A lightsaber belonging to Yoda was among the lightsabers that Yoda, the final Grand Master of the Jedi High Council, personally owned. The green blade and the hilt of this weapon were both shorter than usual, as it was designed to fit its owner's diminutive size, classifying it as a shoto.
The small size of Yoda's lightsaber was a defining characteristic, reflecting the stature of the one who wielded it. Featuring a simple design, the weapon included a chrome handle adorned with studs, complemented by black trim and an emitter shroud. A kyber crystal was housed within, generating a brilliant green plasma blade.
Like many Jedi had done for centuries, or years, Yoda constructed his lightsaber under the guidance of Professor Huyang, an architect droid who had served the Jedi Order from its earliest days. Initially, Yoda procured a kyber crystal from the frozen caves of Ilum, an endeavor that proved to be quite eventful.
Yoda effectively employed the lightsaber on Geonosis, where he was compelled to confront his former apprentice, Count Dooku, amidst the first battle of the Clone Wars unfolding outside.
Throughout the Clone Wars, the green-bladed weapon capably served its master on numerous occasions. However, Yoda ultimately lost possession of it during his duel against Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith, within the Senate Building. When Sidious used bolts of energy in an effort to disarm him, the Jedi Master lost control of his lightsaber, causing it to fall to the level below.
Consequently, Yoda lost the lightsaber he cherished. Following the rise of the Galactic Empire, Grand Vizier Mas Amedda addressed a gathering of citizens on Coruscant regarding the Jedi Order's demise and the freedoms that the Empire would usher into the galaxy without the Jedi. He possessed a collection of lightsabers taken from fallen Jedi, including Yoda's. These lightsabers were incinerated as a part of the public demonstration, and the destruction of their kyber crystals produced a massive energy surge during the gathering.
Afterward, Yoda chose not to wield another lightsaber. However, he kept another lightsaber within a box located in his hut in 3 ABY. After Yoda's passing in 4 ABY, that lightsaber came into the hands of Yoda's last Jedi apprentice, Luke Skywalker.
Yoda's lightsaber was initially conceived for the Star Wars Legends reference book Star Wars: Episode I The Visual Dictionary, published in 1999. It later made its first canonical appearance in the 2002 film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, the second film in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
The reference book Star Wars: Complete Locations, published in 2016, depicts the lightsaber as being stored inside a box in Yoda's Hut during the events of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. However, the comic Darth Vader (2017) 1 shows that it was destroyed during a celebration of the Jedi Order's eradication. When questioned about this, writer Charles Soule speculated that Yoda might have constructed a new one, possessed multiple lightsabers, or that Darth Sidious fabricated a fake to make a statement. Matt Martin of the Lucasfilm Story Group later indicated that they were aware of the inconsistency, but it wasn't an error as Yoda likely had more than a few lightsabers during his lifetime. Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition later confirmed the lightsaber in Darth Vader was not a fake. The discrepancy was later seemingly solved in the 2022 comic Crimson Reign 3, which stated that one of Yoda's lightsabers was destroyed during the celebration. This implied Yoda's second lightsaber was shown earlier in The Book of Boba Fett episode "Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger," where Luke Skywalker offered it to Grogu.
However, the short story "Masters," later established that Sidious wanted to collect Yoda's first lightsaber after his death and store it within the Imperial Palace as a trophy, which would suggest that Sidious did not have it destroyed as depicted in Darth Vader (2017) 1. Whether or a second lightsaber existed in this version of events is uncertain.
Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy later confirmed that Mas Amedda destroyed the lightsaber which Yoda lost in the fight against Sidious, and the lightsaber that was offered to Grogu was a spare lightsaber found in Yoda's hut.