When it comes down to it, Minecraft is a fairly simple game to play. Things are pretty intuitive in terms of crafting, especially since a recipe book allows you to go back and check all the recipes you know so far. However, there’s one form of craft in the game that’s only reserved for the smartest: Redstone contraptions.
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If Redstone in Minecraft feels like a foreign language, no need to worry. Just replicating a few basic farms tends to teach the basics to a player. Redstone is worth getting into because of how many things can be automated and simplified. Less time tending to crops will mean more time spent building or exploring. Without further ado, here are some Redstone contraptions that are insanely useful.
Updated on November 6, 2025, by Anastasia Maillot: The last couple of Minecraft updates have changed a few things regarding Redstone, and due to this, some contraptions now have links to up-to-date designs. There are also a couple of new contraptions for players to try, namely one that involves the sculk sensor, which introduces sound detection to Redstone builds.
The difficulty level of these contraptions is ranked out of five, with five being the most difficult.
Gold Farm
Earn Plenty of Gold and XP
- Difficulty Level: 4/5
- Blocks Required: Turtle Egg, Obsidian, Trapdoors, Slabs, Ladders, Chests, Glass, Ender Pearl, Flint and Steel
One of the more laborious farms to create is a gold farm. Players will need to access the Nether roof for it, which requires digging upwards until hitting bedrock, and then using an Ender Pearl to glitch through. The Nether roof is completely flat without hazards, so it’s easy to traverse and ideal for controlling mob spawns for farms like this. Since mobs don’t spawn on bedrock, any block placed on the Nether roof will attract mob spawns.
A gold farm specifically involves Zombie Pigmen. They can be lured in through a portal system that links the turtle egg lure to the killing area where the player is waiting. It’s a ton of gold in just a few kills and decent XP as well, though it can be finicky to set up with the Nether portals. Ianxofour has the most timeless design that still works in the current Java version.
Super Secret Door
Use the Calibrated Sculk Sensor and Lectern to Your Advantage
- Difficulty Level: 1/5
- Blocks Required: Sticky Pistons, Repeaters, Comparators, Observer, Block of Redstone, Lectern, Book and Quill, Calibrated Sculk Sensor, Redstone, Any Building Blocks
Sculk sensors were introduced in the Caves and Cliffs update, and Calibrated Sculk sensors followed in Trails and Tales, which helped solidify a spot for them in Redstone builds. A Calibrated Sculk sensor is a thing of beauty when paired with a lectern, as it can read certain sounds in order to send out a Redstone signal.
This means it’s possible to make various super-secret doors that are only activated upon performing certain actions, such as putting on armor, which makes a sound the sensor will detect. The player is free to choose whatever key they want for their secret door; it’s just the lectern that needs to be adjusted for a change. To get a better idea of what a secret door like this can do and look like, check out Jax and Wild’s tutorial.
Minecart Loading Station
A Quick Way To Get Down Into The Mines
- Difficulty Level: 2/5
- Blocks Required: Building blocks, Dirt, Crops, Composters, Minecarts, Rails, Button, Beds
Building a mine is a given in Minecraft. It’s important to dig deep to find items like Diamonds, Redstone, and underground structures. Minecarts are something used as a quick way to get up and down those mines. However, they are easily lost, meaning a new cart may be needed for each journey.
Building a quick and easy minecart station is something to help keep track of minecarts and for an easy and smooth journey down into the abyss. Also, it looks better from an aesthetic point of view, having some sort of structure in the mine to help build up the world. MumboJumbo has a simple version of this build over on YouTube.
