Can you put Mending on a pickaxe?
Yes. You can put Mending on a pickaxe in Java 26.3.
How to add it
Mending is a treasure enchantment, so the enchanting table never offers it. Instead, combine an enchanted book with the pickaxe on an anvil: Mending costs 2 levels on a fresh pickaxe.
/give @p netherite_pickaxe[enchantments={mending:1}]What it does on a pickaxe
Mining ores gives experience: coal, diamond, emerald, lapis, redstone, nether quartz and nether gold ore all drop it. So a Mending pickaxe repairs itself while you mine. Silk Touch breaks drop no experience, though, so a Silk Touch pickaxe needs XP from elsewhere. A netherite pickaxe has 2,031 durability and a diamond one 1,561.
Step by step
- First, get Mending as an enchanted book. Sources: a librarian villager (10–38 emeralds for a top-level book), fishing, chest loot or trial chamber vaults.
- Then put the pickaxe in the left slot of an anvil and the book in the right slot.
- Finally, pay the cost shown: 2 levels on a fresh pickaxe, plus any prior work penalty the pickaxe already has.
- If the pickaxe is getting more books, plan the order first so no step costs 40 levels or more.
Why it works
Mending lists pickaxe among its supported items. That matters because each enchantment's data file lists the items it supports, and the anvil checks that list. The enchanting table never offers Mending on a pickaxe, so it has to come from a book.
It conflicts with nothing else a pickaxe can take, so it fits into any pickaxe build.
What it costs on the anvil
First, the base price: on a fresh pickaxe, Mending costs 2 levels. Java charges the full new level of each book, so upgrading later costs the whole level again. Each anvil use also raises the item's prior work penalty for the next step.
Order matters. Say your pickaxe already has Fortune III, Efficiency V and Unbreaking III, put on in the cheapest order. That took 3 anvil uses, so adding Mending last costs 9 levels: 7 for the prior work penalty plus 2 for the book. Planning everything from the start costs 23 levels in total, with no step above 8.
Plan your own version in the calculator or follow the pickaxe enchant order. The prior work penalty calculator shows how the penalty grows.
Where Mending goes
- Mending goes on helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots, elytra, sword, axe, spear, mace, trident, bow, crossbow, pickaxe, shovel, hoe, fishing rod, shears, brush, flint and steel, shield, carrot on a stick and warped fungus on a stick. The enchanting table never offers it, so every one of them needs a book. Related questions: Mending on bow, Mending on elytra, Mending on shield, Mending on trident, Mending on spear, Mending on mace, Mending on crossbow, Mending on fishing rod, Mending on shears, Mending on helmet, Mending on flint and steel, Mending on brush.
Commands and creative mode
In creative or with cheats, one command does it: /give @p netherite_pickaxe[enchantments={mending:1}]. Holding the item, /enchant @s mending 1 works too. Creative mode also ignores the anvil's 40-level limit. The command generator writes the right syntax for your edition.
Java and Bedrock
As far as the item list goes, the answer is also the same in Java and Bedrock. The anvil differs, though: Java charges the full new level of every book. This page follows Java 26.3.
About Mending
Mending repairs an item with experience orbs. When you pick up experience while holding or wearing a Mending item, the XP goes into repairing it first, at 2 durability per XP point.
Mending has a max level of I. If you need a book, you can get it from librarian villagers, trial chamber vaults and enchanted loot from fishing and chests. A librarian sells a Mending book for 10 to 38 emeralds. Before you buy, read everything about Mending, including what each level does.
What else a pickaxe can take
Besides Mending, a pickaxe can take Fortune, Silk Touch, Efficiency and Unbreaking. Then the best pickaxe enchantments page ranks them and gives the max build.
Related questions: Fortune and Silk Touch on pickaxe.
Questions
Can you put Mending on a pickaxe?
Yes. You can put Mending on a pickaxe in Java 26.3.
What else can Mending go on?
helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots, elytra, sword, axe, spear, mace, trident, bow, crossbow, shovel, hoe, fishing rod, shears, brush, flint and steel, shield, carrot on a stick and warped fungus on a stick.
Does mining stone repair a Mending pickaxe?
No. Stone, deepslate and dirt drop no experience. Ores like coal, lapis, redstone and diamond do.
Can a pickaxe have Mending and Silk Touch?
Yes. Mending only conflicts with Infinity, so it fits with Silk Touch or Fortune.
How many levels does Mending cost on a pickaxe?
Mending costs 2 levels as a book on a fresh pickaxe. Earlier anvil work adds its prior work penalty on top.