Every redstone block, explained

A redstone torch is a little torch that gives out full redstone power all the time, without you touching it. It also works backwards: when the block it is stuck to gets powered, the torch turns off. So it turns power into no power and no power into power. For example, it can make a door that is open by default and closes when you pull a lever.

JavaIn Java a torch that flickers on and off too fast burns out and goes dark. Placing or breaking a block next to it wakes it up, but a torch that is about to try relighting by itself waits 8 seconds first, and nothing can wake it up until that try happens.

BedrockIn Bedrock a torch only burns out when it is wired to switch itself off with no wait at all. A torch stuck on a piston goes dark whenever that piston gets power, and only Bedrock lets you stick a torch on a hopper.

TipThe torch never powers the block it is standing on, so put your dust or repeater beside it or on the block above it, not under it.

A block of redstone is a solid block that is always on. Redstone parts touching it get full power: dust, repeaters, comparators, pistons, lamps and doors, but a plain block like stone next to it gets nothing. You cannot switch it off, but pistons can push and pull it, so moving it in and out of place is how you turn things on and off. It is made from 9 redstone dust and can be crafted back, so it is also a compact way to store redstone.

JavaIn Java a block of redstone right beside a comparator also counts as power coming in from the side. It can also make a piston go off from a spot one block up and to the side of it, but only after something nudges that piston.

BedrockIn Bedrock a block of redstone beside a comparator's side does nothing. It only starts a piston it actually touches.

TipUse it for flying machines and toggles: a sticky piston moving a block of redstone next to the next piston is the classic engine, because the block powers that piston as soon as it arrives.

A lever is a switch you flip by hand. Flip it on and it gives full power to the wire and the machines next to it, and to the solid block it sits on. Flip it off and the power stops. It stays the way you leave it, so it is the block for things you want to keep on, like a lamp in a room or a door you lock at night.

JavaIn Java, a lever needs a full solid block, an upside-down slab or upside-down stairs to sit on, and an active lever sprinkles little red specks so you can see it is on. Water breaks it, so keep it dry.

BedrockIn Bedrock, a lever can also sit on top of a fence, a wall or a hopper. It can sit in water too.

TipA full solid block a lever is attached to becomes powered too, so you can hide the lever on the far side of a wall and run your wire from the wall block inside. A slab, fence or wall does not carry the power like that, and leaves will not hold a lever at all.

A stone button (or polished blackstone button) is a little switch you stick on a block. Press it and it gives full power for exactly one second, then it turns itself off again. Only a player can press it (or a wind charge hitting it): mobs cannot, and arrows do not press it, unlike a wooden button. It is perfect for opening an iron door for a moment, or firing a dispenser once per press.

JavaIn Java you can put it on the side, top or bottom of any full solid block, and on a floor or ceiling you can turn it to face any of the four directions. Water flowing into it knocks it off.

BedrockIn Bedrock it works the same way and lasts the same one second, but you can also stick it on top of a fence, and water does not knock it off: the button just sits in the water.

TipIf you need the door or piston to stay on longer than one second, use a wooden button (1.5 seconds) or a lever instead. And remember the button powers the block it sits on, so dust or a lamp touching that block turns on too.

A wooden button is a small switch you stick on the side, top or bottom of a solid block. Press it and it gives full power for one and a half seconds, then turns itself off. Unlike a stone button, it also gets pressed when an arrow or a thrown trident hits it, and it then stays pressed until that arrow or trident vanishes or someone picks it up. It is the classic way to open a door for a moment or to fire a dispenser once per click.

JavaIn Java a button placed on the top or bottom of a block can be turned to face any direction, and water or lava flowing into its space pops it off. A trident stuck in a button vanishes after a minute, so the button lets go on its own.

BedrockIn Bedrock a button can also sit on top of a fence post and can sit in water without popping off, though lava can burn it up. A thrown trident never vanishes in Bedrock, so a trident-pressed button stays on until someone picks the trident up.

TipWant a button you can hit from a distance? Shoot a wooden button with an arrow: it stays on until the arrow vanishes (about a minute) or someone picks the arrow up. Arrows shot by skeletons can never be picked up, so those always hold the button for the full minute. Shoot a stone button and nothing happens.

