How to Use the Item Command in Minecraft

This Minecraft tutorial explains how to use the /item command with screenshots and step-by-step instructions.

You can use the /item command to instanty replace one item with another item. You can replace armor items worn, weapons held in your hands, items stored in chests and items in your inventory/hotbar. This is a great way to quickly put armor on a player during a Minecraft battle or change out a worn out weapon.

TIP: Starting in Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.17, the /item command replaces the /replaceitem command in Java Edition only!

Let's explore how to use this cheat (game command).

Supported Platforms

The /item command is available in the following versions of Minecraft:

Platform	Supported (Version*)
Java Edition (PC/Mac)	Yes (1.17)
Pocket Edition (PE)	No
Xbox 360	No
Xbox One	No
PS3	No
PS4	No
Wii U	No
Nintendo Switch	No
Windows 10 Edition	No
Education Edition	No

* The version that it was added or removed, if applicable.
NOTE: Pocket Edition (PE), Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Windows 10 Edition are now called Bedrock Edition. We will continue to show them individually for version history.

Requirements

To run game commands in Minecraft, you have to turn cheats on in your world.

Item Command

Java

Item Command in Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac)

In Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) , the /item command has different syntaxes depending on what you would like to do.

To replace the item in a specified slot of a block with another item:

/item replace block <pos> <slot> with <item> [count]

To replace the item in a specified slot of a block from the slot of another block:

/item replace block <pos> <slot> from block <sourcePos> <sourceSlot> [modifier]

To replace the item in a specified slot of a block from the slot of another entity:

/item replace block <pos> <slot> from entity <sourceTarget> <sourceSlot> [modifier]

To replace the item in a specified slot of an entity with another item:

/item replace entity <target> <slot> with <item> [count]

To replace the item in a specified slot of an entity from the slot of another block:

/item replace entity <target> <slot> from block <sourcePos> <sourceTarget> <sourceSlot> [modifier]

To replace the item in a specified slot of an entity from the slot of another entity:

/item replace entity <target> <slot> from entity <sourceTarget> <sourceSlot> [modifier]

To modify the item in a specified slot of an entity:

/item modify entity <target> <slot> <modifier>

To modify the item in the specified slot of a block:

/item modify block <pos> <slot> <modifier>

Definitions

pos is the x y z coordinate of the block to replace.
sourcePos is the x y z coordinate of the block you wish to copy an item from.
target is the name of the player (or a target selector) that you wish to replace an item for.
sourceTarget is the name of the player (or a target selector) that you wish to copy an item from.

slot and sourceSlot are slot types. The slot is the destination slot and the sourceSlot is the slot to copy an item from. You can use the following:

slot	Description
armor.chest	Replace the chest armor item on a player, mob or armor stand
armor.feet	Replace the feet armor item on a player, mob or armor stand
armor.head	Replace the head armor item on a player, mob or armor stand
armor.legs	Replace the leg armor item on a player, mob or armor stand
container.number	Replace an item in a chest (number between 0 and 53 to indicate the slot position in the container)
enderchest.number	Replace an item in an ender chest (number between 0 and 26 to indicate the slot position in the ender chest)
horse.number	Replace an item in the chest of a mule, donkey or llama (number between 0 and 14 to indicate the slot position in the chest)
horse.armor	Replace the armor on a horse
horse.chest	Replace the chest on a horse, mule, donkey, or llama
horse.saddle	Replace the saddle on a horse, mule or donkey
hotbar.number	Replace a hotbar item (number between 0 and 8 to indicate the slot position in the hotbar)
inventory.number	Replace an inventory item (number between 0 and 26 to indicate the inventory position)
villager.number	Replace an item for a villager (number between 0 and 7)
weapon	Replace the weapon of the player or mob
weapon.mainhand	Replace the weapon held in the main hand of the player or mob
weapon.offhand	Replace the weapon held in the offhand of the player or mob

item is the name of the replacement item.
count is optional. It is the amount of the replacement item. If you don't specify an amount, it will default to 1.
modifier is the name of an item modifier which is a data pack file. For example: my_namespace:upgrade_sword.

Examples

Java

Example in Java Edition (PC/Mac)

To replace the head armor item with a netherite helmet for the player called DigMinecraft:

/item replace entity DigMinecraft armor.head with diamond_helmet

To put a saddle on all donkeys:

/item replace entity @e[type=donkey] horse.saddle with saddle

To replace the weapon in the main hand of all drowned with a trident:

/item replace entity @e[type=drowned] weapon.mainhand with trident

To put a netherite_pickaxe in the first slot of a chest (the chest is directly below you):

/item replace block ~ ~-1 ~ container.0 with netherite_pickaxe

How to Enter the Command

1. Open the Chat Window

The easiest way to run a command in Minecraft is within the chat window. The game control to open the chat window depends on the version of Minecraft:

For Java Edition (PC/Mac), press the T key to open the chat window.

2. Type the Command

In this example, we are going to equip a diamond helmet on the player called DigMinecraft with the following command:

/item replace entity DigMinecraft armor.head with diamond_helmet

Type the command in the chat window and press the Enter key to run the command.

replaceitem command

Once the cheat has been entered, the item will be replaced.

completed replaceitem command

Once you have entered the command, you will see the message "Replaced a slot on DigMinecraft with [Diamond Helmet]" appear in the lower left corner of the game window. This indicates that that slot that has been replaced with a diamond helmet.

view the chest armor being worn

As you can see, the diamond helmet is now being worn by DigMinecraft.

Congratulations, you have learned how to use the /item command in Minecraft.

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