Summon Skeleton Holding a Bow

Spawn an armed skeleton archer

✅ Verified for Java 26.2 · Bedrock 26.32 — checked June 2026

Summons a skeleton with a bow forced into its main hand using the modern HandItems format (main hand first, off hand second). Skeletons normally spawn with a bow already, so this mainly matters if you also plan to tweak its equipment. On Bedrock, /summon skeleton spawns an armed archer by default.

/summon skeleton ~ ~ ~ {equipment:{mainhand:{id:"minecraft:bow",count:1}}}

74 characters

Java: yes
Bedrock: no
Command block: yes
Needs cheats / OP: yes

How to use

Open chat (T on Java).
Paste the command and press Enter.
A skeleton archer appears and starts firing arrows.

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