A modern Minecraft smithing table has three jobs: it combines a smithing template with a compatible base item and an allowed addition, upgrades diamond equipment to Netherite, and applies cosmetic armor trims. For a Netherite upgrade, use a Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template, a compatible diamond item, and a Netherite ingot. For a trim, use an armor-trim template, a helmet, chestplate, leggings or boots, and a trim material. Templates are consumed when used, but Mojang’s duplication recipe turns one template into two with seven diamonds and one block of the material from which that template is made.
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What a smithing table does
Mojang describes the smithing table as a workstation for “physical equipment upgrades and modifications.” Its modern interface is recipe-driven rather than a general-purpose crafting grid. The template determines which operation is permitted, the base slot holds the item being changed, and the addition slot supplies the material required by that recipe.
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| Operation | Template slot | Base slot | Addition slot | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherite upgrade | Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template | Compatible diamond equipment | Netherite ingot | The corresponding Netherite item |
| Armor trim | Armor-trim smithing template | Helmet, chestplate, leggings or boots | One trim material | The same armor with a cosmetic pattern and color |
The table does not let you substitute arbitrary items. A valid output appears only when all three inputs match a smithing recipe. A diamond axe, for example, can be transformed with a Netherite Upgrade template and a Netherite ingot; Microsoft’s Bedrock recipe schema represents that operation as a smithing transform.
How to use the smithing table
Read the three input slots
- Template: identifies the upgrade or trim pattern. It is not optional in the modern system.
- Base: the item that will be upgraded or decorated. The item must be the type accepted by that template.
- Addition: the ingot or other material accepted by the recipe. The addition controls the new tier for a Netherite transform and the trim color for an armor trim.
Standard procedure
- Place the smithing template in the left template slot.
- Place the diamond tool, weapon or armor piece in the base slot for a Netherite operation, or place a helmet, chestplate, leggings or boots there for a trim.
- Place the required addition in the right slot: a Netherite ingot for an upgrade or a supported trim material for decoration.
- Check the result preview. If the output is present, move it to your inventory.
- Remove any unused items from the input slots. The template is consumed when the operation completes, so do not insert a template you intended to keep.
Smithing is therefore a three-input check, not a process in which the table guesses what you want. If the result slot stays empty, at least one input is the wrong template, base item or addition.
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Upgrading diamond equipment to Netherite
What you need
- One Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template.
- One compatible diamond item, such as a diamond tool or diamond armor piece with a Netherite counterpart.
- One Netherite ingot.
- A smithing table and an inventory space for the resulting Netherite item.
The transform keeps the item category: a compatible diamond axe becomes a Netherite axe, while compatible diamond armor becomes the corresponding Netherite armor piece. The template and ingot are inputs to the transform; the diamond item occupies the base position.
Exact upgrade steps
- Open the smithing table.
- Put the Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template in the template slot.
- Put the diamond item in the base slot.
- Put one Netherite ingot in the addition slot.
- Take the Netherite result from the output slot.
Microsoft’s Bedrock documentation models the same operation with minecraft:recipe_smithing_transform: a template, a base item, an addition and a defined result. Its example transforms a diamond axe with a Netherite ingot and a Netherite Upgrade template into a Netherite axe.
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Netherite Upgrade Smithing Templates generate in Bastion Remnant chests. Their normal chest placement is random, but Mojang documents a firm exception: every Treasure Room Bastion Remnant guarantees two Netherite Upgrade templates. That guarantee applies to the Treasure Room variant, not to every chest in every bastion.
Because the template is an exploration item, locate a Bastion Remnant before planning a large batch of upgrades. Once you have a template, you can duplicate it instead of searching for another bastion for every piece of equipment.
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What the upgrade is—and what it is not
A Netherite operation is a tier transformation. It changes a compatible diamond item into its Netherite version. It is separate from armor trimming: an upgrade affects the equipment tier, while a trim only changes appearance. Do not put a trim template or a trim material into a Netherite recipe; those inputs belong to the cosmetic system.
Armor trims: patterns without gameplay bonuses
How the trim system works
Armor trims apply to four armor slots: helmets, chestplates, leggings and boots. The template selects the pattern, and the material in the addition slot selects the trim color. Mojang explicitly describes armor trims as “purely visual with no gameplay benefits,” so a trim does not increase protection, durability or another combat statistic.
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Applying a trim
- Find an armor-trim smithing template.
- Open the smithing table and place the trim template in the template slot.
- Place a compatible helmet, chestplate, leggings or boots in the base slot.
- Choose one supported trim material and put it in the addition slot.
- Preview the pattern and color, then take the decorated armor from the result slot.
Microsoft’s Bedrock recipe schema calls these three inputs template, base and addition in a minecraft:recipe_smithing_trim recipe. The same three-slot logic applies in play: changing the template changes the design, while changing the material changes the color treatment.
Armor-trim template locations
Mojang’s feature documentation associates the following templates with structures. The usual source is a chest in that structure; the Ocean Monument is the exception noted below.
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| Structure | Template pattern | How it is found |
|---|---|---|
| Pillager Outpost | Sentry | Structure chest |
| Desert Pyramid | Dune | Structure chest |
| Shipwreck | Coast | Structure chest |
| Jungle Temple | Wild | Structure chest |
| Ocean Monument | Tide | Elder Guardians sometimes drop it; the monument has no chests for this purpose |
| Ancient City | Ward | Structure chest |
| Woodland Mansion | Vex | Structure chest |
| Nether Fortress | Rib | Structure chest |
| Bastion Remnant | Snout | Structure chest |
| Stronghold | Eye | Structure chest |
| End City | Spire | Structure chest |
The list above is the Mojang-documented mapping. It is a structure guide, not a promise that every game version has identical generation rules. If you are playing a later release or a heavily modified world, confirm the template availability for that version.
