DIY recipes

DIY recipes appear in and allow the player to craft certain items through the DIY mechanic. Once a player acquires and learns a recipe, they are able to bring the specified materials to a DIY workbench to create the item.

The player starts with a handful of recipes from Tom Nook after taking the DIY workshop. As the player progresses through the game, they will encounter more methods of obtaining recipes.

Most recipes require natural resources (such as wood, iron, and stone), but some use other items which must be obtained or crafted first. It is possible to learn recipes, such as the ironwood kitchenette, which require other crafted items that the player may not yet have found the recipes for.

Obtaining recipes
There are a variety of sources for recipes:
 * From Tom Nook and Blathers (for basic tools in early gameplay - some of these recipes may be only given for free to the Resident Representative).
 * Purchases from Nook's Cranny (or from Timmy in the Resident Services tent).
 * Redemptions of Nook Miles via the Nook Stop.
 * Speaking to special characters such as Celeste and Zipper T. Bunny.
 * From villagers in their home - at almost any given waking hour once the island is established (outside of special events), at least one villager will be using a workbench in their home, and will give the player a recipe if spoken to. Up to 3 recipes can be obtained this way over the course of a day.
 * Letters in the mail (rarely).
 * Rrom Balloons (via Slingshot) (rarely).
 * A daily Message Bottle on the beach containing a DIY recipe (one may also be found on each Mystery Island visited).
 * Learning automatically upon encountering (or collecting a certain number of) particular items, such as fishing out trash, digging up Manila Clams, or collecting Bunny Day eggs.

While some recipes can be potentially obtained from multiple sources including Message Bottles and Balloons, certain recipes can only be learned from specific characters. For example, recipes for Astrology Set furniture, and for most other space-themed items, can only be obtained from Celeste.

It is common to encounter recipes multiple times on the same island, and sometimes from the same villager, even if there are other recipes in the game that have not been encountered yet, with villager dialog explicitly encouraging sharing the previously-learned recipe with other players. A DIY recipe that the player already knows cannot be learned again, but can be dropped or gifted for other players or sold/trashed. All recipe cards sell for 200 Bells each.

Visiting another player's island can result in the villagers on that island giving them gifts which could include recipes.

By villager personality
Villagers may be found crafting inside their homes. Speaking to them while crafting will result in the villager providing the player with a DIY recipe. A villager's personality dictates the pool of DIY recipes they can give to the player.

Construction Kits
During the main storyline, the Resident Representative will be given recipes for construction kits needed for two pieces of infrastructure. Both recipes are single-use only and are removed from the recipe catalog once used. Only one campsite may be built. Additional bridges can be built once Resident Services upgrades to a building; for these the player will given the necessary kit upfront. These recipes are not seen again afterwards once the player has completed those tasks.