How to make a chest sorter in Minecraft

A Minecraft player's inventory is finite, and as such, tends to fill up sooner rather than later as players continue to collect blocks and items.

Due to the way blocks and items work in Minecraft, players can create item sorters using a few different blocks. Players can then simply place certain items in a given recepticle and watch as they deposit in the necessary chests.

This can be incredibly helpful, as it allows players to keep their inventories open and keep their deposited items sorted, avoiding the headaches of combing through disorganized chests for certain blocks or items found on a player's Minecraft adventures.

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Minecraft: Constructing a chest sorter

Using an item sorter should keep plenty of space available for a player's inventory (Image via Reddit user Mafinam)

Constructing an item sorter in Minecraft shouldn't require too many blocks and materials, although players will need more depending on the size of their sorter. A strictly basic item sorter would require approximately:

• 20 chests
• 24 hoppers
• 24 redstone dust
• 8 redstone torches
• 8 redstone comparators
• 8 redstone repeaters
• 48 solid building blocks
• 8 glass blocks

The toughest Minecraft blocks in this particular build are mostly redstone comparators and repeaters, which should be easily built with stone, redstone torches, and nether quartz/redstone dust.

Additionally, Minecraft players should also collect a sizable amount of the items they'd like to sort. Some excellent choices include building blocks, food items, or precious ores like diamonds or ancient debris.

To construct an item sorter, players can follow the steps below:

1. Place down two solid blocks next to each other horizontally.
2. Place two chests on these blocks.
3. Crouch down, and place seven more double chests connected to the one made in step 2. Minecraft players simply need to back up and continuing placing double chests until they have a total of eight. Only the original double chest should have blocks underneath it at this point.
4. Break the two blocks placed in step 1.
5. Behind the row of double chests, place hoppers connecting into them.
6. Crouch down and place a block behind each hopper.
7. Place comparators on each of the blocks from step 6.
8. On top of the hoppers, place another row of hoppers aiming towards the comparators.
9. One block behind and one block below the blocks placed in step 6, place another row of building blocks, eight in total.
10. Build two more 1x8 rows behind the row of blocks placed in step 9.
11. On top of the last 1x8 row of blocks, place an additional 1x8 row of blocks.
12. One block behind and below the comparators, place a row of repeaters facing the comparators. The prongs of the repeaters should be facing the direction of the comparators.
13. On the row of blocks built in step 11, place redstone torches across the row facing the repeaters. This should activate the repeaters.
14. Place a glass block on top of each redstone torch.
15. Place a 1x8 row of building blocks on the side of these glass blocks facing the comparators.
16. Place 8 redstone dust on the row of blocks built in step 11.
17. Place 8 redstone dust on top of the glass blocks.
18. Place 8 redstone dust on top of the adjacent building blocks, this should create a line of wiring to the comparators.
19. Crouch down and place a solid block on top of the rightmost hopper, then place a double chest on the right side of this solid block. Then destroy the solid block, creating a floating double chest.
20. Place a hopper facing the floating chest, then seven more all connecting to it in a row.
21. On the top left hopper, place another double chest, with half of the chest sticking out to the left.
22. Open the leftmost hopper in the middle row and put 41 of an item you wish to sort inside on the leftmost slot. Place one item you don't want the item to sort in the rest of the hopper slots.
23. Open the leftmost hopper in the bottom row and put one of the items you wish to sort in the leftmost slot. Ensure that this item is the exact same as the one placed in step 22.
24. Repeat steps 22 and 23 for the rest of the hoppers in the sorter.
25. The item sorter should be complete now from a mechanical standpoint. For a final touch, place building blocks on top of the lowest row of chests. Minecraft players can then place item frames that mark which chest sorts which item.

Though it takes some time and resources, once an item sorter is complete, Minecraft players will be happy to have it.

To operate the sorter, all Minecraft players need to do is place their items within the top left double chest. The items will sift through the hoppers and sort into the bottom row of chests. Any items that the sorter does not sort appropriately will be placed in the floating double chest to the right.