You’ve seen the fan art. You’ve probably watched those slick YouTube thumbnails showing a cute, orange-tinted robot pressing random buttons in a base. It looks official. It feels like it should be in the game, especially since copper has been cluttering up our chests for years now. But if you’re trying to figure out how to make a copper golem in Minecraft Bedrock, I have some annoying news for you.
The Copper Golem isn't technically in the game.
Wait. Don’t close the tab just yet. While Mojang hasn't officially added the little guy to the vanilla Bedrock experience, there is a massive amount of history, community modding, and "technical workarounds" that explain why everyone is talking about it like it’s real. We need to talk about what happened back in 2021 and why your copper ingots are currently useless for anything other than lightning rods and stairs.
The Mob Vote That Changed Everything
Back in October 2021, during Minecraft Live, Mojang held one of those infamous community votes. The Copper Golem was one of the three candidates. It was up against the Glare and the Allay. The pitch for the Copper Golem was honestly pretty cool: a small, craftable buddy that would oxidize over time—turning from orange to green—and its main personality trait was an obsession with pressing copper buttons.
It lost.
The Allay won. That’s why we have blue floating fairies that collect items instead of tiny copper robots. Because it lost the vote, Mojang tossed the concept into the "idea library," which is basically a polite way of saying it’s on indefinite hiatus. In the official Bedrock Edition (the version you play on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, or Windows), there is no crafting recipe for a Copper Golem. You can’t stack blocks in a T-shape or a vertical line to bring one to life.
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Spotting the Fakes and Add-ons
If you’ve seen people playing with them on TikTok or YouTube, they are doing one of two things. First, they might be using Behavior Packs or Add-ons from sites like MCPEDL. These are community-made mods specifically for Bedrock. They basically "skin" an existing mob or write new code to simulate what the Copper Golem would have been.
The second thing you might be seeing is a Java Edition mod. Java players have it easy with things like the "Friends and Foes" mod, which adds all the losing mob vote candidates back into the game. If you’re on a console, you can’t just download a Java mod. You’re stuck with what’s in the Marketplace or what you can sideload through a file manager, which is a massive headache.
Honestly, the confusion comes from how much people wanted it to be real. The Copper Golem solved a specific problem: it gave a use to the piles of copper we all have. It also introduced a way to randomize Redstone circuits. Since the golem would press buttons at random, it was basically a living RNG machine.
What You Can Actually Do with Copper Right Now
Since you can't build the golem, you’re probably wondering what to do with that chest full of raw copper. In the current version of Minecraft Bedrock, copper is almost entirely decorative, which is a bit of a letdown if you were hoping for a mechanical companion.
- Lightning Rods: These are actually useful. One copper ingot on top of two others (in a vertical line) creates a rod that diverts lightning. This keeps your wooden roof from burning down during a storm.
- The Brush: If you're into the Archaeology update, you need copper for the brush. It's one feather, one stick, and one copper ingot.
- Spyglasses: One amethyst shard and two copper ingots. It's basically a low-tech zoom lens.
- Copper Bulbs: Introduced in the more recent updates, these are actually really cool. They are light sources that toggle on and off with Redstone pulses, and their light level changes as they oxidize.
If you’re desperate for a golem, you’re stuck with the Iron Golem or the Snow Golem. To make an Iron Golem, you need four iron blocks in a T-shape and a pumpkin on top. For a Snow Golem, it’s just two snow blocks and a pumpkin. It’s not a copper robot, but it’s what we have.
How the "Modded" Copper Golem Works
If you do decide to go the Add-on route for Bedrock, most creators try to stick to the original "leaked" mechanics. Usually, the recipe they script into the game involves a Copper Block and a Lightning Rod.
In most of these packs, you place a block of copper on the ground, put a lightning rod on top, and then use a honeycomb or a specific tool to "activate" it. Some mods even require a literal lightning strike to start the golem, which is a nightmare to coordinate unless you have a Channeling trident.
The oxidation mechanic is the most interesting part of these mods. Just like real copper blocks, the golem will slowly turn green. In most community versions, once the golem turns fully green (weathered), it freezes into a statue. You then have to scrape it with an axe to "clean" the rust off and get it moving again. It’s a high-maintenance pet.
Why Mojang Might Bring It Back
There is a glimmer of hope. Mojang has stated in the past that lost mob vote candidates aren't gone forever; they just aren't the priority. We saw this with the Frog, which was part of a losing biome vote but eventually made it into the Wild Update.
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The community interest in the Copper Golem is still huge. Every time a new update is announced, "Copper Golem" starts trending again. With the 1.21 update focusing so much on "Trial Chambers" and new copper decorative blocks, many people thought this was the moment. It wasn't. We got the Breeze and the Bogged instead.
Actionable Steps for Bedrock Players
If you really want that Copper Golem experience on Bedrock today, stop looking for a crafting recipe in the vanilla game. It doesn't exist. Instead, follow these steps:
- Check the Minecraft Marketplace: Search for "Golems" or "Copper." Sometimes creators bundle these mobs into adventure maps. You won't be able to use them in your own random survival world, but you can play with them in that specific map.
- Learn to sideload Add-ons: If you are on PC or Mobile, go to a reputable site like MCPEDL and search for "Copper Golem Add-on." Download the
.mcpackfiles. - Apply the Behavior Pack: Once downloaded, open the file to import it to Minecraft. Go to your world settings, scroll down to "Behavior Packs," and activate the Copper Golem pack. Make sure "Experimental Gameplay" is toggled on in your world settings, or the custom entity probably won't spawn.
- Use the Brush and Copper Bulbs: If you just want the "vibe" of a copper-themed base, use the new 1.21 blocks. The Copper Grates and Chiseled Copper blocks look incredible and provide that steampunk aesthetic the golem was supposed to represent.
Stop wasting your pumpkins and copper ingots trying to build it in a vanilla world. You'll just end up with a pile of blocks and a sense of disappointment. Stick to the mods for now or keep an eye on official Mojang dev diaries for any signs of a "voter's remorse" update.