How to build an iron farm in Minecraft 1.19 update

A finished and functional iron farm (Image via Minecraft)
A finished and functional iron farm (Image via Minecraft)

Iron is one of the most important resources in Minecraft. There is no shortage of important things that players can do and make with iron, including the following:

Iron is not always an easy material to get in large amounts, at least through mining. This makes iron farms incredibly important for players to make on survival worlds.


A simple and quick way to build an iron farm in Minecraft 1.19

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This design is created by YouTuber Wattles, especially for updates 1.18 and 1.19. An important point he mentions when describing this iron farm design is that if the farm is built too high up into the world on the Y axis, the rates will be severely diminished. This means players should build it relatively close to the ground level to maximize rates.

Based on his testing, the farm is perfect at around Y=85. There is no biome restriction of any kind, though players should make sure not to build it near any existing villages, as they will interfere. Players should also keep the chunks loaded to allow it to run and accumulate iron.

A very simple and quick way to build an iron farm can be found below.


1) The Materials

The materials needed to make the iron farm (Image via Minecraft)
The materials needed to make the iron farm (Image via Minecraft)

As with any farm, players will need materials to make it. The exact materials players need can be seen in the above picture.

However, they are also listed here:

  • Three full stacks
  • 37 additional non-flammable building blocks
  • 10 stairs
  • Two full stacks
  • Three additional walls
  • One bucket of lava
  • 12 signs
  • Nine hoppers
  • Six chests
  • Three beds
  • Three torches
  • One name tag
  • One zombie
  • Three villagers
  • Water

To ensure that players do not confuse temporary blocks with permanent building blocks, any temporary blocks on the farm will be red wool instead of a non-flammable block.


2) The Foundation

The foundation of the iron farm, built up in the air (Image via Minecraft)
The foundation of the iron farm, built up in the air (Image via Minecraft)

Players are first going to want to set up a foundation for the farm. This can be done by building up 12 blocks. The 12th block is the only permanent one. The rest are temporary and act as a way to allow players to build up in the air.

For this example, the platform is made of 15 blocks to account for slight elevation changes in the nearby environment.


3) Villager Rooms

The completed villager rooms in the iron farm, surrounding the center room for a zombie (Image via MInecraft)
The completed villager rooms in the iron farm, surrounding the center room for a zombie (Image via MInecraft)

Players will want to convert this foundation into the rooms that the villagers will inhabit. This is done by building up walls around the three block long foundation to keep the villagers in, as well as setting up a single block opening in the middle that the zombie will reside in.

Once the walls are built, players will also need to place a bed in each room, as this is required for the area to count as a village and spawn iron golems. Players also need to put a torch in each room to keep hostile mobs from spawning and killing the villagers.


4) Getting a zombie

A zombie placed into the iron farm's center room (Image via Minecraft)
A zombie placed into the iron farm's center room (Image via Minecraft)

The next thing players will need to do is get a zombie in the water block in the center of the farm, and then either give it an item to keep it from despawning, or give it a name with a nametag to keep it from despawning.

This zombie will panic the villagers, causing iron golems to spawn, so keeping it alive is vital to ensuring the farm’s functionality. The water will keep it from burning during the day, and the nametag will make it a unique mob, which is unable to despawn naturally like other mobs.


5) Getting villagers

Villagers placed into the iron farm's villager rooms (Image via Minecraft)
Villagers placed into the iron farm's villager rooms (Image via Minecraft)

The next thing players will need to do is get a villager into each of the villager rooms surrounding the zombie. There are a few different ways that players can move villagers, including the following:

  • Boats and water or pistons
  • Manually shoving them
  • Using a chain of workstations that they will walk to and set their profession to lead them where they need to go

These villagers are what spawn the iron golems, so their placement and survival is vital. Make sure the inner walls of the farm are set up so that the zombie cannot reach the villagers. Otherwise it will kill the villagers and convert them into zombies. The farm will break, as no villagers can panic and spawn golems.


6) Creating the iron golem spawn area

The first of the upper layers (Image via Minecraft)
The first of the upper layers (Image via Minecraft)

Players will want to pick one of the sides of the front of the farm, this is the flat side of the farm, and place three stairs on the corner of the front wall of the villager room, as seen above. Then players will need to build a platform covering the rest of the farm.

The second upper platform (Image via Minecraft)
The second upper platform (Image via Minecraft)

Next, players will need to place seven stairs perpendicular to the original three stairs, and create another floor to the platform, as seen above.

The walls placed around the upper platform (Image via Minecraft)
The walls placed around the upper platform (Image via Minecraft)

Players will need to go around with walls, removing the corners. This will keep water from escaping the farm while also ensuring that no iron golems can get stuck.

The water and signs placed into the iron farm's upper layers (Image via Minecraft)
The water and signs placed into the iron farm's upper layers (Image via Minecraft)

Players will then need to place three signs on the gap between the walls near the three original stairs to allow golems to fall but hold in the water.

As the last step, players have to place three water source blocks opposite the sign gaps, and then seven water source blocks opposite the upper row of stairs in the back of the farm. Doing so will force iron golems off of this platform.


7) Making the iron golem removal machine

The foundation of the collection area (Image via Minecraft)
The foundation of the collection area (Image via Minecraft)

Players will want to center the area where iron golems are killed by placing a row of temporary blocks down the ground from the middle of the original three stairs. From this spot on the ground, skip one block and then place three double chests. Pace three hoppers leading into each chest, creating a 3x3 hopper platform.

The finished kill area (Image via Minecraft)
The finished kill area (Image via Minecraft)

Players should create a wall that is six blocks high around the hopper platform. On the third level of the wall, players should place nine signs. This will keep the lava from destroying the drops from the iron golems. But because of how tall iron golems are, the heads of the golems will be in the lava, resulting in death.

Players should place a lava source block on top of the middle sign, which will flow out and over the rest of the signs.