A stone pressure plate is a thin plate you put on top of a block. When a player or a mob stands on it, it switches on and sends full power into the block under it and to any redstone dust, repeater or comparator touching it. Dropped items, arrows and minecarts do not set it off, only living things (and armor stands). A classic use is a door that opens when you walk up to it but stays shut when a zombie drops an item on it.

JavaTurns on as soon as you step on it. While it is on it checks once a second whether anyone is still standing on it, so after you step off it clicks off within a second, and even a quick step keeps it on for a full second.

BedrockSame feel: on when you step on, off within a second after you leave, and on for at least a second. On Bedrock you can also place it under water.

TipStone plates need a block with a solid top or a center post under them (fences, walls, hoppers, upside-down stairs and slabs work, leaves do not). If a piston pushes into the plate, or the block under it is moved, the plate pops off as an item. Run past it fast enough and it may not notice you.

A wooden pressure plate is a thin wooden pad you put on top of a block. When anything stands or lands on it, a player, a mob, a dropped item, even an arrow, it switches on and gives full power to the block under it and to the wires and machines next to it. It switches off within about a second after the last thing leaves. A classic use is a door that opens by itself when you walk up to it, or a drop chute where a dropped item lands on the plate and turns on a light.

JavaIn Java, an item frame cannot switch a wooden plate on, but it can keep an already pressed plate on. Plates can sit on top of glass panes, iron bars and fence gates, but never in water.

BedrockIn Bedrock, a wooden plate can sit in water and still works there. It will not go on top of iron bars or fence gates.

TipWooden plates react to dropped items and arrows, so a mob or player only door should use a stone plate instead. Never place one on leaves, it will not go there. A minecart on a straight rail will not press a plate next to the track, but a plate diagonal to a curved rail's corner can be pressed.

A daylight detector is a flat block that turns sunlight into redstone power. The brighter the sky above it, the more power it gives, so it is strongest at noon, fades at dusk and gives nothing at night. Right click it to flip it into night mode, where it powers up when it gets dark instead. Use it to switch street lamps on at sunset and off at sunrise without touching anything.

JavaIn Java pistons cannot move it. The Nether and the End have no sky, so there a normal detector gives nothing and a night mode detector gives full power all the time.

BedrockIn Bedrock pistons can move it and it can sit in water. It never gives any power in the Nether or the End, in either mode.

TipPut it somewhere with open sky above it. A slab or water over the top may change how much power it gives. A torch or glowstone does nothing: it only reads the sky.

A detector rail is a piece of track that turns on when a minecart rolls over it. While a cart is on it, it sends full power to the redstone next to it and to the block under it. It only checks for the cart about once a second, so even a quick pass keeps the power on for at least one whole second. Put a comparator next to it and it can even tell you how full a chest minecart or hopper minecart is.

JavaIn Java a rail placed on its own points the way you are facing, and most mobs refuse to step onto rails, so a strip of track can help keep animals where they are.

BedrockIt works the same way in Bedrock, but a rail placed on its own always points north to south, mobs walk over rails freely, and flowing water washes the rail away (still water is fine).

TipTreat it as a cart sensor: put a powered rail right after one to give the cart a boost only when it actually arrives, or wire it to a door or a note block to greet every cart.

A trapped chest looks like a normal chest with a red latch, but it gives off redstone power while somebody has it open. The more players looking inside at once, the stronger the power. Wire it to a bell or a lamp and you know the moment a friend opens your loot.

JavaIn Java you can sneak while placing a second trapped chest so the two stay separate instead of joining into one big chest, and pistons cannot move a chest at all. A full block like stone or dirt on top, or a sitting cat, keeps the chest shut, but glass, stairs and bottom slabs on top do not.

BedrockIn Bedrock pistons can push chests and trapped chests, which is also the way to park two single chests side by side. A bottom slab on top stops the chest from opening.

TipPut the trapped chest on a solid block and run dust from that block: the chest powers the block under it, so the wire can be hidden a layer down. Any hopper touching the chest stops working while it is open. A plain chest gives no power, but a comparator (a redstone sensor block) behind either chest tells you how full it is.

Redstone dust is the wire of Minecraft. Sprinkle it on the ground and it carries power from a switch to a door, a lamp or a piston. The power fades a little with every piece of dust it crosses, so one line of dust reaches 15 blocks and then goes dead. Example: a lever, a line of dust, and an iron door at the end.

