Can you put Mending on an elytra?
Yes. You can put Mending on an elytra in Java 26.3.
How to add it
Mending is a treasure enchantment, so the enchanting table never offers it. Instead, combine an enchanted book with the elytra on an anvil: Mending costs 2 levels on a fresh elytra.
/give @p elytra[enchantments={mending:1}]What it does on an elytra
An elytra loses 1 durability for every second you glide. It never breaks completely: at 1 durability it stops working until you repair it. With 432 durability, a plain elytra gives about 7 minutes 12 seconds of gliding. Mending repairs it while you wear it, so XP from mobs and mining keeps you in the air.
Step by step
- First, get Mending as an enchanted book. Sources: a librarian villager (10–38 emeralds for a top-level book), fishing, chest loot or trial chamber vaults.
- Then put the elytra in the left slot of an anvil and the book in the right slot.
- Finally, pay the cost shown: 2 levels on a fresh elytra, plus any prior work penalty the elytra already has.
- If the elytra is getting more books, plan the order first so no step costs 40 levels or more.
Why it works
Mending lists elytra among its supported items. That matters because each enchantment's data file lists the items it supports, and the anvil checks that list. The enchanting table never offers Mending on an elytra, so it has to come from a book.
It conflicts with nothing else an elytra can take, so it fits into any elytra build.
What it costs on the anvil
First, the base price: on a fresh elytra, Mending costs 2 levels. Java charges the full new level of each book, so upgrading later costs the whole level again. Each anvil use also raises the item's prior work penalty for the next step.
Order matters. Say your elytra already has Unbreaking III, put on in the cheapest order. That took 1 anvil use, so adding Mending last costs 3 levels: 1 for the prior work penalty plus 2 for the book. Planning everything from the start costs 6 levels in total, with no step above 3.
Plan your own version in the calculator. The prior work penalty calculator shows how the penalty grows.
Where Mending goes
- Mending goes on helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots, elytra, sword, axe, spear, mace, trident, bow, crossbow, pickaxe, shovel, hoe, fishing rod, shears, brush, flint and steel, shield, carrot on a stick and warped fungus on a stick. The enchanting table never offers it, so every one of them needs a book. Related questions: Mending on bow, Mending on shield, Mending on trident, Mending on spear, Mending on mace, Mending on crossbow, Mending on fishing rod, Mending on shears, Mending on pickaxe, Mending on helmet, Mending on flint and steel, Mending on brush.
Commands and creative mode
In creative or with cheats, one command does it: /give @p elytra[enchantments={mending:1}]. Holding the item, /enchant @s mending 1 works too. Creative mode also ignores the anvil's 40-level limit. The command generator writes the right syntax for your edition.
Java and Bedrock
As far as the item list goes, the answer is also the same in Java and Bedrock. The anvil differs, though: Java charges the full new level of every book. This page follows Java 26.3.
About Mending
Mending repairs an item with experience orbs. When you pick up experience while holding or wearing a Mending item, the XP goes into repairing it first, at 2 durability per XP point.
Mending has a max level of I. If you need a book, you can get it from librarian villagers, trial chamber vaults and enchanted loot from fishing and chests. A librarian sells a Mending book for 10 to 38 emeralds. Before you buy, read everything about Mending, including what each level does.
What else an elytra can take
Besides Mending, an elytra can take Unbreaking. Then the best elytra enchantments page ranks them and gives the max build.
Related questions: Unbreaking on elytra, Protection on elytra.
Questions
Can you put Mending on an elytra?
Yes. You can put Mending on an elytra in Java 26.3.
What else can Mending go on?
helmet, chestplate, leggings, boots, sword, axe, spear, mace, trident, bow, crossbow, pickaxe, shovel, hoe, fishing rod, shears, brush, flint and steel, shield, carrot on a stick and warped fungus on a stick.
How do you repair an elytra without Mending?
Combine it with phantom membrane on an anvil. Each membrane restores a quarter of its durability.
Does an elytra break completely?
No. At 1 durability it stops working but stays in your inventory, ready for repair.
How many levels does Mending cost on an elytra?
Mending costs 2 levels as a book on a fresh elytra. Earlier anvil work adds its prior work penalty on top.