Non-renewable resource

A non-renewable resource (as opposed to a renewable resource) is a resource that cannot be obtained in indefinite quantities in survival without exploring more terrain or using certain glitches, commands or Creative mode to create more of them. While running out of resources other than the unique dragon egg is not likely to be a factor in normal gameplay due to massive size of a Minecraft map, in principle there is a finite quantity of these resources available in each Minecraft world.

Non-renewable resources can be obtained through crafting recipes that consume other non-renewable items, found as naturally generated blocks, obtained from structure loot chests or as drops from certain enemies that do not respawn (elder guardians, shulkers and piglin brutes).

Some resources are non-renewable or even unobtainable if playing on peaceful difficulty, as monsters do not spawn.

The degree of impact the non-renewability of a resource has on normal gameplay generally depends on how limited the resource is, but on custom maps these relationships may be changed; for example, on many Skyblock-style maps, any lava provided is extremely valuable, as no more can be obtained.

All status effects and enchantment-item combinations that cannot be obtained in Survival are non-renewable.

Generated Structures

These non-renewable resources are only found as loot from Generated Structures, the blocks the structures are composed of, or as non-renewable drops from mobs which generate with the structures, and cannot be obtained in other ways unless using certain glitches, commands or Creative mode. This renders most of them unavailable in worlds with the "Generate Structures" option disabled. These resources are generally the most finite resources in the game, though some like cobwebs are relatively common.

Resource	Non-renewable products	Sources
Banner Pattern "Snout"	―	Found in Bastion Remnant chests.
Cobweb	―	Can be collected with shears from strongholds, mineshafts, igloos, woodland mansions, and zombie villages.
Dragon Egg	―	Spawns on top of the exit portal when the ender dragon is defeated for the first time. Only one is obtainable in each world, making it the rarest obtainable resource in the game.
Dragon Head	―	Generates on the end ship alongside end cities.
Elytra	―	Generate in the end ship alongside end cities.
Enchanted Golden Apple	"Thing"	Very rarely found in the chests of dungeons, desert pyramids, mineshafts, ruined portals, and woodland mansions.
Gilded Blackstone	―	Generates in bastion remnants.
Heart of the Sea		One can be found in every buried treasure chest, which can be found using treasure maps found in shipwrecks or ocean ruins.
(non-leather) Horse Armor	―	Can be found in generated chests of dungeons, desert pyramids, end cities, jungle pyramids, nether fortresses, ruined portals, strongholds, and villages. Leather horse armor can be crafted with leather, a renewable resource.
Large Fern	―	Can be found in generated chests of villager houses. Large ferns can be renewably created by using bone meal on ferns, but do not drop themselves when broken.
Music Disc "Pigstep"	―	Found in Bastion Remnant chests.
Potion of Decay ‌[BE only]	―	Can be obtained by tapping with an glass bottle on a very rare cauldron filled with potion of decay found in a swamp hut. However, arrows of decay are renewable through trading.
Shulker Shell		Dropped by shulkers, which spawn as a part of end cities.
Tall Grass	―	Can be found in generated chests of villager houses. Tall grass can be renewably created by using bone meal on grass, but does not drop itself when broken.
Wet Sponge		Spawn in the sponge rooms of some ocean monuments. Dropped by elder guardians. Formed when water touches a sponge.

Other

These non-renewable resources can be obtained from the world outside Generated Structures, they are generally more abundant, but some may be hidden under other blocks, making them harder to find. Since they generate outside structures, they can be found even in worlds with the generate structures option disabled.

