A lead (or leash) is the easiest way to move animals around, whether you are dragging a cow back to your pen or walking a whole line of them home. And here is the part most guides get wrong: the recipe changed, and you no longer need a slime ball to make one.
This guide covers the new recipe, where to get the string it needs, and how to actually use a lead once you have it. Everything here is accurate for the latest 2026 version of Minecraft.
Quick answer: craft a lead from 5 string, and you get 2 leads. Place 4 string in a 2×2 square in the crafting grid and 1 string in the bottom-right slot. Then hold the lead and use it on an animal to leash it.
Lead at a Glance
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Recipe | 5 string |
| Yield | 2 leads |
| String from | Spiders and cobwebs |
| Note | Slime balls are no longer required |
How to Craft a Lead
The recipe recently changed. It used to need 4 string and a slime ball, but now it is just string, which makes leads far easier to get. Mojang confirmed the change in the official 1.21.6 update notes.
In a crafting table, place:
- Top row: string, string
- Middle row: string, string
- Bottom row: empty, empty, string (the bottom-right slot)
That is 5 string total arranged as a 2×2 square with one extra string in the bottom-right corner, and it gives you 2 leads. Two leads for five string is a great return.
Note: 4 string on its own (a full 2×2 square) makes wool, so the fifth string in the corner is what turns it into leads.
Where to Get String
Since leads are now pure string, string is the only thing you need to farm:
- Kill spiders. This is the most common source. Regular spiders and cave spiders both drop string. Cave spiders poison you, so be careful in mineshafts.
- Break cobwebs. Cobwebs in the corners of mineshafts and other structures drop string when you cut them, and a sword is the fastest tool for it.
A simple spider spawner farm will give you more string (and therefore leads) than you will ever need.
How to Use a Lead
Using a lead is simple once you have one:
- Leash an animal: hold the lead and use it on the mob. A translucent line connects you to it, and it now follows you.
- Tie it to a fence: with the mob leashed, use the lead on a fence post while sneaking. The mob stays tethered there, which is perfect for holding animals in a pen.
- Free-roaming range: a leashed mob can wander about 10 blocks from you before the lead pulls taut, and the lead snaps if the distance reaches 16 blocks, so do not sprint too far ahead.
The lead breaks or drops if it is hit by a projectile, if you pull the mob too far, or if you shear the mob or the leash knot to remove it. When it breaks, it drops as an item you can pick back up.
What You Can Leash
Most passive and neutral mobs can be leashed, including cows, sheep, pigs, horses, donkeys, mules, llamas, goats, and more. You can also leash the newer Happy Ghast, which makes moving one around much easier. Hostile mobs generally cannot be leashed in normal survival.
A handy trick: you can leash several animals at once and walk them home in a line, which beats pushing them one at a time. Once they are tamed, put a saddle on the ones you can ride.
Frequently Asked Questions
Craft it from 5 string. Place 4 string in a 2×2 square in the crafting grid and 1 string in the bottom-right slot, and you get 2 leads.
No. The recipe changed, and leads are now made from string only. Older guides that show a slime ball are out of date.
String drops from spiders and cave spiders, and from cutting cobwebs found in mineshafts and other structures.
A leashed mob roams freely up to about 10 blocks away, and the lead snaps if the distance reaches 16 blocks.
Use shears on the mob or the leash knot, or the lead breaks if the mob is pulled too far or hit by a projectile. It then drops as an item.
Most passive and neutral mobs, such as cows, sheep, pigs, horses, llamas, goats, and the Happy Ghast. Hostile mobs usually cannot be leashed.
Leads are cheaper than ever now that they only take string, so there is no reason to move animals one at a time anymore. Farm a bit of string, craft a handful of leads, and relocating your farm becomes effortless. And if you are wrangling horses, see our guide on how to tame a horse.
