To answer how do you make a lantern in minecraft, place 1 torch in the center of a crafting table and surround it with 8 iron nuggets. This creates 1 lantern. Use a soul torch instead to make a blue soul lantern. Sea lanterns are separate: they require 4 prismarine shards and 5 prismarine crystals.
Lantern ingredients and crafting recipe
A regular lantern needs two ingredient types. You can craft it in the 3×3 grid of a crafting table, and the recipe produces one lantern.
- 1 torch
- 8 iron nuggets
- 1 crafting table
The torch goes in the center slot. Put one iron nugget in every remaining slot around it: the four corners, the middle of the top row, the middle of the bottom row, and the middle slots on the left and right sides.
| Ingredient | Quantity | Crafting-grid position |
|---|---|---|
| Torch | 1 | Center slot |
| Iron nugget | 8 | Every other slot surrounding the center |
| Lantern | 1 | Result slot |
The recipe does not use iron ingots directly. If you only have iron ingots, place one iron ingot in a crafting grid to turn it into 9 iron nuggets, giving you enough nuggets for one lantern with one nugget left over.
How do you make a lantern in minecraft?
- Collect one torch and eight iron nuggets.
- Open a crafting table to access the 3×3 crafting grid.
- Place the torch in the center slot.
- Fill all eight surrounding slots with iron nuggets.
- Move the lantern from the result slot into your inventory.
You can also use the recipe book if the ingredients are in your inventory. If the lantern recipe is not visible, make sure you have collected the required materials and are using a crafting table rather than the 2×2 personal crafting grid.
How to get the materials for a lantern
Making a torch
Craft a torch with 1 coal or charcoal above 1 stick. That recipe produces 4 torches, so one batch gives you enough torches for four lanterns if you have enough iron nuggets.
- 1 coal or charcoal
- 1 stick
- Output: 4 torches
Getting iron nuggets
The quickest method is to turn iron ingots into nuggets. One iron ingot becomes 9 iron nuggets, which is enough for one lantern. You can also obtain nuggets from some generated loot, bartering, and by smelting certain iron equipment and items.
For regular survival progression, mine iron ore, smelt the raw iron into iron ingots, and convert the ingots into nuggets when you are ready to craft lanterns. Keep a few ingots available for tools, buckets, armor, and other early-game essentials.
How to make a soul lantern
A soul lantern is the blue version of the regular lantern. It uses the same eight-iron-nugget pattern, but you replace the normal torch with a soul torch.
| Ingredient | Quantity | Crafting-grid position |
|---|---|---|
| Soul torch | 1 | Center slot |
| Iron nugget | 8 | Every other slot surrounding the center |
| Soul lantern | 1 | Result slot |
To make a soul torch, place 1 coal or charcoal, 1 stick, and 1 soul sand or soul soil in a vertical line in a crafting grid. The soul torch recipe produces 4 soul torches.
- Use soul sand or soul soil instead of ordinary sand or dirt.
- A soul lantern emits a blue flame and gives off less light than a regular lantern.
- Soul lanterns repel piglins, making them useful around Nether entrances and bases.
There is no separate recipe for a green, red, or other dyed lantern in vanilla Minecraft. When players ask for a blue lantern, they usually mean the soul lantern.
How to make a sea lantern
A sea lantern is a different block from a regular lantern. It is a bright, cube-shaped light source that does not hang from chains or ceilings. You can craft it with prismarine materials or collect it from underwater structures.
| Ingredient | Quantity | Crafting-grid position |
|---|---|---|
| Prismarine shard | 4 | All four corner slots |
| Prismarine crystal | 5 | The center slot and the middle slot of each side |
| Sea lantern | 1 | Result slot |
To arrange the recipe, place one prismarine shard in each corner of the 3×3 grid. Put one prismarine crystal in the center and one in each of the four edge slots, forming a plus sign. Leave the four corner slots for the shards.
How to get sea lanterns
Sea lanterns generate in ocean monuments and can also appear in some ocean ruins. To collect the block itself, mine it with a tool enchanted with Silk Touch. Without Silk Touch, mining a sea lantern gives prismarine crystals instead of the original block.
Guardians and elder guardians provide the main supply of prismarine shards and crystals. Prismarine crystals can also come from breaking sea lanterns, but this destroys the block, so use Silk Touch when you want to move existing sea lanterns into a build.
How to hang lanterns in Minecraft
Regular lanterns and soul lanterns can sit on top of a suitable block or hang below a block. They do not require a separate chain, although chains connect neatly to their tops for taller hanging fixtures.
- Hold a regular lantern or soul lantern in your hotbar.
- Stand beneath the block or ceiling where you want the lantern.
- Aim at the lower surface of the ceiling block.
- Use the place button to attach the lantern underneath it.
To place a lantern on top of a block instead, aim at the top surface and use the place button. If the game places it in the wrong position, move your crosshair toward the upper or lower half of the block and try again. Sneaking can help when the block has another usable interaction.
Lanterns need a supporting surface. If the block above a hanging lantern is removed, or the support no longer allows placement, the lantern breaks and drops as an item. This matters when using trapdoors, pistons, or other moving blocks in a redstone build.
How to use lanterns in a build
Regular lanterns emit a light level of 15, making them one of the strongest decorative light sources. Use them to light paths, entrances, farms, bridges, libraries, and interiors without covering the floor with torches.
- Hang lanterns from chains under porches, beams, and ceilings.
- Place them on fence posts, walls, stone pillars, and tables.
- Use soul lanterns for Nether builds, graveyards, ancient ruins, and icy structures.
- Use sea lanterns for underwater bases, modern floors, ocean monuments, and hidden lighting.
Lanterns also melt snow slowly, while soul lanterns are dimmer and do not melt snow or ice. If you want a snowy build to remain covered while still preventing hostile mob spawns, soul lanterns are often the better choice.
Java and Bedrock lantern differences
The regular lantern, soul lantern, and sea lantern recipes are the same in Java Edition and Bedrock Edition. Placement works the same basic way in both editions: regular and soul lanterns can be placed on top of blocks or hung underneath them.
Controls differ by platform. On PC, use the normal right-click placement control. On consoles and mobile devices, use the platform's place or use button. If a lantern will not hang, check that you are targeting the underside of a supporting block rather than the air space beside it.
Common lantern crafting mistakes
- Using iron ingots instead of iron nuggets in the lantern recipe.
- Trying to craft a lantern in the 2×2 inventory grid.
- Putting the torch anywhere except the center slot.
- Using a normal torch when you want a blue soul lantern.
- Confusing a sea lantern with a regular lantern.
- Mining a sea lantern without Silk Touch when you want to keep the block.
- Aiming at the side or top of a block when you want the lantern to hang underneath.
For the fastest early-game option, use regular lanterns made from iron nuggets. Save prismarine materials for sea lanterns when you are ready to explore an ocean monument or build with underwater lighting.
