to leave; each llama drops a lead.
Can you put a villager on a lead?
No. Villagers and wandering traders cannot be leashed.
How long is a lead?
About 10 blocks before it snaps.
How to find a slime chunk
In Java Edition, slime chunks are decided by the world seed, so about one in every ten chunks is a slime chunk. Online slime chunk finders can show them if you enter your seed, or you can dig a large room below Y 40 and wait to see whether slimes spawn. Slimes only spawn in dark spaces in slime chunks, so light up the rest of your area and leave the slime chunk room unlit. A single slime chunk farm with a few platforms can produce stacks of slimeballs per hour.
In Bedrock Edition, slime chunks are the same in every world regardless of seed, so the same coordinates work for everyone. Swamp slimes appear on the surface in both editions, most often on full moon nights, and never on new moon nights.
Making many leads at once
Each craft gives two leads, so one slimeball and four string supply two animals. For moving a whole herd of sheep or cows, bring at least four leads, or use the cheaper method of holding wheat to lure them while one or two leashed animals lead the way. Spider farms built around a monster spawner are the best source of string in bulk and pair well with a slime farm for endless leads, sticky pistons and slime blocks.
Leads on fences, walls and boats
Leads can be tied to any fence and, in current versions, to walls as well. Several animals can share one fence post, which is useful for a stable or a pet corner. In multiplayer, other players can untie animals from your fences, so keep valuable horses in a closed pen instead.
Leads are also renewable: every wandering trader that spawns brings two llamas with leads, so a busy village gives a steady trickle of free leads over time.