/enchant

The /enchant command adds an enchantment to the item a player is holding, without an enchanting table, anvil or experience. It is the fastest way to test enchantment combinations, prepare gear for adventure maps, or set up a creative build showcase. It follows the normal enchantment rules, so it cannot exceed maximum levels or combine conflicting enchantments. This command reference covers the syntax in Java and Bedrock, every enchantment ID with its maximum level, how to get higher levels, examples and common errors.

Syntax

Edition	Syntax
Java	/enchant <targets> <enchantment> [level]
Bedrock	/enchant <player> <enchantmentName> [level]

• targets or player: who to enchant; the command applies to the item in their main hand. Use @s for yourself.
• enchantment: the enchantment ID, such as sharpness or efficiency.
• level (optional): the level, defaulting to 1. It cannot go above the enchantment’s normal maximum.

How /enchant works

1. Hold the item you want to enchant in your main hand.
2. Type the command, for example /enchant @s sharpness 5.
3. The enchantment is added to the item, keeping any enchantments it already has.

The item must be able to take that enchantment normally. You cannot put Sharpness on a pickaxe or Protection on a sword with /enchant. Conflicting enchantments, such as Sharpness with Smite, Silk Touch with Fortune, or Infinity with Mending, are rejected. To enchant several items, run the command once for each while holding them.

Examples

Command	Result
/enchant @s sharpness 5	Sharpness V on your sword or axe
/enchant @s efficiency 5	Efficiency V on your tool
/enchant @s unbreaking 3	Unbreaking III on any damageable item
/enchant @s mending	Mending, repaired by experience
/enchant @s fortune 3	Fortune III on a pickaxe, shovel, axe or hoe
/enchant @s protection 4	Protection IV on held armor
/enchant @p power 5	Power V on the nearest player’s bow
/enchant @s density 5	Density V on a mace

Enchantment IDs and maximum levels

Armor

ID	Max	Goes on
protection	IV	All armor
fire_protection	IV	All armor
blast_protection	IV	All armor
projectile_protection	IV	All armor
feather_falling	IV	Boots
respiration	III	Helmets
aqua_affinity	I	Helmets
thorns	III	All armor
depth_strider	III	Boots
frost_walker	II	Boots
soul_speed	III	Boots
swift_sneak	III	Leggings

Weapons

ID	Max	Goes on
sharpness	V	Swords, axes
smite	V	Swords, axes, maces
bane_of_arthropods	V	Swords, axes, maces
knockback	II	Swords
fire_aspect	II	Swords, maces
looting	III	Swords
sweeping_edge	III	Java: swords
power, punch, flame, infinity	V, II, I, I	Bows
multishot, quick_charge, piercing	I, III, IV	Crossbows
loyalty, impaling, riptide, channeling	III, V, III, I	Tridents
density, breach, wind_burst	V, IV, III	Maces

Tools and general

ID	Max	Goes on
efficiency	V	Tools, shears
silk_touch	I	Tools
fortune	III	Tools
luck_of_the_sea, lure	III, III	Fishing rods
unbreaking	III	Any damageable item
mending	I	Any damageable item
binding_curse, vanishing_curse	I	Curses

Getting levels above the maximum

/enchant refuses levels above the normal maximum, so you cannot make Sharpness 10 with it. In Java, use /give with the enchantments data component to create items with higher levels, such as a Sharpness 10 sword, up to a very high limit. In Bedrock, over-leveled enchantments are not possible with standard commands. Very high levels can make items extremely overpowered, so they are mostly used for fun worlds and map bosses.

/enchant vs normal enchanting

In Survival, you enchant items at an enchanting table with lapis lazuli and experience, combine enchanted books on an anvil, and use villagers to buy specific books. /enchant skips all of that, and it also skips the anvil’s prior work penalty, so items enchanted by command can still be repaired cheaply on an anvil later. For survival-friendly ways to get top enchantments, see how to use an anvil, how to make books for enchanting tables, and the villager page for librarian trades.

Permissions

/enchant requires cheats or operator permission. In Bedrock, using commands disables achievements in that world.

Common errors

• Cannot support that enchantment: the held item cannot take it, such as Protection on a sword.
• Level too high: above the maximum for that enchantment.
• Conflicts with an existing enchantment: remove the conflicting one first with a grindstone, or use a new item.
• No item in hand: the target is not holding anything.
• Unknown enchantment: misspelled ID; use underscores, such as fire_aspect.

Best enchantment sets to apply

• Sword: sharpness 5, looting 3, fire_aspect 2, sweeping_edge 3 (Java), unbreaking 3, mending.
• Pickaxe: efficiency 5, fortune 3 or silk_touch, unbreaking 3, mending.
• Armor: protection 4, unbreaking 3, mending, plus respiration 3 and aqua_affinity on helmets and feather_falling 4 and depth_strider 3 on boots.
• Bow: power 5, punch 2, flame, infinity or mending, unbreaking 3.

/enchant FAQ

How do you enchant with a command?

Hold the item and type /enchant @s followed by the enchantment ID and level.

Can /enchant go above level 5?

No. Use /give with data components in Java for higher levels.

Why does /enchant say the item cannot support it?

That enchantment does not fit that item type.

Can you add Mending and Infinity together?

No. They conflict.

What each key enchantment does

• Sharpness adds extra melee damage to every mob, while Smite adds more damage to undead mobs only and Bane of Arthropods adds more damage to spiders, bees, silverfish and endermites. Only one of the three can be on a weapon.
• Looting increases mob drops, including rare drops like wither skeleton skulls.
• Fire Aspect sets targets on fire, which also cooks meat from animals.
• Efficiency speeds up mining, and Fortune multiplies drops from ores like diamonds, coal and lapis, while Silk Touch collects blocks themselves, such as ore blocks, glass and ice.
• Unbreaking makes items lose durability more slowly, and Mending repairs items with experience orbs you collect.
• Protection reduces most damage, while the specialized protections reduce fire, explosions or projectiles more strongly.
• Feather Falling reduces fall damage, a lifesaver when exploring mountains or fighting the Ender Dragon.
• Power boosts bow damage, Infinity means one arrow is enough, and Flame sets targets on fire.
• Density and Breach boost the mace, and Wind Burst launches you upward after a smash attack.
• Curse of Binding stops armor from being removed and Curse of Vanishing deletes the item when you die.

Enchanting items for other players

Operators can enchant another player’s held item by targeting them, which is handy for event rewards or helping a friend test a build. Ask them to hold the right item first, since the command always uses the main hand. Selectors such as @a enchant every player’s held item at once, which can surprise people, so use names or @p for precise targeting.

Enchanting books with commands

To make an enchanted book, hold a plain book and use /enchant in some versions, or give yourself an enchanted book with /give and the stored enchantments data component in Java. Enchanted books are useful when you want to apply enchantments later on an anvil, or sell them in a custom shop on a server.

Testing enchantments before committing

A great way to use /enchant is in a separate creative test world. Copy your survival setup, enchant different weapons and armor, and fight the same mobs to see which combination works best before spending real experience and lapis in Survival. For example, compare a Sharpness V sword with a Smite V sword against zombies, or test whether Density or Breach suits your mace playstyle. Once you know what you want, hunt for those books from librarians in your survival world.

Finally, remember that enchantments added with /enchant behave exactly like normal ones: they show in the tooltip, can be removed with a grindstone and combine on an anvil.

Players on servers without operator access can still get every enchantment in Survival through enchanting tables, anvils, librarians and loot.

Tip: type /enchant @s and a space to see every enchantment ID your version accepts.