How to make a lead in Minecraft

Aakrit Sharma
A dog and horse in Minecraft

Leads are pretty underused but definitely useful in Minecraft as they allow players to guide and control mobs, including their pets. Here’s how to craft a lead in Minecraft.

As you progress in Minecraft, your dependence on natural resources like plants and animals will increase. While some animals like horses offer mobility, others like llamas grant storage.

A lead is a crafting ingredient for balloons and at the same time, it can help you in attaching a boat. Similarly, you can tie one end of the lead to a fence post and you no longer have to worry about your horse running off with your valuable saddle, or pets like parrots, wolves, or bees wandering away. Clearly, the item has a wide range of uses so here’s how to make a lead in Minecraft with strings and slimeballs.

Here’s how to make a lead in Minecraft with strings and slimeballs.

Minecraft leads used on pigs
Pigs are among the many mobs that can be tied using a lead in Minecraft.

How to craft a lead in Minecraft

You need one slimeball and four strings to make a lead in Minecraft. Slimeballs are dropped by slimes and strings can be obtained from spider webs.

How to get a slimeball in Minecraft

Before hopping to the crafting recipe for a lead, here’s how to collect slimeballs and strings:

A Slimeball in Minecraft can be obtained from slimes and pandas. Slimes drop slimeballs when they’re defeated and baby pandas sneeze them occasionally.

Slimes usually spawn deep underground (below Y= 40) or during the night at swamp biomes (between layers 50 and 70 with a light level of 7 or less). Try killing a slime with a weapon that has the Looting enchantment as you can get five slimeballs from a single slime through Looting III.

If you’re lucky enough, you won’t have to search for slime and a wandering trader might hand it to you for four emeralds.

A Slime coming out of a cave.
Slimes are uncommon but easy to find in Minecraft’s swamps.

How to get strings in Minecraft

Here’s how you can get a string in Minecraft:

  • Killing spiders.
  • Dungeon chests.
  • Breaking cobwebs (80% chance of a string dropping if you break the cobweb with a shear or a sword). Cobwebs spawn in Abandoned Mine Shafts and Strongholds.
  • Fishing.
  • Cat gifts. (16% chance).

To craft a string in Minecraft, simply put a cobweb into a crafting table and it’ll turn into a string.

Crafting recipe for a lead in Minecraft

After collecting strings and a slimeball, put them on a crafting table in this manner to get a lead in Minecraft:

Recipe for a lead in Minecraft.
Leads have a simple recipe in Minecraft.

You won’t regret making a lead in Minecraft because of its viability. It can help in leashing mobs, transporting mobs, making balloons, and even decoration if you’re creative enough.


For more Minecraft content, check out some of our other work below:

How to get a saddle in Minecraft | How to make a lectern in Minecraft | How to grow mushrooms in Minecraft | How to make a compass in Minecraft | How to change Minecraft username | How to make a bed in Minecraft | How to dye leather armor in Minecraft | How to cure a Zombie villager in Minecraft | How to make and use a beacon in Minecraft

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About The Author

Aakrit is a games writer with over 2000 published articles for EssentiallySports, Sportskeeda, FortniteINTEL, and CharlieINTEL. Currently, he writes guides on Minecraft, Roblox, Pokemon games, Genshin Impact, and Brawlhalla. Aakrit loves playing shooter games and in his free time, you can find him queued up in Valorant, Fortnite, Apex Legends, or Halo Infinite. You can contact Aakrit at [email protected].