Resource	Non-renewable products	Sources
Ancient Debris		Generates underground in the Nether, especially at low Y-levels. Found in Bastion Remnant chests.
Dead Bush	―	Can be collected with shears in Badlands, desert, and giant tree taiga biomes. They can also generate in chests and potted in some desert villages.
Diamond Ore	"Trail" Firework Stars & Rockets	Generates in veins in the overworld, below Y=16. Diamonds can also be found in chests of many generated structures. Diamond blocks also generate in "lava" and "obsidian" rooms in woodland mansions.
Emerald Ore	―	Emerald ore generates underground in mountains biomes, usually in single-block veins.
Lava Bucket	―	Obtained by collecting lava with a bucket. Lava generates in villages, small lakes in the Overworld, in random pockets in The Nether, in lava falls, and in large amounts at low Y-levels in both dimensions. They also generate in stronghold End Portal rooms, in Nether fortress lava wells, bastion remnants, and ruined portals.
Nether Ores	–	Generate in medium-sized veins in the Nether. Note that gold and quartz can be obtained renewably, without mining the ores.
Ores	―	These ores generate underground in all biomes of the overworld. Coal ore also generates in fossils.

Not obtainable in Survival

These resources are not obtainable as items in Survival. However, they can be encountered and some even created or manipulated in survival.

Resource	Notes
Bedrock	Bedrock can be found at the bottom 5 levels of the overworld, the top and bottom 4 levels of the nether, and as part of end crystal structures and portals in the End, but cannot be broken or moved.
End Portal Frame	Can be found in strongholds, but cannot be broken or moved.
Farmland	Farmland may be created by tilling renewable dirt, grass or grass paths with a hoe, but always drops dirt when mined.
Frosted Ice	Frosted ice may be generated infinitely by walking on renewable water with the Frost Walker enchantment equipped, but drops nothing when mined.
Tall Seagrass	Tall seagrass can be created by applying bone meal to normal seagrass. However, breaking tall seagrass with shears drops 2 normal seagrass.
Infested Blocks	Infested blocks may be generated infinitely as silverfish infest renewable cobblestone, stone and stone bricks, but do not drop themselves when mined. They also generate naturally in strongholds, igloos, woodland mansions and in mountains.
Spawners	Spawners can be encountered in dungeons, mineshafts, strongholds, fortress, mansions, and bastion remnants, but drop only experience if mined.
Chorus Plants	Chorus plants generate on the the outer end islands but cannot be obtained when mined even if silk touch is used.
Technical Blocks	Technical blocks are blocks such as portal blocks and fire, whose main functions are strictly tied to the usage of other blocks and items. Many can be generated renewably in the world, but they cannot be acquired as items through normal survival gameplay.

Not encountered in Survival

These resources cannot be accessed without using creative mode or commands.

Resource
Barriers
Command Blocks
Debug Stick ‌[JE only]
Player Heads
Jigsaw Blocks
Knowledge Books ‌[JE only]
Minecarts with Command Blocks
Petrified Oak Slab
Unbrewable Potions ‌[JE only]
Spawn Eggs
Structure Blocks
Chemistry Equipment ‌[BE only]
All Elements and Compounds ‌[BE only]
Medicines ‌[BE only]
Chemistry Products ‌[BE only]
Light block ‌[BE only]

Bedrock Edition

These resources are not renewable in Bedrock Edition, even though they are in Java Edition.

Resource	Non-renewable products	Reason for discrepancy
Blackstone[until 1.16.100]		Piglins cannot offer blackstone while bartering in Bedrock Edition.
Clay		Bedrock Edition lacks villager raid reward gift, which would make clay renewable.
Soul Soil	―	Soul campfire in Bedrock Edition currently drops charcoal instead of soul soil, which would make it renewable.

Java Edition

These resources are not renewable in Java Edition, even though they are in the Bedrock Edition.

Resource	Non-renewable products	Reason for discrepancy
Netherrack		When Nether portals generate in the air, they do not create netherrack like they do in Bedrock Edition.
Grass Path		Grass paths may be created by right clicking renewable grass blocks with a shovel, but drop dirt when mined. Thus, they are obtainable only in Bedrock Edition.
Netherite Hoe[until BE 1.16.100]		Piglins no longer barter netherite hoes as they did in snapshots.

Peaceful Difficulty

These resources are not renewable while playing in peaceful difficulty as their renewable methods of obtaining require the spawning of hostile mobs. (Previously mentioned non-renewable resources are removed from the products list).

