The Definitive List of All Villager Jobs in Minecraft

Download Article

Discover which villager jobs are the most helpful

Author Info

Last Updated: April 6, 2026 References

Download Article

All Villager Jobs

|

Assigning or Changing Jobs

|

Best Villager Jobs

|

Video

In Minecraft, there are 14 jobs that your villagers can do. While the core of these jobs is the same (they give you a trader to buy and sell items with), the items your villagers will buy and sell change depending on what profession they have. In this article, we'll go over all 14 villager jobs in Minecraft, including what they will buy and sell. We also go over how to assign or change a villager's job, and which jobs are the best. Keep reading to learn more.

Minecraft Villager Jobs

There are 14 possible jobs a villager can have in Minecraft. To give an unemployed villager a job, they must find an unclaimed job site block. The best villager jobs are generally considered to be librarian, farmer, fletcher, weaponsmith, toolsmith, and armorer, though all jobs have their uses.

Section 1 of 3:

All Villager Jobs

Download Article

1
Armorer Armorer villagers sell a variety of armors, depending on their level. You can easily identify them by their welding mask, iron shoulder pads, dark brown gloves, and dark brown apron. Unemployed villagers will become armorers if they find an unclaimed blast furnace. You can find these villagers near their workstations.^{[1]
X
Research source}
- Workstation: Blast furnace
- Buys: Coal, iron ingots, lava buckets, and diamonds
- Sells: Iron armor, bells, chainmail armor, enchanted diamond armor, and shields
- Hero of the Village effect drops: Chainmail helmet, chestplate, leggings, or boots
2
Butcher Butcher villagers sell cooked food that can be used to regain health. You can identify a butcher by their red headband and white apron. Unemployed villagers will become butchers if an unclaimed smoker block is nearby. You'll find butcher villagers working near their workstations.^{[2]
X
Research source}
- Workstation: Smoker
- Buys: Raw meat, coal, dried kelp block, sweet berries
- Sells: Rabbit stew, cooked chicken, cooked porkchop
- Hero of the Village effect drops: Cooked chicken, cooked mutton, cooked porkchop, cooked rabbit, steak
Advertisement
3
Cartographer The cartographer sells various maps and other exploration items, as well as banners and a banner pattern. They can be identified by their golden monocle and empty map pack. Unemployed villagers will become cartographers if they find an unclaimed cartography table, and you'll find cartographers around their workstations.^{[3]
X
Research source}
- Workstation: Cartography table
- Buys: Paper, glass pane, compass
- Sells: Empty map, explorer map, item frame, banners, globe banner pattern
- Hero of the Village effect drops: Empty map, paper
4
Cleric Clerics trade magical items, such as ender pearls, glowstone, and more. You can identify them by their purple robes with a creeper emblem on the back. Villagers with no profession will become a cleric if they find a nearby unclaimed brewing stand. You'll find these villagers near their workstations.^{[4]
X
Research source}
- Workstation: Brewing stand
- Buys: Rotten flesh, gold ingot, rabbit's foot, turtle scute, glass bottle, nether wart
- Sells: Redstone dust, lapis lazuli, glowstone, ender pearl, Bottle o' Enchanting
- Hero of the Village effect drops: Lapis lazuli, redstone dust
5
Farmer Farmer villagers trade crops and food. You can identify them by their straw hats, and they have a small bag tied at their waist. Unemployed villagers can become farmers if they find an unclaimed composter. You might find these villagers working near their workstations, but you can also find them out in the farm fields.^{[5]
X
Research source}
- Workstation: Composter
- Buys: Wheat, potato, carrot, beetroot, pumpkin, melon
- Sells: Bread, pumpkin pie, apple, cookie, suspicious stew, cake, golden carrot, glistering melon
- Hero of the Village effect drops: Bread, cookie, pumpkin pie
6
Fisherman Fishermen trade and sell items relating to fish. They are identifiable by their yellow fishing hats, as well as a blue fish and a net tied around their waists. Unemployed villagers will become fishermen if they find an unclaimed barrel workstation. They can be found working near their workstations because they don't actually go out to fish.^{[6]
X
Research source}
- Workstation: Barrel
- Buys: String, coal, raw fish, boat
- Sells: Bucket of cod, cooked fish, campfire, enchanted fishing rod
- Hero of the Village effect drops: Raw cod, raw salmon
7
Fletcher Fletchers sell various types of bows and arrows. You can identify them by their feathered hats. They also have a quiver on their back. Villagers without jobs can become fletchers if they find an unclaimed fletching table block. Fletchers can be found working near their workstations.^{[7]
X
Research source}
- Workstation: Fletching table
- Buys: Stick, flint, string, feather, tripwire hook
- Sells: Arrow, bow, crossbow, enchanted bow, enchanted crossbow, tipped arrow
- Hero of the Village effect drops: Arrow, tipped arrow
8
Leatherworker Leatherworker villagers sell leather armor and saddles. They wear a brown apron and brown leather gloves, similar to an armorer but without the mask or shoulder pads. Unemployed villagers will become leatherworkers if there's a nearby unclaimed cauldron. You can find these villagers working at their workstations.^{[8]
X
Research source}
- Workstation: Cauldron
- Buys: Leather, flint, rabbit hide, turtle scute
- Sells: Dyed leather armor, dyed leather horse armor, saddle
- Hero of the Village effect drops: Leather
9
Librarian Librarians sell items relating to books, but are mostly used to get enchanted books. They're identifiable by their red book hat, glasses, and white robe. Unemployed villagers will become librarians if there's a nearby lectern. You can find librarians working at their workstations, but you may also find them inspecting nearby bookshelves.^{[9]
X
Research source}
- Workstation: Lectern
- Buys: Paper, book, ink sac, book and quill
- Sells: Bookshelf, enchanted book, lantern, glass, compass, clock, red and yellow candles
- Hero of the Village effect drops: Book
10
Mason The mason is a villager who sells processed stone. You can identify them by their black apron and black gloves. Villagers without jobs can become masons by approaching an unclaimed stonecutter workstation. You can find these villagers working at their workstations.^{[10]
X
Research source}
- Workstation: Stonecutter
- Buys: Clay ball, stones, nether quartz
- Sells: Brick, chiseled stone bricks, dripstone block, polished stones, stained terracotta, glazed terracotta, quartz blocks
- Hero of the Village effect drops: Clay
11
Nitwit While the nitwit is technically a job, these villagers can't trade, claim a workstation, or level up. In Java Edition, nitwits can't be bred; they spawn naturally. In Bedrock Edition, there's a 10% chance for a baby villager to grow up into a nitwit. Nitwits can never remove the "nitwit" profession. They are recognizable by their green shirts.^{[11]
X
Research source}
- Workstation: None
- Buys: Nothing
- Sells: Nothing
- Hero of the Village effect drops: Nothing
12
Shepherd Shepherds trade and sell wool and items relating to wool. You can identify them by their brown hats and white coats. An unemployed villager can become a shepherd by approaching an unclaimed loom workstation. You'll find these villagers by their workstations.^{[12]
X
Research source}
- Workstation: Loom
- Buys: White wool, brown wool, gray wool, black wool, any dye
- Sells: Shears, any color wool, carpets, beds, banners, and paintings
- Hero of the Village effect drops: Random colors of wool
13
Toolsmith Toolsmiths sell a variety of tools, as well as some other items. They can be identified by their dark brown apron with a pouch. They look similar to armorers and leatherworkers, but don't have a mask, shoulder pads, or gloves. Unemployed villagers will become toolsmiths if they approach an unclaimed smithing table. You'll find toolsmiths working at their workstations.^{[13]
X
Research source}
- Workstation: Smithing table
- Buys: Coal, iron ingot, flint, diamond
- Sells: Stone tools, bell, enchanted iron tools, diamond hoe, enchanted diamond tools
- Hero of the Village effect drops: Stone axe, stone hoe, stone pickaxe, or stone shovel
14
Weaponsmith Weaponsmiths sell a variety of weapons, as well as some other items. You can identify them by their eyepatch, black gloves, and dark brown apron. Villagers without jobs can become weaponsmiths by claiming an unclaimed grindstone workstation. You can find weaponsmiths working at their workstations.^{[14]
X
Research source}
- Workstation: Grindstone
- Buys: Coal, iron ingot, flint, diamond
- Sells: Iron axe, enchanted iron sword, bell, enchanted diamond axe, enchanted diamond sword
- Hero of the Village effect drops: Stone axe, golden axe, or iron axe