JavaIn Java a lone piece of dust can be right clicked to switch it between a plus and a dot. The dot only powers the block under it, which is handy for tidy wiring.

BedrockIn Bedrock a lone piece of dust is always a plus that powers all four sides. Dust on glass can pass power down to dust one block lower, which Java cannot do.

TipDust climbs and descends one block at a time by itself, but a solid block sitting on top of the lower dust cuts that link. To go past 15 blocks, put a repeater in the line: it refills the power to full.

A repeater is a one way gate for redstone power. Power goes in at the back and comes out at the front at full strength, so it refreshes a signal that has faded over a long line of dust. Right click it to add a small pause (four settings, 0.1 to 0.4 seconds) before the power comes out. Example: a row of repeaters along a 40 block dust line keeps a door at the far end working, and stacking their delays makes a slow timer.

JavaIn Java even the shortest flicker of power comes out of a repeater as a clean short pulse. Clever piston builds can also pass power along with no pause at all.

BedrockIn Bedrock a repeater checks its input a little less often than dust does, so a very short flicker can slip past it. You can also put one on a fence or a wall, and water does not wash it away.

TipPower a repeater from the side with another powered repeater (or comparator) and it locks, freezing whatever it was outputting, which is a cheap way to remember a signal.

A comparator is a small block with an arrow on top. Power goes in at the back and comes out the front at the same strength. Power fed into a side can change that: it can switch the front off, or take some of the power away. Put it behind a chest and it gives out more power the fuller the chest is, so a lamp can light up when the chest fills.

JavaIn Java a block of redstone placed right beside a comparator counts as a side input, very short flickers of power can slip past it unnoticed, and a chest that cannot open (a solid block or a sitting cat on top) reads as empty.

BedrockIn Bedrock it is simply called a comparator. You can also stick it on a wall or a fence, it can sit in water, and it can read a container through a few extra blocks like pistons, farmland, chains and copper grates.

TipRight click it to swap modes: it gives a little click and the front torch lights up when it is in subtract mode.

An observer is a block with a face on one side and a red dot on the other. When almost anything about the block, water, lava or air right in front of its face changes, it sends out a very short burst of power from the red dot side. It is like a motion sensor for blocks: point it at a sugar cane or a piston and it fires when that thing changes. Changes that come very quickly, one after another, can merge into a single pulse. Point two observers at each other and they blink on and off very fast.

JavaIn Java the observer notices changes to the shape or state of the block it looks at, such as a crop growing, a door opening or a block being placed or broken. If a piston moves it while it is already firing, it stops instead of pulsing.

BedrockIn Bedrock the observer reacts to any nearby block change right in front of it, so it also notices an item going in or out of a chest, barrel or shulker box, or a sign being edited. Just opening a chest is still not noticed, and when a piston moves it, it fires right away.

TipThe face with the eyes always points away from you when you place it, so stand where you want the output and look at the thing you want watched.

A redstone lamp is a light you can switch on and off. Give it power and it glows as bright as glowstone; take the power away and it goes dark again. It is the block for a house light on a lever, a hallway that lights up when you step on pressure plates, or a scoreboard made of blinking lights.

JavaIt lights up the instant power reaches it and goes dark about a fifth of a second after the power stops, so even a quick pulse from a button shows as a visible blink.

BedrockIt also lights up instantly, but it lingers a little longer, about a third of a second, before going dark. The lit lamp is its own separate block behind the scenes, and lamps show up see-through on maps.

TipA lamp counts as a solid block, so a repeater pointed into one lamp turns that lamp into a powered block, and a powered block switches on every lamp touching it. Those neighbors are only switched on, not powered, so they do not pass it on any further.

A note block plays one musical note when it gets power, when you hit it, or when you right click it. Right clicking also raises the pitch one step, and the block underneath picks the instrument (wood for bass, stone for bass drum, gold for bells and so on). Keep the space above it empty or the note stays silent. Wire a row of them to repeaters and you have a tune that plays at the push of a button.

JavaA note played by power or by using it (not by hitting it), or a pitch or instrument change, counts as a block change, so an observer facing a note block sees it fire. Handy for chaining note blocks into other contraptions.

