Minecraft Observer

You can use redstone torches, redstone repeaters, and many other redstone components to build various different redstone contraptions. You can build a piston door, automate a farm, or even create something completely different.

And if you have ever built a redstone contraption in Minecraft, chances are that you came across a block named "Observer". If you never got to use it, then make sure to keep reading! This article will cover everything that you need to know about the Observer in Minecraft.

How to craft an Observer in Minecraft

Let us first take a look into crafting an observer. Luckily, this step is quite easy and straightforward. You will need the following items and blocks:

• 6 Cobblestone
• 2 Redstone Dust
• 1 Nether Quartz

If you have already been to the nether, then chances are that you already have all the ingredients that you need. This is what the crafting recipe looks like:


If you have just recently started a new world, then you will of course have to get to the nether first. And if you see yourself browsing the internet for crafting recipes frequently, then we can recommend you the "Just Enough Items" Minecraft Mod.

If you are unsure on how to install Minecraft Mods or if you have not done so before because you do not want to go through the struggle of manually updating them, then we can recommend Badlion Client to you.


Badlion Client comes with more than 100 Minecraft Mods for you to choose from including the "Just Enough Items" Minecraft Mod, which we mentioned just now. You can download Badlion Client completely here for free today.

You can also see crafting recipes in Minecraft without any Minecraft Mods. As of Minecraft 1.20, you can now find a recipe book in your inventory or a crafting table. This of course makes it much easier to check crafting recipes as you do not have to browse the web every single time. However, the recipe book also comes with its limitations.


To unlock a recipe, you will require a certain item. This means that you cannot see all crafting recipes right-away and that you wouldn’t know what items to farm if you want to craft something.

The "Just Enough Items" Minecraft Mod shows you all recipes right-away without having to unlock anything, which makes it much more useful and handy.

What is the Observer useful for in Minecraft?

We mentioned earlier that there are various different redstone contraptions in Minecraft. The Observer is one of them. And as the name suggests, it observes a 1x1 area in front of it.

If a block is placed, broken, or changed, then the observer will emit a redstone signal with a redstone power of 15 for two ticks.


One thing to keep in mind is that the observer only detects changes on the side that looks like an observing face. The redstone signal is emitted on the opposite side of the observing face.

What about the Minecraft Bedrock Edition?

The Observer in the Minecraft Java Edition and the Bedrock Edition have the same purpose. However, the way they work is nonetheless somewhat different.

In the Bedrock Edition, the Observer block only detects block updates. In the Java Edition, it detects block state changes. This means that the Observer can detect many more things in the Java Edition than it can in the Bedrock Edition.

An example for this would be crop growth detection. If a crop grows, the Observer can emit a redstone signal in the Java Edition. However, in the Bedrock Edition it would not emit a signal.

What else is the Observer useful for in Minecraft?

Despite redstone contraptions the Observer is not of much use in Minecraft. Another thing that you can do with it, is place it below a noteblock, which will then change the sound that the noteblock emits to a bass sound.


You can also use the Observer to build a flying machine in Minecraft as the Observer block being moved also counts as a block update. This way you can build TNT duping machines, move through the air and much more.