Overview
A composter turns plant matter into bone meal, which makes it the block that closes the loop on any farm. Drop crops, seeds, saplings, leaves, flowers, vines, cactus, kelp or rotten plant blocks into it and each one has a chance to raise its fill level by one layer, and the eighth successful fill ejects a single bone meal. Different inputs have different chances — a wheat seed is far less likely to add a layer than a cake or a hay bale — so the practical rule is to compost bulk waste such as excess seeds, saplings and leaves rather than anything you would eat. A comparator reads the fill level from 0 to 8, which is what makes composters common in automatic farm designs: the signal tells a circuit when a bone meal is ready to be pulled out, and a hopper underneath collects it. It is also the farmer villager's job site block, which is worth knowing because a farmer buys wheat, carrots, potatoes and pumpkins for emeralds and sells bread and golden carrots, and is the easiest first trader for a new base.
Converting farm waste into bone meal, providing a comparator-readable output for automatic farms, and acting as the farmer villager's job site block for early emerald trades.
Minecraft classifies Composter as a functional block. Composter has a crafting recipe, so it is renewable as long as you can source its ingredients. With a hardness of 0.6 it gives way immediately under almost any tool.
Any tool works, and so do bare hands. Mining it returns the block itself, so it is safe to relocate. A blast resistance of 0.6 means a single creeper will clear it away.
It stacks to 64. You make it with Oak Slab. No recipe takes it as an ingredient.
How to get it
Craft it from 7 wooden slabs of any type, which is roughly 2 logs. Composters also generate in village farms, where they sit beside the crop plots and can simply be taken.
Tips
- 8 successful fills make 1 bone meal, so compost bulk waste like seeds and saplings rather than valuable crops.
- A comparator reads the fill level 0 to 8, which is how an automatic farm knows when to collect.
- A hopper under the composter pulls the bone meal out automatically once the cycle completes.
- Place one next to an unemployed villager to make a farmer, then trade wheat for emeralds from day one.
How long it takes to break
At a hardness of 0.6, Composter takes 0.9 seconds to punch out and 0.1 seconds with a netherite-tier tool of the correct class.
There is no tier requirement to worry about. Any tool, or none, returns the drop; the numbers below just say how fast.
The Efficiency formula is level² + 1 added to tool speed — at V that is about 2 times the unenchanted rate.
| Tool | No enchantment | Efficiency III | Efficiency V |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand | 0.9 s | 0.9 s | 0.9 s |
| Wooden | 0.45 s | 0.1 s | instant |
| Stone | 0.25 s | 0.1 s | instant |
| Iron | 0.15 s | 0.1 s | instant |
| Diamond | 0.15 s | instant | instant |
| Netherite | 0.1 s | instant | instant |
| Golden | 0.1 s | instant | instant |
Properties
Blast resistance on Composter is 0.6, so any explosion nearby takes it out. It stops light entirely and gives off no light. Stack size is 64 — the standard full stack. An axe is the fastest choice here. A tool of the wrong class is no better than your fist — the speed bonus is tied to the block's own tool tag. As furnace fuel it burns for 15 seconds — one and a half smelting operations.
- Transparent
- No
- Required tool
- Any
- Fuel value
- 15 s
Crafting recipe
Crafting Table
Composter
Any wooden slab — Oak Slab, Spruce Slab, Birch Slab, Jungle Slab, Acacia Slab, Dark Oak Slab, Pale Oak Slab, Crimson Slab, Warped Slab, Mangrove Slab, Bamboo Slab, Cherry Slab
Drops
Mined with any, Composter drops itself.
Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
How do you get Composter in Minecraft?
Composter is crafted from Oak Slab.
What tool do you need to break Composter?
No specific tool is required — Composter can be broken by hand.
Is Composter blast resistant?
Composter has a blast resistance of 0.6, so an explosion nearby will destroy it.
How many Composter fit in one stack?
64 per stack, so a double chest holds 3,456 Composter.
How long does Composter take to break?
With the correct tool at netherite tier it takes 0.1 seconds; by hand it takes 0.9 seconds.
