Gunpowder

Overview

Gunpowder is the explosive ingredient, the firework fuel and the thing that turns a potion into a splash potion, which makes it one of the most broadly useful drops in the game. Five gunpowder and four sand make TNT; one gunpowder and one paper make 3 Firework Rockets, which is what powers Elytra flight; and a gunpowder added to any brewed potion converts it into a throwable splash version, without which healing a teammate or applying Weakness to a zombie villager is impossible. Creepers are the main source at 0 to 2 each, and a creeper farm — usually built over a large dark platform or around a charged-creeper design — is one of the first bulk farms a serious world builds. Witches drop it too, and ghasts drop it in the Nether, so a witch hut farm supplies gunpowder, redstone, sugar and glowstone at the same time. Anyone who flies with Elytra ends up needing gunpowder by the stack, and that need alone justifies the farm. Once the farm is running, TNT and fireworks stop being things you ration and start being things you use.

Making TNT, firework rockets for Elytra flight, and splash potions — the three systems that turn a mid-game world into a late-game one. Explosives, flight and thrown potions in one drop.

Gunpowder is a brewing item in Minecraft Java Edition 1.21.4. Sixty-four fit in one inventory slot. You get it by killing Creeper, Ghast, and Witch.

It is used to craft Fire Charge, Firework Rocket, and TNT.

How to get it

Creepers drop 0 to 2, up to 5 with Looting III; witches and ghasts also drop it. 1 gunpowder and 1 paper craft 3 firework rockets, so a flyer needs stacks of it.

Tips

Build a creeper farm before committing to Elytra travel; rockets are the real ongoing cost of flying.
A witch farm gives gunpowder, redstone, glowstone and sugar together, which covers most of a brewing chest.
Splash potions need exactly 1 gunpowder each, and they can then be thrown at teammates or villagers.
Charged creepers drop mob heads, so a lightning rod near the farm produces decorative heads as well.