BedrockPlaying it or changing its pitch does not count as a nearby block change, so an observer facing it will not notice. Use a sculk sensor when you need to detect a note block.

TipA note block sitting on another note block plays bass, because a note block counts as a wood block. Put a mob head on top and it plays that mob's sound instead of a note (a creeper head gives the fuse hiss). Allays love note blocks: play one near an allay and it brings its items there for 30 seconds.

A piston is a block with an arm that pushes out when it gets power and pulls back in when the power stops. It shoves the block in front of it one space forward, and it can push a line of up to 12 blocks at once. A plain piston only pushes, it never pulls anything back. Use it for a hidden door: two pistons slide a wall out of the way when you flip a lever.

JavaIn Java a piston can also be switched on by power in the empty spot just above it, and then it may sit still until something nearby changes. It cannot push chests, furnaces, hoppers, signs or banners at all.

BedrockIn Bedrock only power touching the piston itself counts, and redstone dust next to it bends toward it on its own. It can push chests, furnaces and hoppers, but it breaks any sign or banner in its way.

TipPistons can be powered from any side except the face the arm comes out of, and they face toward you when you place them. In Java, only put levers, buttons and torches on the back of a piston; in Bedrock the sides are safe too.

A sticky piston is a piston with a slimeball on its face. When it gets power it pushes out and shoves whatever is in front of it, up to 12 blocks in a row. When the power stops it pulls back in, and unlike a normal piston it drags the one block that is touching its face back with it. That makes it the block for hidden doors: power it to slide a wall block out of the way, cut the power and the block slides back into place.

JavaIn Java the sticky piston also reacts to power in the spot above it, and a very quick blip of power makes it push a block out and leave it there. It will not move chests, furnaces, hoppers, signs or an anvil sitting on the ground.

BedrockIn Bedrock the sticky piston waits a short moment before it moves and never reacts to power in the spot above it. Redstone dust next to it bends toward it on its own, and it can push and pull chests, furnaces, hoppers and anvils.

TipPut the block you want to move right against the piston face, not one block away: the sticky piston only ever pulls the single block touching its head (plus anything glued to that block by slime or honey).

A slime block is a bouncy green block made from 9 slimeballs. It is the glue of redstone machines: when a piston pushes or pulls a slime block, every block touching its sides comes along for the ride, so one piston can move a whole clump of blocks. It also bounces players and mobs that land on it, and nobody takes fall damage from landing on it. Builders use it for flying machines, moving doors and player launchers.

JavaIn Java the piston that moves it can start almost instantly, and a very quick flick of power on a sticky piston can shove the slime block forward and leave it there, which is how the fastest flying machines work.

BedrockIn Bedrock the piston always waits about a tenth of a second before moving and finishes every move it starts, so a sticky piston never leaves the slime block behind on a quick blip of power; it pulls it back whenever the pull itself is possible (nothing blocked, 12 blocks or fewer). Anything standing on a moving slime block rides along with it.

TipA piston can only move 12 blocks in total, and the slime block plus everything stuck to it all count toward that limit. Slime blocks never stick to honey blocks, so use a honey block where you want a clump to end. A slab or cake on top stops the bounce; a carpet or pressure plate does not.

A honey block is a sticky block for piston machines: when a piston moves it, the blocks touching it come along, and anything standing on top rides with it instead of being flung off. It does not stick to slime blocks, so the two side by side make parts that move separately. Players and mobs on top walk slowly and can barely jump, and they slide gently down its sides without getting hurt. Example: a moving platform that carries you across a gap.

JavaIn Java the honey block does not carry redstone power, and you cannot put dust, a repeater, a torch or a lever on top of it, or a ladder, torch or vines on its sides. Only things standing on top ride along when a piston moves it, and jumping at its side keeps some of your speed, so you can jump about 2 blocks farther.

BedrockIn Bedrock the honey block carries redstone power like a normal solid block, you can hang torches, levers, buttons, ladders and vines on its sides, and you never suffocate inside one. Hitting its side stops your forward speed right away, you jump even lower on it than in Java, and a piston moving it also carries things touching its sides.

TipStack honey blocks in a 2x2x2 cube and they all move as one piece. Keep the whole thing at 12 blocks or fewer, or the piston will not move it at all.

