The Easiest Automatic Minecraft XP Farm: 2026 Redstone Guide

Introduction

Swinging a sword through one more Minecraft night just to reach level 30 can feel endless. Lose those levels with one unlucky creeper and all that time is gone. That pain is exactly why we put together The Easiest Automatic Minecraft XP Farm: 2026 Redstone Guide in the first place.

Automatic XP farms flip that grind on its head. Instead of chasing mobs, mobs come to you. With the right setup, you can stand still, go AFK, and watch the green orbs roll in while you get real-life stuff done. No advanced Redstone brain needed, no massive technical skill wall to climb.

In this guide, we walk through two of the easiest automatic XP farms that work with 2026 Bedrock mechanics:

• A Nether Portal Gold and XP farm that spits out both XP and gold without any spawner.
• A compact Infestation Spawner XP farm that melts through levels once you find a dungeon or mineshaft.

Both builds use simple Redstone and clear patterns that beginners and returning players can follow.

Key Takeaways

• You learn two beginner-friendly automatic XP farm designs that use very simple Redstone. One uses Nether portals for Piglins and gold, and the other powers up a regular spawner with Potion of Infestation.
• You get complete material lists for each farm before you place the first block.
• You follow step-by-step construction guides for every major phase.
• You see how to push each farm to higher rates with smart AFK spots and spawn proofing.
• You pick up safety habits and planning tips that help with every later automation project.

Why Build An Automatic XP Farm?

Experience points power almost every high-end part of Minecraft. You need XP to:

• Enchant tools, armor, and weapons.
• Repair gear in an anvil.
• Keep Mending items alive forever.

Without a steady XP source, strong enchantments like Fortune III, Unbreaking III, and Looting III feel out of reach or take hours of boring mob hunting.

With an automatic farm, you can go AFK while you watch a video, talk with friends, or plan your next big project.

Most of all, an XP farm speeds up your whole world progression. Fast enchantments mean faster mining and resource gathering, faster villager trading, and faster beacon setups. One good automatic XP farm keeps paying you back every time you log in.

Understanding XP Farm Basics: How They Actually Work

Before we stack blocks high in the sky, we should understand what makes any XP farm tick. Every automatic farm, no matter how fancy, follows the same simple pattern.

"Every mob farm in Minecraft boils down to four steps: spawn, move, kill, collect." — common Redstone saying

Every XP farm has four key parts:

1. Mob spawning area – where the game creates mobs in a controlled space.
2. Mob transport – how you move those mobs toward one small point.
3. Killing method – how the mobs die in a way that gives XP and drops.
4. Collection system – how items are gathered and how you stand to grab the XP orbs.

Mob spawning follows strict rules. Hostile mobs appear in dark areas within a certain distance from the player, usually between about 24 and 128 blocks. The game also has a mob cap, which means only a limited number of hostile mobs can exist around you at once.

Killing methods split farms into semi-automatic and fully automatic:

• Semi-automatic designs drop mobs just enough that they survive with tiny health, and you finish them with one hit for the XP.
• Automatic designs, like the Bedrock trident killer we use here, move a thrown trident around with pistons so the game still counts the damage as a player hit.

Essential Materials And Pre-Build Preparation

Nothing kills motivation faster than climbing down from a half-built farm because you forgot hoppers again. We can avoid that with a simple master list and a bit of world prep before we place the first block.

Core building items:

• Solid blocks (cobblestone, stone bricks, or similar)
• Glass (for safe viewing windows)
• Water buckets
• Lava (for portal lighting in the Nether farm)
• Ladders or scaffolding
• Plenty of torches

Redstone-related items:

• Redstone dust
• A few pistons
• Observers
• At least one lever
• Hoppers
• Chests for your collection system

Farm-specific items:

• Nether Portal Gold & XP Farm: Lots of obsidian, flint and steel, trapdoors, at least one trident
• Infestation Spawner XP Farm: Brewing stand and blaze powder, Nether wart, spider eyes and gunpowder (for splash versions), regular stone blocks, infested stone bricks, at least one Potion of Infestation

A few quick prep steps save huge time later: clear a safe build area, light up caves near your planned AFK spot to boost spawn rates, and keep extra blocks near the site.

Farm Design #1: The Nether Portal Gold & XP Farm

If we had to pick one starter XP farm for Bedrock players, this Nether Portal Gold and XP farm would be it. It does not rely on a rare spawner, it feeds you both XP and gold, and it scales well once you understand the basics.