Piglins still spawn in peaceful difficulty. By killing piglins, the player can sometimes obtain golden swords, then smelt them into gold nuggets. This makes gold renewable, along with all items obtainable via bartering.

Resource	Non-renewable products	Remaining sources	Reason for discrepancy
Brewing fuel		Potions of Healing II and splash potions of Weakness generate in end ships and igloos, respectively. All other potions (excluding water bottles and potion of Invisibility, which are renewable) are unobtainable. Potions of Water Breathing and potions of Regeneration can be found in buried treasure.‌[BE only] All potions and splash potions are still obtainable as those can generate in each swamp hut cauldron but are non-renewable.‌[BE only] Potions of Fire Resistance can be obtained from bartering	Brewing requires blaze powder, which is unobtainable, as blazes do not spawn in peaceful difficulty.
Blaze Rod		End rods, and ender chests generate in end city ships, while brewing stands generate in end city ships, igloo basements and village temples. However, fire charges, potion of Fire Resistance and splash potion of Fire Resistance can be bartered with piglins.	Blazes do not spawn in peaceful difficulty.
Clay		Generates at the bottom of rivers, lakes, and swamps, and inside mason houses in plains, savanna and desert villages. Clay balls generate in mason houses chests, while terracotta generate in mason houses and badlands biomes.	Clay is renewable as a gift from Villagers when the player gains Hero of the Village. Clay is non-renewable in Peaceful difficulty because raids cannot be triggered.
Coal		Coal can be obtained from coal ore or generated chests.	Wither Skeletons do not spawn in peaceful difficulty.
Ghast Tear		Potions of regeneration can be found in buried treasure.‌[BE only]	Ghasts do not spawn in peaceful difficulty. A random potion can be found in each swamp hut cauldron.‌[BE only]
Mob Heads	"Creeper" and "Skull" "Creeper" and "Skull" Charge Banners "Creeper-Shaped" Firework Stars & Rockets	―	These mobs do not spawn in peaceful difficulty.
Music Disc	―	13 and Cat can be found in dungeons and woodland mansions chests. In Bedrock Edition, Mellohi and Wait can be found in buried treasure chests, while others are unobtainable in peaceful difficulty.	Neither Creepers nor Skeletons spawn in peaceful difficulty.
Ominous Banner	―	8 ominous banners generate in every pillager outpost.	Pillager Raid captains do not spawn in peaceful difficulty.
Prismarine Shard and Crystals		Prismarine crystals Found in generated buried treasure chests. Prismarine crystals are obtained from sea lanterns Prismarine, prismarine bricks, and sea lanterns generate in ocean monuments, prismarine and sea lantern also generate in ocean ruins or are crafted from these blocks.	Guardians do not spawn in peaceful difficulty.
Spider Eye		Found in certain generated chests. Splash potions of weakness generate in igloos. A random potion can be found in each swamp hut cauldron.‌[BE only]	Spiders and Witches do not spawn in peaceful difficulty.
Totem of Undying	―	Dropped by evokers, which still spawn during woodland mansion generation in peaceful difficulty, but cannot damage the player.	Raids do not occur in peaceful difficulty. Totems of undying are also not renewable in easy difficulty, since raids do not last long enough to spawn evokers.
Trident	―	―	Drowned do not spawn in peaceful difficulty.
Wither Rose	―	―	The Wither cannot be summoned in peaceful difficulty.

Additionally, going to the End requires the use of eyes of ender (the chances of requiring none is only 1 in a trillion), which are unobtainable in peaceful difficulty, therefore the following renewable resources can also be considered unobtainable and therefore non-renewable. (Previously mentioned non-renewable resources are removed from the products list)

Resource	Non-renewable products	Reason for discrepancy
End Stone		Not obtainable if the End is inaccessible.
Chorus Flower		Not obtainable if the End is inaccessible.
Dragon's Breath	―	Not obtainable if the End is inaccessible.

Gameplay

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