Non-renewable resource

A non-renewable resource (as opposed to a renewable resource) is a resource that can't 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 isn't 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 don't respawn (elder guardians, shulkers, and the wither^{[until JE 1.16 & BE 1.16.0]}).

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 can't 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
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, and woodland mansions. They also generate in ruined portals.‌[upcoming: 1.16]
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, strongholds, and villages. Gold horse armor also generate in ruined portals.‌[upcoming: 1.16] Leather horse armor can be crafted with leather, a renewable resource.
Potion of Decay ‌[BE only]	―	Can be obtained by tapping with an empty 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 doesn't 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
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.
Gravel [until JE 1.16 & BE 1.16.0]		Generates in large pockets underground, as well on surface of gravelly mountains, as a layer on the bottom of rivers and normal, cold, frozen ocean and deep variants, as part of cold ocean ruins and in the Nether. Coarse dirt generates in the Giant Tree Taiga, Wooded Badlands Plateau, and Shattered Savanna biomes, as well as their variants. Flint and steel generates in Nether fortress chests. Fletching table generate in village fletcher houses.
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 nether fortresses in well rooms, in lava falls, in stronghold end portal rooms, and in large amounts at low Y-levels in both dimensions. They also generate in bastion remnants and ruined portals.‌[upcoming: JE 1.16]
Nether Quartz Ore	[until JE 1.16 & BE 1.16.0]	Generates in medium-sized veins in the Nether Andesite, Diorite, and Granite can be found in large veins in the overworld. Diorite generates in weaponsmith, tannery, and mason houses in snowy tundra villages, as well as their wall and stair variant, while granite generates in armorer houses in desert villages, as well as their wall and stair variant.
Ores	―	These ores generate underground in all biomes of the overworld. Coal ore also generates in fossils.
Soul Sand [until JE 1.16 & BE 1.16.0]		Generates in large quantities in the Nether.

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.
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, and mansions, but drop only experience if mined.
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]

Upcoming

These items are non-renewable only in snapshots or prereleases. They either do not exist, or are renewable in the latest official release.

Resource	Non-renewable products	Sources
Ancient Debris		Generates underground in the Nether, especially at low Y-levels. Found in Bastion Remnant chests.
Banner Pattern "Snout"	―	Found in Bastion Remnant chests.
Blackstone		Generates in the Nether in the basalt deltas biome. Bastion remnants are completely made out of various Blackstone blocks.
Gilded Blackstone	―	Generates in bastion remnants.
Music Disc "Pigstep"	―	Found in Bastion Remnant chests.
Nether Gold Ore	―	Generates underground in the Nether.
Upcoming spawn eggs	―	Creative exclusive items.

Bedrock Edition

These resources aren't renewable in Bedrock Edition, even though they are in Java Edition.

Resource	Non-renewable products	Reason for discrepancy
Bee Nest [until BE 1.16.0]	—	Bee nests are not obtainable from trees grown via saplings.
Clay		Bedrock Edition lacks villager raid reward gift, which would make clay renewable.
Sand [until BE 1.16.0]		Wandering Traders no longer sell regular sand from 1.12.0 onward.

Upcoming Bedrock Edition

These items are non-renewable only in development builds. They either do not exist, or are renewable in the latest official release.

Resource	Non-renewable products	Sources	Reason for discrepancy
Soul Soil	―	Generates naturally in the soul sand valley biome.	Soul campfire in Bedrock Edition currently drops charcoal instead of soul soil, which would make it renewable.
Large Fern	―	Can be found in generated chests of villager houses. Large ferns can be renewably created by using bone meal on ferns, but don't drop themselves when broken.	Wandering trader no longer sell large fern from 1.16.0 onward.

Java Edition

These resources aren't renewable in Java Edition, even though they are in the Bedrock Edition.

Resource	Non-renewable products	Reason for discrepancy
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.
Netherrack	[until JE 1.16]	When Nether portals generate in the air, they do not create netherrack like they do in Bedrock Edition.
Large Fern	―	Can be found in generated chests of villager houses. Large ferns can be renewably created by using bone meal on ferns, but don't drop themselves when broken. Wandering trader also does not sell it as in Bedrock Edition. However since Bedrock Edition 1.16.0 large fern is no longer renewable

Upcoming Java Edition

These items are non-renewable only in snapshots or prereleases. They either do not exist, or are renewable in the latest official release.

Resource	Non-renewable products	Sources	Reason for discrepancy
Nylium		Generate in crimson forest and warped forest biomes. Crimson nylium also generates in hoglin stable chests in bastion remnants.	When Nether portals generate in the air, they do not create the necessary netherrack like they do in Bedrock Edition.

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).

Resource	Non-renewable products	Remaining sources	Reason for discrepancy
Brewing fuel	[until JE 1.16 & BE 1.16.0]	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]	Brewing requires blaze powder, which is unobtainable, as blazes do not spawn in peaceful difficulty.
Blaze Rod	[until JE 1.16 & BE 1.16.0]	End rods, and ender chests generate in end city ships, while brewing stands generate in end city ships, igloo basements and village temples. However, magma cream, 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]
Gold Ingot [until JE 1.16 & BE 1.16.0]		Obtained by smelting gold ore Additionally, gold ingots, powered rails, gold nuggets and golden helmets, chestplates, swords and apples can be found in certain generated chests. Gold blocks generate in Ocean Monuments. Potions of Healing II generate in end ships. A random potion can be found in each swamp hut cauldron.‌[BE only]	Zombie Pigmen, Drowned and mobs with gold equipment do not spawn in peaceful difficulty.
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.	Totems of undying are 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

View at: Template:Gameplay/content [edit]