The idea is simple:

• Build a giant Nether portal high in the sky.
• Use a Redstone clock to flick the portal on and off.
• Let Zombified Piglins spawn from the portal frame.
• Use trapdoors and water streams to send them down a chute into a small killing chamber where a trident killer handles the work.

Location matters for this farm. Building around Y-level 150 or higher above an ocean works very well, since there are fewer caves to steal spawns.

Step-By-Step Construction Guide

1. Build the collection floor: Place at least two double chests facing north, side by side. Behind each chest, place a line of hoppers feeding into the chest nozzles. Above those lines, form a 2×2 square of hoppers that all feed down into the lines.
2. Create the trident killer shell: Place four solid blocks directly on top of the 2×2 hopper square. Around that square, build a two-block-tall wall. Leave a one-block gap at eye level so you can see in and collect XP.
3. Build the drop tube: From the top layer of the killing chamber walls, build a solid tube straight up about 22 blocks. Keep the inside 2×2 wide.
4. Add the portal platform: At the top of the tube, build a platform that extends at least five blocks out. On the north side, build a large Nether portal frame, for example 23 blocks wide and 23 blocks tall.
5. Wire the portal flicker system: On the west bottom block of the portal frame, place a dispenser facing east into the frame with a water bucket inside. Above the opposite side, place one lava source so that when the portal is empty, lava flows and lights the portal again.
6. Add the Redstone clock: Behind the dispenser, place two observers facing each other to form a simple clock. Add a lever so you can switch the clock on and off.
7. Guide Piglins into the drop tube: Along the bottom edge of the inside of the portal, add trapdoors and set them to open. Use short water channels if needed to nudge Piglins toward the drop hole.
8. Convert the killing chamber into a trident killer: Replace the four solid blocks with four pistons that all face clockwise around the square. Build a Redstone loop so all four pistons cycle in order.
9. Arm the trident killer: Stand in the middle of the pistons, look at the lower half of one piston, and throw a trident so it lands between them. Turn on the Redstone loop and watch the trident slide in a tight circle.

Operating Your Portal Farm And Going AFK

Once the farm is built, daily use is simple:

1. Stand on the side of the killing chamber where you left the viewing gap.
2. Eat until your hunger bar is full so you can heal if anything goes wrong.
3. Turn on the trident killer first so it starts spinning the trident.
4. Flip the lever for the portal clock so the dispenser starts cycling water.

If you hold a sword with Looting III in your hand while you idle, the game applies that enchantment to trident kills, so you gain extra gold and rotten flesh.

For safety, build a small box around your AFK spot so wandering phantoms or stray mobs cannot touch you.

Farm Design #2: The Infestation Spawner XP Farm

The second design shines when you already have a mob spawner in a dungeon or abandoned mineshaft. By itself, a spawner gives steady XP, but we can push it much harder with the Potion of Infestation and some smart room setup.

We use a regular hostile spawner, like a zombie or skeleton one, and surround its room with infested stone bricks. When mobs gather at the bottom of the drop chute, we splash them with the Potion of Infestation. As they die, they can spawn Silverfish that call more Silverfish from the infested blocks.

Brewing The Potion Of Infestation

Gather the brewing gear: one brewing stand, one blaze powder for fuel, at least three glass bottles with water, Nether wart, regular stone blocks, and a spider eye (and gunpowder for splash versions).

1. Place the brewing stand and add blaze powder to fuel it.
2. Put the three water bottles in the bottom slots and Nether wart in the top slot.
3. Wait until all three bottles turn into Awkward Potions.
4. Put a regular stone block in the top slot to create Potions of Stone Burrowing.
5. Add a spider eye to convert them into Potions of Infestation.
6. Add gunpowder for splash versions.

Building The Spawner XP Farm

1. Secure the spawner room: Place torches on every side of the spawner to stop spawns while you work.
2. Shape the room: Carve out the room so it measures 9×9 blocks with the spawner floating at the center. Leave at least four blocks of air above and three below.
3. Add infested blocks: Replace the floor and some lower wall layers with infested stone bricks.
4. Install the water funnel: In each corner, place a water source one block above the floor. Shape the floor so all water pushes mobs toward a single central hole.
5. Dig the drop chute: Dig straight down about 22 blocks. At the bottom, build a small chamber with half slabs at eye level.
6. Build the collection system: Under the landing block, build a 2×2 square of hoppers feeding into chests.
7. Activate the farm: Remove the torches, wait for mobs to collect, then throw a splash Potion of Infestation at them.

