Here's how to make an invisibility potion in Java Edition: brew a Potion of Night Vision, then add a fermented spider eye. Night Vision is an Awkward Potion (water bottle plus Nether wart) with a golden carrot. The result is a Potion of Invisibility lasting 3:00. Add redstone dust and it lasts 8:00. Everything here is current as of Java 26.3, per the Minecraft Wiki.
For a splash invisibility potion, brew the finished potion with gunpowder. For a lingering one, brew a splash potion with dragon's breath. Invisibility has no level II, so redstone is the only upgrade.
Invisibility potion recipe, step by step
| Step | Brew this | Add | You get |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Water bottle | Nether wart | Awkward Potion |
| 2 | Awkward Potion | Golden carrot | Potion of Night Vision (3:00) |
| 3 | Potion of Night Vision | Fermented spider eye | Potion of Invisibility (3:00) |
| 4 | Potion of Invisibility | Redstone dust | Extended Invisibility (8:00) |
You can add the redstone earlier instead: extended Night Vision (8:00) plus a fermented spider eye gives extended Invisibility (8:00) directly. The wiki lists Night Vision as the base for Invisibility, so don't skip it.
What you need
- A brewing stand. Craft it from a blaze rod and any stone-tier block (cobblestone, blackstone and cobbled deepslate are interchangeable).
- Blaze powder for fuel. One piece fuels 20 brewing operations, and each stage counts separately.
- Water bottles, Nether wart, a golden carrot and a fermented spider eye. The fermented spider eye recipe is in our Potion of Weakness guide, which also covers brewing stand basics.
- Redstone dust, gunpowder and dragon's breath for the 8:00, splash and lingering versions.
Every brew takes 20 seconds. Going from a water bottle to an extended splash potion is five brews (Nether wart, golden carrot, fermented spider eye, redstone, gunpowder), so one blaze powder covers the whole chain four times over. For every other potion in one place, see our Minecraft potion chart.
Invisibility potion duration: 8 minutes, splash and lingering
| Form | Regular | Extended (redstone) |
|---|---|---|
| Drinkable potion | 3:00 | 8:00 |
| Splash potion (gunpowder) | 3:00 | 8:00 |
| Lingering potion (dragon's breath on a splash potion) | 0:45 | 2:00 |
| Tipped arrow | 0:22 | 1:00 |
Splash works on either the 3:00 or the 8:00 potion. To make tipped arrows, surround one lingering Potion of Invisibility with 8 arrows to get 8 Arrows of Invisibility.
How to make Invisibility 2?
You can't. Invisibility exists only at level I. The wiki lists just two Java variants of the potion: regular and extended (long). If you want more time, use redstone to get the 8:00 version.
Where else to get an invisibility potion
- Wandering traders can sell an extended (8:00) Potion of Invisibility for 5 emeralds. The trade has been in normal Java gameplay since 1.21.5, and the wiki gives no fixed offer chance for Java.
- Abandoned camp secret chests can hold a Potion of Night Vision as of Java 26.3, which lets you skip the first two steps. The wiki gives a 36% chance.
- Trader drops: wandering traders drink Invisibility at night, and the wiki lists a Java chance of 8.5% to drop one if killed mid-drink. That's a poor plan next to brewing.
The wiki lists no loot chest that holds the Invisibility potion itself.
What invisibility actually does
Invisibility makes a player or mob see-through and hides their name. It has three effects: the model disappears, mobs notice you from a shorter distance, and (since Java 1.21.6) your waypoint disappears from other players' locator bar.
Armor, held items and particles are still visible. The wiki also lists fire on a burning entity, arrows stuck in a player, and saddles on rideable mobs. Because those still render, floating armor and particles can give you away.
Mob detection range
Each mob has a base detection range. With the effect and nothing in any armor slot (an elytra counts), a mob detects you at 7% of that range. With armor it's 17.5% per piece, so full armor puts you at 70%. The range never drops below 2 blocks.
| Mob | Normal | No armor | 1 piece | 4 pieces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghast | 100 | 7 | 17.5 | 70 |
| Enderman | 64 | 4.48 | 11.2 | 44.8 |
| Allay, bee, blaze | 48 | 3.36 | 8.4 | 33.6 |
| Llama | 40 | 2.8 | 7 | 28 |
| Zombie, husk, drowned, zombie villager, zombified piglin | 35 | 2.45 | 6.125 | 24.5 |
| Fox, pillager, ravager | 32 | 2.24 | 5.6 | 22.4 |
| Breeze | 24 | 2 | 4.2 | 16.8 |
| Polar bear | 20 | 2 | 3.5 | 14 |
| Illusioner | 18 | 2 | 3.15 | 12.6 |
| Evoker, vindicator | 12 | 2 | 2.1 | 8.4 |
| All other mobs | 16 | 2 | 2.8 | 11.2 |
Distances are in blocks, abridged from the wiki's table. Sneaking cuts detection to 80% of the normal range and stacks with invisibility. Once a mob has noticed you, it acts as if you had no effect and keeps chasing until you leave its normal range. Sculk sensors, wardens and cats behave the same toward invisible players. Invisibility stops a mob noticing you; it won't end a chase.
Does the invisibility potion work on mobs?
Yes, both ways. Drinking it makes mobs notice you from a shorter distance, as above. Splash potions, lingering clouds and tipped arrows can also make mobs invisible, though their armor still shows. Withers and ender dragons are immune to the effect.
FAQ
How do you make a Potion of Invisibility?
Water bottle plus Nether wart, then a golden carrot, then a fermented spider eye. Redstone extends it to 8:00.
How do I get 8 minutes of invisibility?
Add redstone dust to the 3:00 potion (or to the Night Vision base before the spider eye), or buy the 8:00 potion from a wandering trader for 5 emeralds.
Why can't I make an invisibility potion?
The fermented spider eye goes on a Potion of Night Vision, which the wiki lists as the base for Invisibility. Check that you didn't brew from a plain Awkward Potion or water bottle.
If you're stocking up before a fight, our Fire Resistance potion guide uses the same brewing setup. And if the blaze rod for your stand means a Nether trip anyway, our piglin bartering guide covers another thing worth doing while you're there.