How to get infinite emeralds by trading in Minecraft

Emeralds in Minecraft can be useful for more than a few reasons. Not only are they the primary currency for villager trading, they can also be used in decoration by forming emerald blocks.

Though emeralds are certainly useful, getting them can be tricky. Sure, they can be mined in the Overworld via emerald ore blocks, but it's also possible to receive them via trading with villagers. While there are plenty of ways to farm emeralds via villagers in Minecraft, one stands out as the most lucrative, as it can lead to an infinite emerald source.

Farming emeralds this way can be tricky in Minecraft, but players can't argue with the results.

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How to use villager trading to get infinite emeralds in Minecraft as of version 1.19+

Books can be more helpful for acquiring emeralds than some Minecraft players might know (Image via Mojang)

It can be a little resource demanding and tricky to execute for beginners. But with the right items and mobs nearby, Minecraft players can quickly create their infinite emerald farming source.

Players will need access to at least one librarian villager, their lectern job site block, splash potions of weakness, and golden apples. It will also be necessary to have two zombies nearby at a minimum, as this method requires the infection and curing of a zombie villager.

Setting up an infinite emerald trade farm in Minecraft

1. Create an enclosure and place a librarian villager within it, ideally in a confined space where the villager can access their lectern block. However, you'll need some form of gate to allow zombies in.
2. Check your librarian villager's trades that are available. You'll need two specific trades to be available from this librarian: One where emeralds are exchanged for bookshelf blocks and one where books are exchanged for emeralds. If the librarian doesn't have these two trades available, destroy its lectern block and place it again until both trades are present in the villager's trade menu.
3. Bring a zombie into the villager's enclosure without allowing the villager to escape. The zombie should infect the librarian. You can then kill the zombie or remove it from the enclosure for the moment.
4. Cure your librarian villager by hitting it with splash potions of weakness and feeding it golden apples until it returns to its ordinary self.
5. Repeat Steps three and four again, then check the villager's trades. It should now offer a bookshelf for the price of one emerald and offer an emerald for a book.
6. Use an emerald to buy a bookshelf block. Place it in the environment, then break it and collect the three books that drop.
7. Sell the books back to the librarian villager for three emeralds, then purchase more bookshelves, break them, and sell the books again. Repeat as often as needed until you have the preferred number of emeralds.

As of Minecraft 1.19, the bookcase and librarian-based farming method should work well. While it may not be the fastest means to accrue emeralds in the game, it will continue to work as long as the librarian villager continues living.

Hopefully, the massive amount of emeralds provided should sate a player's needs for the foreseeable future, even if they have to spend time buying bookshelves and selling books.