Yoda's Lightsaber: Size, Hilt, Fighting Style and Fate
Yoda's lightsaber is a short green blade on a 15 centimeter shoto hilt, first seen on screen in Attack of the Clones. This reference covers its size and hilt, the forms Yoda fought with, where it appears in Episodes II and III and The Clone Wars, how it was lost and destroyed, and canon against Legends.
Short answer
Yoda's lightsaber is a short green blade on a 15 centimeter shoto hilt, first seen on screen in Attack of the Clones. This reference covers its size and hilt, the forms Yoda fought with, where it appears in Episodes II and III and The Clone Wars, how it was lost and destroyed, and canon against Legends.
On this page11 sections
Yoda’s lightsaber is a short green blade powered by a kyber crystal, on a straight hilt about 15 centimeters long [1]. In canon it is a shoto, a small saber made to suit its owner, and it is lost in a duel with Darth Sidious in the Senate [1]. This page is about the saber itself: how big it is, how Yoda fought with it, where it shows up and what became of it. For why green is a Jedi color, see the green lightsaber page. For the forms named below, see lightsaber forms.
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Last checked: 2026-11-11.
Quick answers
- Blade: green, single [1].
- Hilt: straight, cylindrical, alloy metal, about 15 cm, 0.6 kg [1].
- First appearance on screen: Attack of the Clones [1].
- Forms: Ataru, with strong skill in Niman [3].
- Fate in canon: lost to Sidious in the Senate, later destroyed by Mas Amedda [1].
- Legends: the saber is recovered and kept in a box on Dagobah [2].
Who Yoda is and why the saber is small
Yoda was born in 896 BBY and stood 0.66 meters tall [3]. BBY means before the Battle of Yavin, the calendar Star Wars stories use. He was the last Grand Master of the Jedi High Council and, by the time of the prequels, had trained Jedi for about eight centuries [1][3].
Wookieepedia says the saber was made small to match its owner, which is why it counts as a shoto [1]. Shoto is the wiki’s model label for a short saber. The general parts of a saber are explained in the lightsaber hilts guide.
The hilt and size
The canon page lists a straight, cylindrical hilt of alloy metal, 15 centimeters long, weighing 0.6 kilograms, with an emitter shroud and a short blade [1]. It describes a studded chrome handle with black trim [1]. Legends gives 14 centimeters [2]. These are fan wiki specifications. I found no on-screen source that states them, so treat the numbers as the wiki’s reading of reference books.
The two continuities do not disagree on shape. Both describe a short, plain, cylindrical hilt with a shroud around the emitter [1][2].
Colour and crystal
In canon the blade is green and the crystal is kyber [1]. Yoda collected the crystal from the icy caverns of Ilum, and the architect droid Huyang helped him build the saber [1]. The Legends entry names a single Adegan crystal [2]. Legends also records two other colors for sabers tied to Yoda in older stories: yellow in a comic called “Yaddle’s Tale: The One Below”, and orange for a saber he gave to a Jedi named Qu Rahn [2]. The film then fixed the color as green [2].
The green story across all owners is on the green lightsaber page, and it is not repeated here.
Yoda’s fighting style
Wookieepedia says Yoda used the Ataru form, boosting his body with the Force to manage the movements, and that he was also a master of Niman for his whole life [3]. Ataru is the acrobatic form built on leaps and flips, and Niman is the balanced form, both covered on the lightsaber forms page.
The same article says Yoda was extremely skilled at deflecting blasts and could defeat a droid army without taking a single shot [3]. It describes his duel with Count Dooku on Geonosis as one where he held the upper hand until Dooku fled [3]. For Dooku’s side of that fight, see the Count Dooku lightsaber page.
The leaping came from the animation team. Wookieepedia says Rob Coleman studied martial arts films and talked to stunt coordinator Nick Gillard before deciding the small Yoda should jump and bounce through the Dooku fight [3]. That is behind the scenes material, and it explains why his style looks so unlike the duels of taller Jedi such as Mace Windu.
Where Yoda uses the lightsaber
The table covers the films and the animated series. Wookieepedia’s full list also holds many comics, novels and games that this page does not attempt to cover [1].
| Title | What the saber does there | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Attack of the Clones | First appearance; Yoda duels Dooku on Geonosis | [1][3] |
| The Clone Wars, “Ambush” | Yoda fights droids and Asajj Ventress on Rugosa | [1][3] |
| The Clone Wars, Moraband story | Yoda gives his saber to R2-D2 before descending to the Force Priestesses | [3] |
| Revenge of the Sith | Duel with Sidious in the Senate; the saber is torn from his hand | [1][3] |
In the Revenge of the Sith duel, Sidious blasts Yoda with Force lightning that tears the saber from his hand. Yoda then catches the lightning with his bare palms and pushes it back, until the energy explodes and throws both men apart [3]. Wookieepedia says he realizes he has been defeated and leaves through the building’s maintenance tunnels [3].