A dispenser is a box with a face on it that holds up to 9 stacks of items. Give it a pulse of power and it spits out one item from a random filled slot toward the way it faces. Arrows get shot, water and lava buckets get poured, armor gets put on whoever stands in front, and most other items just drop out. A classic use is an arrow trap: a dispenser full of arrows wired to a pressure plate.

JavaIn Java a dispenser can also fire when the block above it is powered, even if that block is empty air, which surprises a lot of people. Pistons cannot move a dispenser in Java, and it can set down an armor stand item as a real armor stand.

BedrockIn Bedrock only power that reaches the dispenser itself counts, so power in the empty space above it does nothing (a lever or a powered block right on top of it still fires it). Pistons can push a dispenser around in Bedrock, it can throw tridents and ice bombs, and an armor stand item just drops out like any other item.

TipIt fires once each time the power turns on, so a lever left on gives you just one shot. To keep firing, the power has to switch off and on again. An empty dispenser makes a higher pitched click, so you can hear when it runs dry.

A dropper is a box with 9 slots that spits out one item each time it gets a burst of power. If it points at a chest, hopper, or another container, the item goes straight inside instead of being thrown. It looks like a dispenser but it never shoots or uses items, it only drops them. Builders use it to move items upward or to feed items into a machine one at a time, for example a dropper chain that carries items up a tower.

JavaIn Java a dropper can also fire when the space right above it gets power, even if nothing is there, and a piston cannot push it.

BedrockIn Bedrock only power touching the dropper itself sets it off, and a piston can push it around.

TipPower it with a clock (a repeating pulse) and it will drop one item per pulse, so the pulse count is your item count. Hold power on it and it fires only once, and any extra pulses that arrive during its short delay are ignored.

A hopper is a funnel with 5 slots that moves items for you. It grabs items dropped on it, pulls from a chest above it and pushes items into whatever its spout points at. Give it redstone power and it stops moving items itself, but other hoppers can still fill it or empty it. Chain hoppers to feed a furnace or sort a storage room.

JavaIn Java a hopper never moves when a piston pushes it, and redstone two blocks above it does nothing to it. Lock it with a lever or a comparator and it stops working while the power is on, then picks up right where it left off when the power goes.

BedrockIn Bedrock a piston can push a hopper around, and the hopper can sit inside water. Power it to freeze it (the lock can take a split moment to catch), unpower it and it carries on.

TipAim at the side of the chest you want the spout to touch, and sneak if the chest would open instead. To pause a hopper column, lock two hoppers in a row.

A rail is the plain track that minecarts ride on. It sits on top of a block, can go straight, turn a corner, or climb one block at a time, and it snaps itself into shape to join the rails next to it. Power does not make it push a cart, but power can flip a corner rail at a T-junction so the cart goes the other way, which is how you build a switch track. Example: a mine track that carries you and your loot from a mineshaft back up to your base.

JavaWhen you place a rail with nothing next to it, it points the way you are facing. Most mobs will not step onto rails, so a rail line works as a soft fence, but spiders and wardens ignore that and any mob already standing on a rail keeps walking.

BedrockWhen you place a rail with nothing next to it, it always lies north to south, so you may need to place a second rail to turn it. Mobs walk over rails like any other block, so a rail line is not a fence here.

TipA fresh T or cross junction always curves toward the south or east. If a cart goes the wrong way at a junction, give the corner rail redstone power and it flips to the other curve.

A powered rail is a gold rail that speeds a minecart up when it has redstone power and slows it down when it does not. Power it with a lever, a torch or dust pointing at it and a rolling cart gets a push. Left unpowered it works as a brake: one rail stops a slow cart, but a full or fast cart needs two in a row. Put a few along a minecart line to keep carts moving, and unpowered ones at the station to stop them.

JavaMost animals and monsters will not walk onto rails in Java, so a line of rails works like a fence. It is not a perfect fence: spiders walk right over it, and hopping or teleporting mobs can still land on it.

BedrockWorks the same way, but Bedrock only switches powered rails at set moments, so they can react a split second after the lever. Mobs in Bedrock walk over rails freely.