Section 2 of 3:

Assigning or Changing Jobs

Download Article

1
Unemployed villagers will look for nearby unclaimed job workstations. The process and conditions for this to occur change, depending on whether you're playing Java or Bedrock:^{[15]
X
Research source}
- Java Edition: Unemployed villagers will only look for job site blocks when they are awake. The job site block must be within a 48-block sphere from that villager's starting position. They will travel towards the block for 60 seconds, and if they don't reach it, they will drop their provisional claim on it. They may make another provisional claim on the same block immediately and begin again.
- Bedrock Edition: All villagers will search for unclaimed job blocks within a 16 block radius and 4 block height of each villager. If an unclaimed site is found, it will be added to a list of available job sites. An unemployed villager with a bed will claim the first block on that list, regardless of where they are, if they can access the job site, and if they are awake or asleep.
2
Villagers can only change professions if they haven't made a trade. Once a villager makes a trade, they can only have that profession. If an unemployed villager takes a profession and then loses their job site block before they can make a trade, they will change professions and find a new unclaimed job site block.
3
Remove a job site block to force villagers to change jobs. If you haven't traded with a villager, remove their job site block to make them change jobs. If a villager has made a trade, they will retain their original profession, but you can force them to move to a different job site block that matches their profession by removing their current job site block.^{[16]
X
Research source}

Section 3 of 3:

Best Villager Jobs

Download Article

1
Librarian Many Minecraft players agree that librarian is the most useful villager profession. This is because librarians give you access to enchanted books, which means you won't have to work as hard to get enchantments on your gear. Some users even have up to 25 librarians in their villages to give them access to as many enchanted books as possible.^{[17]
X
Research source}
2
Farmer The next most popular villager profession choice is farmer. Farmers give you access to cooked food, plus they also work the farms in the village, which allows you to take as much free food as you want. A number of Redditors recommend getting a farmer that will grow you golden carrots, plus you can get easy emeralds by trading melons and pumpkins.^{[18]
X
Research source}
3
Fletcher While fletchers give you access to bows and arrows (both of which are very useful), they're also an easy source of emeralds. You can start getting emeralds right away if you can find a fletcher to trade with, since they'll trade an emerald for 32 sticks.^{[19]
X
Research source}
4
Weaponsmith, toolsmith, and armorer We're putting these three in the same group because their main purpose is to get you diamond gear without having to spend the time mining all the diamonds. You will have to level the villagers up to have access to these items, however.
5
Any leveled-up villager you cured If you happen to have a high-level villager that you cured from being a zombie, you can usually get a lot of great stuff from them. Curing a zombie villager will get you major discounts on the items that the villager sells. For example, Nemetski_Jetski on Reddit said that they have a master-level Butcher villager in their realm that they cured, and that villager will trade them an emerald for one sweet berry.
- To cure a zombie villager, you must give the zombie the Weakness effect, then use a golden apple on it.^{[20]
  X
  Research source}