Available trim materials
Mojang lists these materials as valid additions for armor trims:
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches| Material | Role in the result |
|---|---|
| Iron | Provides the iron trim color |
| Copper | Provides the copper trim color |
| Gold | Provides the gold trim color |
| Lapis | Provides the lapis trim color |
| Emerald | Provides the emerald trim color |
| Diamond | Provides the diamond trim color |
| Netherite | Provides the Netherite trim color |
| Redstone | Provides the redstone trim color |
| Amethyst | Provides the amethyst trim color |
| Quartz | Provides the quartz trim color |
These materials do not alter the trim’s pattern. For example, the same template can be applied repeatedly with different additions to create different color versions of one design.
How to duplicate a smithing template
Templates are consumed each time a smithing operation succeeds. Mojang’s duplication recipe prevents a single found template from being a permanent bottleneck.
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Duplication recipe
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Diamonds | 7 |
| Block of the material from which the template is made | 1 |
| The smithing template you want to copy | 1 |
| Output | 2 copies of that template |
Using the recipe
- Open a crafting interface that accepts the recipe.
- Supply seven diamonds, one block made from the template’s own material and one copy of the template.
- Collect the two resulting templates.
- Keep one copy as your working template and use the other for upgrades or trims, or repeat the recipe when you need a larger supply.
The material block must correspond to the template being duplicated. The seven-diamond cost is fixed in Mojang’s documented recipe, and the output is two templates—not an unlimited copy operation with no resource cost.
Netherite upgrades versus armor trims
| Decision point | Netherite upgrade | Armor trim |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Changes a compatible diamond item to the Netherite tier | Adds a visual pattern and color to armor |
| Template | Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template | One structure-specific armor-trim template |
| Base item | Compatible diamond equipment | Helmet, chestplate, leggings or boots |
| Addition | Netherite ingot | Iron, copper, gold, lapis, emerald, diamond, Netherite, redstone, amethyst or quartz |
| Progression value | Equipment-tier transformation | No gameplay-stat improvement |
| Exploration source | Bastion Remnant chests; two guaranteed in each Treasure Room Bastion Remnant | Distributed among the listed structures, with the Tide template associated with Elder Guardians |
| Template consumption | Consumed on use | Consumed on use |
| Visual result | Netherite version of the base item | Template chooses the pattern; addition chooses the color |
Choose the Netherite path when the goal is equipment progression. Choose trims when the goal is customization or when you want coordinated armor colors. You can perform both operations on the same armor set, but each operation needs its own compatible template and addition.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Bedrock recipe formats and version limits
Microsoft Learn documents two Bedrock recipe formats relevant to the table. minecraft:recipe_smithing_trim describes a template, base armor and addition material for cosmetic trims. minecraft:recipe_smithing_transform describes a template, base item, addition and result for a tier-changing transform such as diamond axe plus Netherite ingot becoming Netherite axe.
The cited Microsoft recipe pages were updated in 2026, while the Mojang feature description quoted for the mechanics dates from 2023. That documentation establishes the three-slot model, the Bastion Treasure Room guarantee, the trim locations listed above and the duplication cost. It does not independently verify every Java Edition or Bedrock Edition release available on October 15, 2026. If a world uses a later release, snapshot, mod or server plugin, check that edition’s recipe data before assuming the structure list or item availability is unchanged.
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Troubleshooting an empty result slot
The template is rejected
- For a tier upgrade, verify that the item is specifically a Netherite Upgrade Smithing Template, not an armor-trim template.
- For a trim, verify that the template is an armor-trim pattern and that the base item is one of the four armor slots.
- Check that the template was not already consumed by a previous successful operation.
The base item is rejected
- A Netherite transform needs a compatible diamond item. A non-diamond base or an item without the corresponding Netherite result will not produce the expected output.
- A trim accepts a helmet, chestplate, leggings or boots. Tools and weapons do not belong in the trim base slot.
The addition is wrong
- Use a Netherite ingot for a Netherite upgrade.
- Use one of Mojang’s supported trim materials for an armor trim.
- Remember that the addition has two different meanings: it supplies the new tier for a transform but only the color for a trim.
The output changed appearance but not performance
That is expected for an armor trim. Trims are cosmetic and provide no gameplay benefits. A gameplay-tier change requires the Netherite Upgrade template, a compatible diamond base and a Netherite ingot.
The template vanished
Successful smithing consumes the template. Recover by finding another one in its associated structure or by using the seven-diamond duplication recipe with the required material block and one remaining template.
A practical checklist before you leave for a structure
- Decide whether you need a tier upgrade or a visual trim; the two operations use different templates.
- For Netherite equipment, target a Bastion Remnant and prioritize a Treasure Room if you are seeking the documented two-template guarantee.
- For a trim, choose the pattern first by structure, then gather the material that supplies the desired color.
- Reserve seven diamonds and the correct material block if you intend to duplicate a template.
- Carry spare inventory space so the resulting equipment and any duplicate templates can be collected immediately.
- Before consuming a rare template, verify all three slots and inspect the output preview.
Once the inputs are matched, the smithing table is deterministic: the template selects the operation, the base identifies what is being changed, and the addition supplies either the Netherite tier or the trim color.
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