You’re exploring a Pillager Outpost, dodging arrows and trying not to get hacked to pieces by an Axe-wielding Vindicator, when you hear it. A high-pitched, musical chime. It sounds almost like a flute. If you look toward the dark oak cages outside or head up to the top floor of a Woodland Mansion, you’ll find them: tiny, glowing blue spirits with wings. These are Allays. Honestly, they’re probably the cutest things Mojang has ever added to the game, but don't let the looks fool you. They are literal game-changers for automation.
Learning how to use Allay Minecraft mechanics isn’t just about having a floating pet. It’s about building wireless item transport systems without a single piece of redstone dust—if you do it right.
Finding and Freeing Your First Allay
You can't craft these guys. You can't breed them in the wild like cows. You have to stage a rescue mission. Allays spawn exclusively in two locations: Pillager Outposts and Woodland Mansions. In the outposts, they’re usually cramped into those dark oak cages. In mansions, look for the jail cells on the ground floor.
Break the bars. That’s step one.
Once they're free, they won’t just follow you because you're "the hero." They need a reason to stay. To "tame" them—though it’s technically just bonding—you have to give them an item. Any item. Hand an Allay a dirt block, and it will suddenly become your shadow. It’ll follow you up to 64 blocks away, hovering and waitng for more of that specific item to appear.
How to Use Allay Minecraft for Item Sorting
The core mechanic is simple: if an Allay is holding an item, it will scour the nearby area (about a 32-block radius) for dropped versions of that same item. It picks them up. It brings them to you. Or, more importantly, it brings them to a Note Block.
This is where the real magic happens.
If you ring a Note Block near an Allay, that specific block becomes the Allay’s "home" for 30 seconds. Instead of tossing items at your face, the Allay will fly to the Note Block and drop its loot there. Put a Hopper or a Hopper Minecart underneath that Note Block, and you’ve just created a wireless sorting system.
👉 See also: Hollywood Casino Bangor: Why This Maine Gaming Hub is Changing
Think about a massive pumpkin farm. Normally, you’d need dozens of hoppers lining the floor, which is expensive and laggy. Instead, you can have a couple of Allays buzzing around, snatching up every pumpkin that pops, and delivering them to a single collection point. It’s elegant. It’s efficient. It's kinda mesmerizing to watch.
The Note Block Trick
You don’t want to stand there hitting a Note Block every 30 seconds. Nobody has time for that. You need a clock. A basic Redstone Repeater loop or an Observer clock will keep the Note Block "active" in the Allay’s mind.
Just a warning: Allays aren't genies. They have a limited inventory. They can hold one stack of an item (64 units, usually). If they find more than that, they’ll leave the excess on the ground until they’ve cleared their hands at the Note Block. If you have a high-output farm, you might need a small fleet of them.
Handling Complexity and Non-Stackables
Here is something most people get wrong about how to use Allay Minecraft features: they think it only works for basic blocks. It doesn’t. Allays are surprisingly smart.
If you give an Allay an enchanted sword, it will seek out other swords. However, they don't care about the specific enchantment or the durability. This is actually a massive win for sorting "junk" from mob farms. You can set an Allay to pick up bows, while another picks up gold armor.
They also respect the "stacking" rules. An Allay holding a Totem of Undying can only hold one Totem at a time because Totems don't stack in your inventory either. This makes them slightly slower for non-stackable items, but they remain the only way to "sort" these items without incredibly complex, bulky redstone sorters that rely on item filtering.
Duplicating Your Allays (Amethyst and Music)
Once you have one, you don't need to go raid another Woodland Mansion. You can duplicate them. But it’s weirdly specific.
✨ Don't miss: Why the GTA Vice City Hotel Room Still Feels Like Home Twenty Years Later
You need a Jukebox and an Amethyst Shard.
- Play any music disc in a Jukebox.
- The Allay will start to dance. It’s a literal wiggle.
- While it’s dancing, give it an Amethyst Shard.
- Pop. Now you have two.
There is a cooldown of five minutes before you can do this again. It’s an easy way to build an army. Just make sure you have enough music discs to keep the party going. Fun fact: the Allay doesn't actually "eat" the shard; it uses the resonance to split. Minecraft physics at its finest.
Keeping Them Alive in Dangerous Zones
Allays have 20 health points (10 hearts). That’s the same as you. They also regenerate 2 health points every second. They are surprisingly tough to kill by accident because they are basically self-healing.
However, they are not invincible.
- Fire/Lava: They will burn. Don't use them near open lava pits in the Nether.
- The Void: Keep them away from the End islands unless you’ve got a solid floor.
- Wither: Obviously, the Wither will target them.
The coolest thing? They don't take damage from their "owner." If you’re swinging a sword at a zombie and the Allay flies into your path, your sword will pass right through it without hurting it. This makes them excellent for collecting drops in the middle of a chaotic raid or a cave expedition.
Advanced Tactics: The "Filter" Method
If you're deep into the technical side of the game, you can use Allays as a mobile filter. Imagine you’re clearing out a massive desert for sand. Your inventory fills up with sandstone, gravel, and stray rabbit hide.
Give an Allay a stack of Sandstone. Now, as you dig, the Allay acts like a vacuum for the "trash" blocks you don't want to carry, leaving your main inventory open for the stuff you actually need. When the Allay is full, it just hovers nearby. You can then lead it to a trash pit, hit a Note Block, and watch it dump the waste.
🔗 Read more: Tony Todd Half-Life: Why the Legend of the Vortigaunt Still Matters
It's essentially a sentient Shulker box that fills itself.
Limitations and Frustrations
It isn't all sunshine and blue wings. Allays can be frustrating. They occasionally get stuck behind transparent blocks or trapped in tight corners if your Redstone setup isn't spaced out correctly.
They also have a tendency to "lose" their Note Block if the pathfinding gets interrupted by a wall. If you’re building a multi-floor sorting system, ensure there is a clear, 2-block wide flight path for the Allay to navigate. If it can't "see" a path to the sound source, it'll just default back to following you.
Also, be careful with Lead. You can put an Allay on a lead, which is great for transporting them across oceans, but they move fast. If you're on a horse or using an Elytra, you can easily snap the lead.
Actionable Steps for Your World
To get started with an Allay system today, follow this progression:
- Locate an Outpost: Use a map or just explore. Check the cages first.
- The "Key" Item: Carry a spare button or a piece of dirt. Hand it to the Allay immediately upon release so it doesn't wander off.
- Setup a Home: Place a Note Block near your storage. Surround it with Hoppers.
- Automate the Sound: Use a simple Redstone clock (two Observers facing each other works best) to keep the Note Block chiming.
- Expand: Get an Amethyst Shard and a Jukebox to double your workforce.
Using Allays effectively is about rethinking how items move. You don't always need a water stream or a hopper line. Sometimes, you just need a friend who likes music and knows how to pick up after you.
Next Steps for Success
- Check your local Geodes: You’ll need a steady supply of Amethyst if you want to scale up your Allay population for large-scale projects.
- Designate specific items: If using multiple Allays, dye their nametags (using a Name Tag and Anvil) so you remember which one is assigned to "Iron Nuggets" and which one is assigned to "Raw Zinc."
- Safety check: Ensure your collection point is in a chunk-loaded area or stays within your simulation distance, otherwise, the Allay might sit idle while your farm overflows.