Comparing Both Farms: Which One Should You Build First?

Nether Portal Gold & XP Farm:

• Needs more obsidian and a taller build
• Does not need any special structure in the world
• Gives steady XP plus piles of gold for Piglin bartering and golden carrots
• Scales nicely when you add extra portals

Infestation Spawner XP Farm:

• Cheaper on materials and takes less space
• Uses mostly stone, some Redstone, infested bricks, and a few potions
• Limited by the spawner itself—no spawner means no farm yet
• Very strong as a compact, late-game XP grinder once set up

For early to mid-game worlds, many players build the portal farm first. Once you find a good spawner, you can add the Infestation farm as a pure XP station.

Optimizing Your XP Farm For Maximum Efficiency

"If your farm feels slow, chances are your mob cap is full somewhere else." — community farming rule of thumb

Key optimizations:

• Spawn proofing: Light caves within about 128 blocks of your AFK spot.
• AFK position: Stand at least 24 blocks from the main spawning floor, but not beyond 128 blocks.
• Chunk layout: Keep the main spawning and killing areas within loaded chunks.
• Loot handling: Add a simple item sorter below high-output farms.

Troubleshooting Common XP Farm Problems

If mobs are not spawning at all:

• Make sure the difficulty is at least Easy (Peaceful disables hostile mobs)
• Check for stray light sources in the spawner room or portal frame

If spawns seem slow:

• Remember mob caps and player distance
• Light nearby caves and open spaces

If items do not reach your chests:

• Check hopper directions—every hopper nozzle needs to point into another hopper or a chest

If the trident killer does not damage mobs:

• Check that all four pistons fire in sequence and Redstone dust connects properly
• Try throwing the trident again at the lower half of a piston

Safety Tips And Best Practices

• During construction, carry only what you need for the current phase
• Leave spare tools and armor in a chest near the build site
• Use scaffolding, ladders, or water drops when working on high platforms
• Test pieces of the farm one at a time
• Create safe entry and exit tunnels to your farms

Beyond The Basics: Expanding Your Automation Empire

Once you finish your first automatic XP farm, something clicks. The same Redstone that powers a trident killer or portal clock also drives many simple resource farms.

"Start with one simple farm. The rest of your automation builds on that foundation." — survival builders everywhere

Easy next projects:

• Sugarcane farms: Plant a row along water, put pistons behind them with observers to detect growth
• Bamboo farms: Work similarly and provide endless fuel or sticks for trading

Looking for more Minecraft tools to help with your builds? Or want to find active Minecraft servers to show off your farms?

Conclusion

We walked through two of the easiest ways to stop grinding mobs and start enjoying steady XP on Bedrock in 2026:

• The Nether Portal Gold and XP farm, which shines when you want XP plus loads of gold and do not have a spawner.
• The Infestation Spawner XP farm, which takes a simple dungeon and turns it into a compact level factory once you brew a few key potions.

Building either farm does take a bit of time, especially the first try, but that time pays back fast. After one evening of work, you can walk up, flip a few levers, and jump from low levels to full enchant power in a short session.

FAQs

How Long Does It Take To Build An Automatic XP Farm From Start To Finish?

For the Nether Portal Gold and XP farm, expect around two to three hours from first block to final test. The Infestation Spawner XP farm is usually about one to two hours. Later builds go faster as you learn the patterns.

Do These XP Farms Work On Both Java And Bedrock Edition?

These specific designs are written for Bedrock Edition. The trident killer is a Bedrock trick where piston-moved tridents still count as player hits. Java players often use other designs such as enderman farms or guardian farms for heavy XP.

How Much XP Can I Realistically Earn Per Hour With These Farms?

• A single portal module: roughly 15–20 levels per hour
• A well set up Infestation Spawner XP farm: can reach 30–60 levels per hour

What Is The Difference Between A Trident Killer And Manually Killing Mobs?

Manual killing means you hurt mobs with fall damage then finish them yourself. A trident killer uses pistons to push a thrown trident through mobs while you simply stand nearby. Because the game ties that trident to you, it still counts as your hit and gives XP and Looting benefits while you stay AFK.

Can I Build These Farms On A Multiplayer Server?

Yes, but check server rules first. Many servers put limits on mob counts, Redstone clocks, and long AFK farming. Build in a protected area so other players cannot break your Redstone or steal drops.