The Ultimate Guide to Minecraft's Curse of Vanishing

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Your complete guide to avoiding this annoying enchantment

Co-authored by Ibrahim N. and Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: February 18, 2026 Fact Checked

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What the Curse of Vanishing Does

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Ways to Get the Curse of Vanishing

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When to Use the Curse of Vanishing

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Have you found an item or an enchantment book in Minecraft with the Curse of Vanishing? If so, you might be wondering what the Curse of Vanishing is. The Curse of Vanishing is exactly what it sounds like—it's a curse that makes any item inflicted with it vanish, but only if your character dies. In this article, we go over the Curse of Vanishing in Minecraft, including how to get it and when you should use it. Read on to learn more.

All About the Curse of Vanishing in Minecraft

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The Curse of Vanishing typically shows up in enchantment books, and it causes any items with the curse to disappear if you die.^{[1]
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Expert Source

Ibrahim N.
Gaming and Trend Expert

Expert Interview} You can get this curse by fishing, trading, or opening loot chests or trial vaults. While it should typically be avoided, it can be useful on PvP or hardcore servers.

Section 1 of 3:

What the Curse of Vanishing Does

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The Curse of Vanishing causes your items to disappear if you die. The Curse of Vanishing is a treasure enchantment, typically found as an enchantment book with another type of enchantment.^{[2]
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Research source} If you have any items with Curse of Vanishing in your inventory when your character dies, those items will disappear once you do so, and you won't be able to get them back.^{[3]
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Expert Source

Ibrahim N.
Gaming and Trend Expert

Expert Interview}
- You can bypass this by dropping the item or by placing it in a chest before you die.^{[4]
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- The curse won't activate on items stored in a shulker box or bundle.^{[5]
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- You can also bypass the Curse of Vanishing by setting the keepInventory gamerule to "true."
- The Curse of Vanishing can't be removed with a grindstone or crafting table.

Section 2 of 3:

Ways to Get the Curse of Vanishing

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The Curse of Vanishing can be found in various ways. Here are all the ways you can find the Curse of Vanishing:
- Fishing: You can fish up items that are affected by the Curse of Vanishing.^{[6]
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- Trading: Librarians of any level can trade you enchantment books with the Curse of Vanishing on them.
- Loot chests: Loot chests in desert pyramids, strongholds, ocean ruins, woodland mansions, pillager outposts, ancient cities, monster rooms, and jungle pyramids can have enchantment books with the Curse of Vanishing on them.
- Trial chambers: Vaults in trial chambers can have enchantment books with the Curse of Vanishing on them.

Section 3 of 3:

When to Use the Curse of Vanishing

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While the Curse of Vanishing is bad, it does have some uses. Normally, the Curse of Vanishing should be avoided at all costs. However, there are some uses for this curse (though not all of them are very nice):^{[7]
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- PvP: If you play in a PvP server, putting the Curse of Vanishing on your armor and weapons will ensure that a user who kills you for your items won't be able to take them from you if you die. However, you'll have to find or craft new armor and weapons for yourself after respawning.
- Hardcore: If you're playing on a hardcore server, the Curse of Vanishing becomes pointless. This is because if you die on a hardcore server, you can't respawn and keep playing, so you can't retrieve your items after death, regardless.
- Messing with friends: While it's not very nice, you can use the Curse of Vanishing to mess with your friends. However, don't use it on anything super important or sentimental to them, as this would be more mean-spirited than a fun and harmless prank.