Transporting items in Minecraft is a key part of the game—you can’t carry everything in your inventory. That’s why it’s important to build systems that collect items for you and move them over long distances. Fortunately, the game offers many ways to integrate these mechanics into your builds so your items always arrive where you want them. Today we’ll cover all common methods, how they work, and when to use them.
Minecraft Water Channels: Fast Item Transport Without Redstone
Water is a very underrated way to move items. With many other methods available nowadays, it’s easy to forget—but it’s one of the best systems and can be implemented in many builds with minimal effort. You can also decorate it nicely, integrate it into your world, or hide it underground.
Put simply, items always move in the direction the water flows. You can chain flowing water sections, place an ice block in between for sliding, and cover long distances. With buttons or signs, you can break the flow without items getting stuck.
More tips for water channels:
- You can also place ice under the entire route to speed items up even more.
- With magma blocks and soul sand, you can create elevators (bubble columns) that push items up or pull them down.
- At the end, you can run water streams over hoppers so items get collected.
The only drawback is that on longer routes you must ensure items don’t despawn. Dropped items despawn after 5 minutes, which only matters over very large distances. And depending on your simulation distance, they can stall if you move too far away and the chunks unload.
Minecraft Hoppers: Automatic Item Transport and Sorting
Hoppers are probably the simplest way to move items between locations. They can feed not just chests but almost any block that can hold items. You also decide where the hopper points and how to place them.
A hopper has 5 slots, so it only holds a modest amount of items. For most uses that’s enough, but pulling and especially emptying can take time and may cause bottlenecks with large volumes.
Hoppers also interact with Redstone, unlocking extremely useful setups. For example, you can lock them manually. Beyond basic transport, they’re a key component in item sorters, which we’ve already covered in another guide (Minecraft Automatic Storage System: A Guide for Efficient Item Sorting) .
The downside is that hoppers are quite expensive. An iron farm helps, but crafting hundreds of hoppers still costs a lot of resources. Long hopper lines also aren’t the prettiest builds.
Minecarts in Minecraft: Minecart with Hopper and Minecart with Chest for Long Distances
Rails and minecarts have been in the game for a long time, yet few players use their full potential. We’ve already written about the rail system if you want to learn more (Ultimate Guide: Rail Systems and Minecarts in Minecraft) . Today, we’ll focus on item transport itself and how to automate it.
Two minecart variants can hold items: the minecart with hopper and the minecart with chest. Each uses the inventory of its component—the chest cart has a small chest, the hopper cart has the 5 slots of a hopper. They’re similar, but the minecart with hopper can pull in items automatically, with a slightly larger pickup radius than the cart itself. In general, the minecart with chest is better for capacity.
Both types can be filled by a regular hopper from above or the side and emptied below. This lets you set up automated loading and unloading stations to fill a minecart, send it off, and empty it at the destination.
Boat With Chest in Minecraft: More Space on Rivers and Oceans
Boats with chests are a relatively new feature, added in 1.19. Combine a chest with a boat of your choice in your inventory to craft a boat with chest.
They’re perfect for long trips across rivers and lakes. You’ll likely find plenty of loot that won’t fit in your normal inventory. A chest boat gives you a lot more space, so you don’t have to choose what to keep or toss. To access the chest, sneak and click the chest. Alternatively, press E to open the chest inventory while seated.
Animals and Helpers in Minecraft: Donkeys, Mules, Llamas, and Allays
You also have a few animal companions that can carry items for you. In specific situations, they’re very handy for moving your gear or preventing losses.
- Donkeys, llamas, and mules can have up to 15 slots in their inventory, giving you extra space. You can control donkeys and mules with a saddle, while llamas must be led with a lead. Read more in our guide (Minecraft mounts: Faster travel with horses, camels & more) .
- Allays are helpful little spirits that pick up dropped items and bring them to you or a note block. They can carry only one item type at a time.
Note: The often-mentioned Copper Golem isn’t part of vanilla. If you need more capacity, use shulker boxes inside chests, minecarts, or boats to massively increase your transport volume.
Conclusion: The Best Item Transport Method for Your Minecraft World
Item transport is an important topic in Minecraft. Eventually you’ll need to collect lots of items or cover long distances, and your regular inventory won’t be enough. The game offers many different options, each useful in different situations. Whether water channels, hoppers, or various animals, make your item transport much easier.
Rent your own Minecraft server from us and experiment with friends to find the methods you like best. Build a central storage where everyone always has access to all materials and items.
