Armor trims were first added to Minecraft in version 1.20, the Trails and Tales update, released in June 2023. They were designed to let players customise the appearance of their armor without changing its powers of abilities. When they were first added, there were 16 unique armor trims, each found in different structures around the Minecraft world. Players use the Smithing Templates to apply trims and can choose from many different materials to create unique designs.

In Minecraft 1.21, Mojang expanded the collection by adding 2 new armor trims: Flow and Bolt. Both of these trims can be obtained from Trial Vaults, in the Trial Chambers structure underground. To open these vaults, you will need to recieve a Trial Key by defeating a Trial Spawner. When interacting on a Trial Vault with the key, you will recieve several item rewards, which if you are lucky, may be either the Flow or Bolt armor trim!