You need a hopper, but old Minecraft instructions can send you to the wrong recipe. Current vanilla Minecraft uses one Chest and five Iron Ingots in both Java Edition and Bedrock Edition. Use the steps below to craft one, fill the recipe from the recipe book, or get a hopper through Creative mode, commands, or generated loot.
Craft a hopper by hand
This fixes the standard Survival case when you already have the materials.
Open a Crafting Table.
Place one Chest in the center slot.
Place Iron Ingots in the top-left and top-right slots.
Place Iron Ingots in the middle-left and middle-right slots.
Place the final Iron Ingot in the bottom-center slot.
Take the Hopper from the result slot.
Fix a missing recipe book option
The most common cause is that the recipe book can craft the hopper only when the required materials are available.
Check your inventory for one Chest and five Iron Ingots.
Open the Crafting Table again after those materials are in your inventory.
Select the Hopper recipe once recipe rules allow it.
In Bedrock Edition worlds where recipe rules block the recipe, enable cheats and use the Game Directors permission level, open Chat, enter /recipe give @s minecraft:hopper, then craft the hopper with one Chest and five Iron Ingots.
Use the Java Edition recipe book
Open a Crafting Table. The recipe book also opens from your Inventory, but that screen only has a 2×2 grid, and the hopper needs the 3×3 crafting table grid.
Select the knowledge book icon.
Search for Hopper, or open the Redstone materials tab.
Select Hopper.
Craft it when the recipe book shows the needed Chest and Iron Ingots.
The recipe book fills the grid for you, but the recipe still costs one Chest and five Iron Ingots.
Fill it from the Bedrock recipe book
This method applies when you are playing Bedrock Edition and want the game to place the recipe for you. The recipe book opens by default from the inventory or crafting screen.
Open a Crafting Table. You can browse the recipe book from your Inventory, but the hopper needs the 3×3 crafting table grid to actually craft.
Select Items or All.
Search for or select Hopper.
Craft the hopper once the recipe book can use one Chest and five Iron Ingots from your inventory.
Get a hopper in Creative mode
This fixes the quick-build case when you want the block without Survival crafting.
Switch to Creative mode.
Open the Creative inventory.
In Java Edition, open Search Items and search for Hopper, or open Redstone Blocks.
In Bedrock Edition, open All and search for Hopper, or open Items.
Select Hopper and move it into your inventory.
Use a give command
Commands apply when cheats are enabled and you have the required permission. In Java Edition, open Chat and enter /give @s minecraft:hopper 1 to add one hopper to your inventory.
In Bedrock Edition, enable cheats and use the Game Directors permission level. Open Chat and enter /give @s hopper 1 or /give @s minecraft:hopper 1.
For an admin-created Bedrock setup, create a world with Activate Cheats enabled, open Chat, and enter /give @p command_block. Place the command block, press Use or right-click it, set Command Input to /give @p hopper 1, then set Block Type, Condition, and Redstone as needed, such as Impulse and Needs Redstone.
Find a generated hopper
The most common reason to skip crafting is that you are exploring a world with trial chambers generated.
Find a Trial Chamber.
Locate a Hopper above a barrel.
Mine the Hopper with a pickaxe.
Collect the dropped Hopper item.
This gets you a hopper without the crafting recipe, but it starts with finding a generated trial chamber.
Ignore the old stone recipe
This fixes outdated tutorial advice from early Java Edition 1.5 snapshots.
Do not use Stone blocks for the hopper recipe.
Use the current recipe with one Chest in the center slot.
Place five Iron Ingots in the hopper-shaped slots around it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Iron Ingots do you need to make a hopper?
You need five Iron Ingots and one Chest to craft one Hopper.
Can you make a hopper in both Java and Bedrock?
Yes. The current Survival crafting recipe works in vanilla Minecraft Java Edition and Bedrock Edition.
Why is the hopper not showing in my recipe book?
Make sure you have one Chest and five Iron Ingots available. In Bedrock Edition worlds with changed recipe rules, an admin can unlock it with /recipe give @s minecraft:hopper.
Can you get a hopper without crafting it?
Yes. You can take one from Creative inventory, use a give command with the right permissions, or mine a generated hopper above a barrel in a trial chamber.