How can I see the entity data of an existing item?

In 1.13+, you can hold the item in your hand and type:

/data get entity @s SelectedItem

Item data in chat for new versions

You can copy this from the output log, if you want to avoid retyping it all.

The corresponding /give command would be:

/give @s minecraft:enchanted_book{StoredEnchantments:[{lvl:1s,id:"minecraft:protection"}]}

(note how the extra NBT gets automatically placed inside the tag tag)


In 1.8 to 1.12, you'll need to throw down the item in front of you and then type:

/entitydata @e[type=Item,r=3] {}

In chat you'll see all of the data of the item entity, which includes stuff like its motion and age. For the item itself, look at the tags inside the Item: compound tag, highlighted in green below:

Item data in chat for old versions


Alternatively, you can use an external program such as NBTExplorer to open up the world, then your player's inventory, then find the item you want to look at the tags of.