Glow Squid

Overview

Glow ink sacs are the only way to make text readable in the dark, and a Glow Squid is where they come from. Apply one to a sign and the letters glow at full brightness with no light source anywhere near them, which is the difference between a labelled storage room that works at night and one that does not; glow ink also makes item frames invisible-framed and glowing. Each kill gives 1 to 3 sacs, so a small flooded cave supplies a whole base. The mob itself has 10 health, drifts through dark water emitting a soft cyan light and a trail of glowing particles, and does nothing hostile at all. Damage one and it releases a cloud of glowing ink particles that briefly clutters your screen — a visual effect only, not a status effect, and it wears off on its own. Spawning is strict: water below Y=30 at light level 0, which in practice means flooded caves, lush caves and the deeper parts of any cave system that has filled with water. It will not spawn in an ocean. Out of water it suffocates like an ordinary Squid, which is the mob it is otherwise identical to.

Glow ink sacs. Applied to a sign they make the text glow in complete darkness, and applied to an item frame they make the frame invisible, which is the cleanest way to label storage.

Glow squid drift through dark underwater caves emitting a soft cyan glow and leaving glowing particle trails. Damage them and they release a cloud of glowing ink particles that briefly obscures your view — it is a visual effect, not a status effect. Their glow ink sacs make signs and item frames glow in the dark, and are the only way to light up text without a light source. They are otherwise identical to ordinary squid: harmless, slow, and quick to suffocate on land.

In Minecraft, Glow Squid is classified as a passive mob. It has 10 health points, or 5 hearts. Expect 3 experience per kill.

Properties

Glow Squid has 10 health, which is 5 hearts. It drops up to 3 experience when a player kills it. Its hitbox is 0.8 blocks wide and 0.8 tall, which is what decides whether it fits through a gap or a one-block-high opening.

Health: 10 (5 ♥)
Experience dropped: 3
Size: 0.8 × 0.8
Dimension: Overworld
Added in: 1.17

Spawns in

Spawns in water below Y=30 in complete darkness, most reliably in flooded caves and lush caves.

It has no biome restriction, so anywhere in the Overworld that meets the light and space conditions is a valid spawn.

Dimension: Overworld
Light level: 0
Added in: 1.17

Dimension: Overworld · Added in 1.17

Drops

Killing Glow Squid drops Glow Ink Sac, plus up to 3 experience. Looting raises the maximum on most of these by one per level.

Glow Ink Sac: 1–3

How it behaves

The Glow Squid never attacks. The only reason to be careful around one is that killing it is often not what you want: breeding it is worth more than the drop.

Killed by a player it drops up to 3 experience; killed any other way it drops none.

Command

In a world with cheats on, this spawns one Glow Squid where you are standing.

Summon

/summon minecraft:glow_squid ~ ~ ~

Guides and tools that cover this

Frequently asked questions

Where do Glow Squid spawn?

In water below Y=30 at light level 0, which means dark flooded caves and lush caves rather than oceans.

What do glow ink sacs do?

They make sign text glow in the dark and turn an item frame invisible while keeping the item visible.

Does a Glow Squid's ink blind you?

No. The glowing ink cloud is a particle effect only and applies no status effect.

How many glow ink sacs does one drop?

1 to 3 per kill, increased by Looting.

How much health does the Glow Squid have in Minecraft?

The Glow Squid has 10 health points, which is 5 hearts.

What does the Glow Squid drop?

It drops Glow Ink Sac, plus 3 experience when killed by a player.

Where does the Glow Squid spawn?