The reference book Complete Locations shows one kept in a box in his hut on Dagobah [1]. Luke Skywalker later offers a saber to Grogu in The Book of Boba Fett [1]. The Luke Skywalker lightsaber page covers Luke’s own blades.
What happened to Yoda’s lightsaber
In canon, Yoda drops the saber when Sidious disarms him in the Senate, and it falls to the floor below [1]. After the Empire rises, Grand Vizier Mas Amedda addresses a crowd on Coruscant with a collection of lightsabers taken from fallen Jedi, including Yoda’s. They are burned in a public display, and their kyber crystals cause a large explosion [1]. That scene comes from the 2017 comic Darth Vader [1].
Lucasfilm Story Group member Matt Martin said that Yoda probably owned more than a few sabers over 900 years, so the spare in the hut is not an error [1]. The 2022 comic Crimson Reign was later read as settling it: one of Yoda’s sabers was destroyed at the celebration, and the one Luke offers Grogu is another [1]. Star Wars Encyclopedia says the second one was a spare found in Yoda’s hut [1].
A short story called “Masters” tells it differently, with Sidious wanting to keep the first saber as a trophy [1]. Wookieepedia says it is unclear whether a second saber exists in that version [1].
Canon and Legends
Wookieepedia keeps two articles, one per continuity [1][2]. The Legends article’s title is marked conjectural, meaning the wiki chose the name itself [2].
| Field | Canon [1] | Legends [2] |
|---|---|---|
| Blade | Green | Green (yellow and orange in older stories) |
| Crystal | Kyber crystal | Single Adegan crystal |
| Hilt | Straight, 15 cm, alloy metal | Straight, 14 cm, alloy metal |
| Fate | Lost to Sidious, destroyed by Amedda | Recovered, kept in a box on Dagobah |
| Later owner | A spare goes to Luke | None given for this saber |
In Legends, Yoda also gave an orange saber to Qu Rahn. After Jerec killed Rahn, the saber passed to Pic, who used it against Kyle Katarn and left it behind when Katarn killed him [2].
The hilt design began in a Legends book. Wookieepedia says the saber was first created for Star Wars: Episode I The Visual Dictionary in 1999 and made its first canon appearance in Attack of the Clones in 2002 [1]. The computer model in the film differs slightly from the original design [2].
The handbook entry and what is unverified
The handbook card (handbook/sabers/yoda-green.md) says green, single blade, shortened, canon, first appearance Attack of the Clones in 2002, and lists Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith and The Clone Wars [4]. Its header says nothing was checked and no source was opened [4]. Today’s reading of Wookieepedia agrees on the color, the type, the first appearance and the three titles, and adds the hilt specifications and the destruction story [1]. The card’s idea that Yoda rarely fights before Episode II is not supported by anything opened for this page.
Sources
- Wookieepedia, Yoda’s lightsaber (canon), https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Yoda%27s_lightsaber (read through the public API, accessed 2026-11-11)
- Wookieepedia, Yoda’s lightsaber (Legends), https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Yoda%27s_lightsaber/Legends (accessed 2026-11-11)
- Wookieepedia, Yoda, https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Yoda (accessed 2026-11-11)
- Handbook card handbook/sabers/yoda-green.md (marked unverified in its own header)
FAQ
What color is Yoda’s lightsaber?
Green, in canon and in the main Legends entry [1][2]. Some older Legends stories show yellow or orange [2].
How long is Yoda’s lightsaber hilt?
About 15 centimeters in canon, and 14 in Legends, according to Wookieepedia [1][2].
What lightsaber form did Yoda use?
Ataru, with mastery of Niman, according to Wookieepedia [3]. Both are explained on the lightsaber forms page.
What happened to Yoda’s lightsaber?
Sidious knocked it from his hand in the Senate, and Mas Amedda later had it burned, though stories disagree on details [1].
Did Yoda have more than one lightsaber?
Yes. Wookieepedia says he owned several shoto style sabers, and kept a near identical spare on Dagobah [3].
Where can I see every lightsaber by film?
On every lightsaber by film, which lists them film by film.
Editorial team
Writes for Saber Forge Forum. Every guide is checked against the maker's specs and dated, so you know how fresh it is.
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