The Item Network
Wire an input, sorted containers, and a fallback into one wireless network that routes items across distance with no hoppers.
The Item Network is a wireless sorting system. You dump loot into one input container, and the network routes each item to the sorted container that holds its kind, dropping anything unmatched into a fallback. There are no hopper lines to build and no rails to run. The containers can sit apart across your base, and the network still moves items between them.
Network vs. Chest Links
These two storage systems solve different problems, and they pair well.
- Chest Links join several chests so they share one inventory. Open any linked chest and you see the same contents. It is the right tool for a wall of storage that reads as a single big chest.
- The Item Network keeps containers separate and routes items between them by category. It is the right tool for a sorting hall where ores go one way, food another, and blocks a third.
Use Chest Links to pool storage. Use the Item Network to sort it.
What you set up
- An input container. The one place you dump a full inventory after a trip.
- Sorted containers. Each one claims a category. The network reads what a container already holds and files matching items there. Ordinary
chests work, and so do 
barrels, copper, and 
shulker variants. - A fallback container. Anything that matches no sorted container lands here, so nothing is ever lost.
Building one
- Craft the network's core component and its connecting parts.
- Set your input, sorted, and fallback containers.— drop items into a sorted chest first so it knows what to file there
- Craft and attach a range upgrade to extend how far the network reaches.— range steps up through set tiers
- Drop loot in the input and let it sort itself.
Range climbs through fixed tiers as you upgrade — from short-range at the base all the way to unlimited with the top upgrade:
| Range upgrade | Approx. reach |
|---|---|
| Base | 25 blocks |
| Tier 2 | 50 blocks |
| Tier 3 | 100 blocks |
| Tier 4 | 200 blocks |
| Tier 5 | 500 blocks |
| Top | Unlimited |
Limits and tips
- You can run up to 20 networks of your own. That is plenty for even a large base broken into zones.
- If a far container stops receiving items, your network has outgrown its current range tier. Craft the next one up.
- Containers still need to sit in loaded chunks for items to flow.
Want to see who else has a network nearby, or list your own? The /networks command shows them.
See also
- The Smeltery — smelt in bulk, then let the network file the ingots
- Ender Hoppers — pipe a remote farm's output into portable storage
- Automation — the rest of the systems that work while you play