Minecraft’s chests are a great way to store your items and find them again later. But by now there are so many items that this process can become very tedious. There are automated storage systems, but they require a deep understanding of Redstone and hoppers (Minecraft Automatic Storage System: A Guide for Efficient Item Sorting) .
With update 1.21.9, the Copper Golem introduces a similar function that turns Minecraft’s entire storage system on its head! No more messy Redstone wiring and hoppers — the golem handles sorting for you. Let’s take a closer look at how it works and what limitations the system has.
Build the Minecraft Copper Golem: Instructions and materials
The Copper Golem is modeled after other mobs you also build in the Overworld, such as the iron golem, the snow golem, or the Wither. To build the Copper Golem, you only need a copper block at any desired stage of oxidation and a carved pumpkin or a jack o’lantern. You can place them in different configurations — the build works in all directions.
As soon as you place the pumpkin, not only does the Copper Golem appear, but also a copper chest beneath it. The golem immediately checks the copper chest for items and then sets off to deliver them to other chests.
Tip: Make sure your storage area is loaded (e.g., by being nearby or having active players on the server). Sorting pauses in unloaded chunks.
How the Copper Golem works: Automatic item sorting in Minecraft
A Copper Golem always looks first for an item it can sort. To do this, it accesses a copper chest, which doesn’t have to be the one it was summoned with. Once it finds an item in a copper chest, it searches within a radius of 64×16 blocks for a chest to deposit it. It must have direct access to the chest — either on the same level or exactly one block above or below. It always takes 3 seconds to play its search animation.
The golem scans up to 10 chests before it either finds a matching item or an empty slot. Chests within the radius are chosen at random. It can carry up to 16 items of a stack, or a single item for non-stackables.
If it doesn’t find a suitable chest — whether a copper chest with items or a matching chest to sort into — the golem pauses for 7 seconds and then starts over. It does not access chests currently being used by a player or another golem. You can’t hand it items, but you can take items from its hand when it’s about to sort them.
There’s a fun easter egg if an iron golem and a copper golem meet: the iron golem gives the copper golem a red flower and places it on its antenna. You can remove it with shears — an adorable detail!
Limits and range: What the Copper Golem can’t do
The Copper Golem is a great solution for a storage system, but it does have limitations. Some of these may have stood out in the description above. To work around them, you’ll need to design your storage accordingly.
The Copper Golem’s hurdles are:
- Limited search radius for chests
- Can only sort one block above or below itself
- Chest scanning is random; the golem does not remember chests
- Uses only chests (and trapped chests), but not shulkers, hoppers, boats, or minecarts
Pro tip: Label chests with item frames and items so you can keep track — it helps you and makes it easier to expand your system later.
Best storage layout: An efficient Copper Golem sorting system
Given these limits, we recommend a segmented system. Since a golem scans a maximum of ten chests, you shouldn’t present it with more than that.
Work in tiers, each with:
- one Copper Golem
- one copper chest (as the input point)
- ten chests for the respective items (pre-seeded)
- one overflow chest (in case chests fill up)
This guarantees that everything gets sorted and the golem doesn’t wander off. At the same time, you can group items. Each tier of the storage system can hold different item categories, e.g., wood, stone, ores, food, or building blocks. Just drop the relevant items into the copper chest, and the golem does the rest!
Additional tips:
- Keep the golem’s paths clear (no doors/traps that block it).
- Place chests at the same height or exactly one block offset.
- Use lighting to prevent hostile mobs in your storage area.
Copper chest in Minecraft: Crafting, properties, and tips
Since a copper chest appears with a golem, let’s take a closer look at it. You can also craft one separately by surrounding a regular chest with 8 copper ingots.
Copper chests work like regular chests and can also be used as a double chest. They have a different sound, which sets them apart. When a golem is nearby, it will scan this chest and try to sort from it. Copper chests also oxidize, going through the familiar four stages. However, this doesn’t change how the chest functions. Use an axe to de-oxidize or honeycomb (waxing) to preserve the current stage.
Note: Trapped chests also work with the Copper Golem. Shulker boxes are currently ignored — move contents into regular chests before sorting.
Copper Golem oxidation and de-oxidation: Statue, poses, and Redstone
A Copper Golem doesn’t stay bright orange forever. Like all copper blocks, it oxidizes if you don’t intervene. This doesn’t initially affect its function, but after just over 7 hours, it will eventually turn into a statue and can no longer move. If it was holding an item to sort, it drops it.
You can revive the golem by removing oxidation with an axe until its yellow eyes glow again. Or you can mine the statue with a pickaxe and use it as a decorative block. The statue comes in all four oxidation stages and can be posed in four different ways (sitting, standing, running, star pose), which can be read by a Redstone comparator.
As with all copper blocks, you can stop the process with honeycomb or reverse it with an axe. A lightning strike also resets oxidation. For large storage systems, it’s worth waxing all golems so they don’t eventually turn into statues.
Conclusion: Automatically sort Minecraft storage — without Redstone
With the latest update, you can leave your item sorting to the little Copper Golem. While it comes with a few hurdles, it’s much simpler than dealing with Redstone and hoppers. At the same time, there’s a new chest type and, with the golem statue, a great decorative block for your builds. Play together with your friends on one of our Minecraft servers and discover the new features of the Copper Age together!
