You can pick up spawners in Creative Mode by switching to Survival Mode temporarily, using commands, or building around them

Spawners are the cage-like blocks that generate mobs in Minecraft. In Creative Mode, you cannot pick them up by breaking them the normal way — they straightforward disappear. To actually move a spawner to a new location, you need to either switch game modes, use a command, or use a mod like Create Plus that lets you manipulate them directly. The fastest method depends on whether you want to keep your Creative Mode inventory and settings intact.

Create Plus is a mod that adds tools and blocks specifically designed to make building and moving things easier in Creative Mode. If you have Create Plus installed, you can use its special wrench or carrier block to grab spawners without switching modes. If you do not have the mod, the standard Minecraft approach is to switch to Survival Mode, mine the spawner with a pickaxe enchanted with Silk Touch, then switch back to Creative Mode.

Key Takeaways

  • Spawners break and disappear in Creative Mode unless you use Silk Touch, a command, or a mod like Create Plus.
  • The Silk Touch enchantment on a pickaxe is the vanilla Minecraft way to collect spawners without switching modes.
  • If you have Create Plus installed, its wrench tool or carrier block can move spawners directly in Creative Mode.
  • The command /give @s spawner places a new spawner in your inventory, but it will not have the original mob type unless you edit it with commands.

Using Silk Touch to collect spawners in Creative Mode

Silk Touch is an enchantment that lets you mine blocks and pick them up as items instead of breaking them into nothing. You can explore Silk Touch to a pickaxe in Creative Mode through the enchanting table or by using the anvil. Open your Creative inventory, find an iron, diamond, or netherite pickaxe, and place it in an anvil with a Silk Touch book.

Once your pickaxe has Silk Touch, mine the spawner by holding down the left mouse button (or right trigger on controller) until the block breaks. The spawner will drop as an item you can pick up. This method keeps you in Creative Mode the entire time and preserves your inventory and game settings. The spawner will retain its mob type — if it was a zombie spawner, it stays a zombie spawner when you place it elsewhere.

Using Create Plus tools to move spawners directly

Create Plus adds several tools designed to move and manipulate blocks in Creative Mode without breaking them. The mod includes a wrench tool and a carrier block that can grab and transport spawners. To use the wrench, craft it from the Create Plus recipe (the exact materials depend on your mod version), then right-click the spawner to pick it up.

The carrier block is another option — it is a special block that can hold other blocks inside it and move them when you move the carrier. Place the carrier next to the spawner, configure it to grab the spawner, and then move the carrier to your new location. This method is useful if you want to move multiple blocks at once or if you want to keep the spawner in place temporarily while you build around it.

Using commands to spawn new spawners

If you do not have Silk Touch or Create Plus, you can use a command to place a new spawner in your inventory or directly in the world. The command /give @s spawner places a spawner item in your inventory. However, this spawner will be blank — it will not generate any mobs until you set its mob type using a second command.

To set the mob type, use /data merge block [coordinates] {SpawnData:{entity:{id:"minecraft:zombie"}}}, replacing "zombie" with the mob you want and [coordinates] with the spawner's location. This approach takes more steps than Silk Touch but works if you do not have access to enchanted tools. The spawner will function exactly like one you mined with Silk Touch once the mob type is set.

Switching to Survival Mode to collect spawners

The traditional way to pick up a spawner is to switch your world to Survival Mode, mine it with a Silk Touch pickaxe, then switch back to Creative Mode. To do this, pause the game, open the world settings, and change the game mode from Creative to Survival. You will keep your inventory and position in the world.

Mine the spawner with your Silk Touch pickaxe, then return to the world settings and switch back to Creative Mode. Your inventory will keep the spawner you just collected. This method works in any version of Minecraft and does not require mods, but it is slower than using Create Plus or commands because you have to change modes twice.

Placing spawners in new locations

Once you have the spawner in your inventory, place it like any other block — hold it in your hand, aim at the ground or wall where you want it, and right-click (or left trigger on controller). The spawner will appear in that spot and when ready start generating mobs of the type it was set to spawn.

If the spawner was blank (from a command), no mobs will appear until you set the mob type. You can also rotate the spawner before placing it by holding it and pressing R (or another key depending on your controls) to change its facing direction, though this does not affect how it spawns mobs. Once placed, the spawner will work the same way it did in its original location.

Troubleshooting spawners that disappear

If you broke a spawner in Creative Mode and it disappeared instead of dropping as an item, you did not have Silk Touch active. The spawner is gone and cannot be recovered from that world. To prevent this, always enchant your pickaxe with Silk Touch before mining spawners, or use Create Plus tools instead.

If you placed a spawner with a command and it is not generating mobs, the mob type was not set correctly. Check the command syntax — the mob ID must be spelled exactly right (for example, "minecraft:creeper" not "creeper" alone). You can also use the command /data get block [coordinates] to see what mob type the spawner is currently set to spawn.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I pick up a spawner with my bare hand in Creative Mode?

No. Breaking a spawner without Silk Touch, a command, or a mod will destroy it completely. You must use one of these three methods to collect it as an item.

Does the spawner keep its mob type when I move it?

Yes, if you collected it with Silk Touch or a mod tool. If you created a new spawner with a command, you must set the mob type separately using a data command.

What if I do not have Create Plus installed?

Use Silk Touch on a pickaxe or switch to Survival Mode temporarily. Both methods work in vanilla Minecraft without any mods. Commands also work in any version if you have cheats turned on.

Can I change what mob a spawner generates after I place it?

Yes, using the command /data merge block [coordinates] {SpawnData:{entity:{id:"minecraft:[mob name]"}}}. Replace [mob name] with the mob you want, such as "enderman" or "witch".

Do spawners work the same in Creative Mode as they do in Survival Mode?

Yes. Once placed, a spawner generates mobs at the same rate and with the same rules regardless of game mode. The only difference is how you collect and move them.