TipTo make a launcher, put a powered rail against a normal solid block like stone (not glass), park a cart on it, then power the rail: the cart shoots away from the block. On flat ground, a short row of powered rails gets a stopped cart up to full speed.

An activator rail is a track piece that does something to a minecart rolling over it, but only while it gets power from a lever, a button, redstone dust or a torch. With power, it throws riders out of their cart, lights the fuse of a TNT minecart, and stops a hopper minecart from collecting items. Without power, carts roll over it like a normal rail. Example: put a powered one at your station so the ride drops you off there.

JavaIn Java, an activator rail placed with nothing to join, or squeezed between rails on two different sides, points the way you are facing. Java also spares the rail and the block under it when a TNT minecart it lit blows up on it.

BedrockIn Bedrock, a lone activator rail lines up north to south and a crowded one lines up east to west, and it flips to east-west on its own if you later place a rail to its east or west, so check the rail after placing. Bedrock also breaks the rail if flowing water runs over it, and it only reacts to power on Bedrock's own redstone timing.

TipPower one activator rail in the middle of a straight line and it passes the power to 8 rails on each side, so one lever runs a row of 17. A lever at the end of the row reaches only 9 rails.

A wooden door is a two-block-tall gate you can open by hand, and redstone can open it for you. Put power next to either half, or right above or below the door (a lever, a pressure plate, a powered block), and it swings open right away; take the power away and it closes right away. Example: a pressure plate in front of your house that opens the door as you walk up to it.

JavaFeels the same as Bedrock, with a few Java-only touches. Some vindicators open a wooden door instead of smashing it, some zombified piglins can break one, and a door built underwater keeps a pocket of air.

BedrockWorks the same for redstone, with a few Bedrock differences. A door built underwater fills with water instead of keeping a pocket of air, and zombified piglins never break doors.

TipKeep a solid block under the bottom half. If that block is broken or pushed away the door pops off as an item, and a piston that pushes into a door breaks it too.

A wooden trapdoor is a flat hatch you can flip open with a right click or with redstone power. Power it and it swings open at once; cut the power and it snaps shut. It is great for a hidden drop into a secret room, a mob trap floor, or a little hatch over a ladder. Mobs think every trapdoor is closed, so they happily walk over an open one and fall through.

JavaIn Java an open trapdoor right above a ladder can be climbed like part of the ladder. Crimson and warped trapdoors do not catch fire from lava.

BedrockIn Bedrock a trapdoor only reacts to power at set moments, and there is no ladder trick. Even crimson and warped trapdoors can catch fire from lava.

TipIf you close a powered wooden trapdoor by hand it stays shut. Turn the power off and back on to open it with redstone again.

A fence gate is the door of your fence: closed, most mobs cannot jump over it, and open, you and your animals walk straight through. Give it power and it swings open on its own; take the power away and it swings shut. Example: put a pressure plate in front of your cow pen gate and it opens as you walk up to it.

JavaIn Java a gate cannot sit in water, but you can stand a torch or a pressure plate on top of it.

BedrockIn Bedrock a gate can sit in water, so it works in flooded builds too, but nothing like a torch or a pressure plate stays on top of it.

TipShut a powered gate by hand and it stays shut until the power goes off and comes back on. Pistons can push a gate without breaking it, and a moved gate can stay open until something nearby changes. A wind charge also flips a gate open or shut.

An iron door and an iron trapdoor are doors that only redstone can open. Clicking them does nothing: you need a button, lever, pressure plate or any other power next to them. The moment power arrives they swing open, and the moment it stops they swing shut. A classic use is a front door with a stone button on the outside and a pressure plate on the inside: mobs cannot press a stone button, so they stay out, and you walk out over the plate. Put the plate outside instead and any mob that steps on it walks in.

JavaIn Java you can put the door under water and it stays dry inside, so an iron door makes a handy air pocket. An open iron trapdoor sitting right above a ladder can be climbed like part of the ladder.

BedrockIn Bedrock the iron door fills with water instead of keeping it out, so it cannot make an underwater air pocket, but it still keeps lava out. Doors and trapdoors can also react a split second later.

TipPower that reaches a block right next to the door or trapdoor opens it, so hide your wiring in the wall and keep the front clean. Never push an iron door with a piston or move the block under it: the door pops off. A trapdoor can be pushed.