Light


Info

Trivia

  • Even though hostile mobs spawn in light levels of 7 and lower, and thunderstorms allow a light level of 8, hostile mobs will still spawn during a thunderstorm, because it is dark enough.
  • Rarely, a Lightning Bolt can emit a light level lower than 5.
  • Charged Creepers will sometimes emit a light level that is the same as a Redstone Torch.
  • When a player drinks a Potion of Night Vision, light sources (excluding the sun), gain a dim color.

Trivia

  • In Minecraft`s source code, the luminescences are defined using the floating point values in the third column. In a weird quirk, these floating point numbers are fractions of 16, but are multiplied by 15 to get the integer light value.
    • This means that both 0/16 and 1/16 (0.0 and 0.0625) correspond to the integer light value 0.

Videos

Brightness

Lighting curves. Horizontal axis is block light, vertical is sky light.

There are 16 light levels, which are specified by an integer from 0 (the minimum) to 15 (the maximum). The game uses the light level of a block See the various blocks found in Minecraft. For the blocking with shields that reduces damage when performed, see Blocking. All blocks Blocks are the basic units of structure in Minecraft. Contents 1 minecraft to compute the brightness of a given block.

The brightness of a block depends on both the level of light from other blocks and the level of sky light. Note "sky light" here is not reduced at night, instead the brightness curve itself changes based on the time. In this it matches the sky lighting value on the debug screen Java Edition Only Screenshot showing the debug information "Debug" redirects here. For world type, see Debug mode. The debug screen is triggered when the F3 key is pressed. It shows the chunk cache, the memory minecraft .

In general, lighting due to blocks results in a higher brightness, which is balanced by the fact that light due to blocks effectively starts at 14 (solid light-source blocks emit a level of 15, but that`s for the light source block itself) while sky-light brightness is 15 outdoors. Light due to blocks also tends towards orange in the middle ranges, while sky light in the Overworld The Overworld, as seen in an extreme hills and a forest biome The Overworld is the dimension in which all players begin their Minecraft journey. Contents 1 Creation 1.1 Seeds 2 Environment 2.1 Biomes 2.2 minecraft daytime is white.

In the Overworld The Overworld, as seen in an extreme hills and a forest biome The Overworld is the dimension in which all players begin their Minecraft journey. Contents 1 Creation 1.1 Seeds 2 Environment 2.1 Biomes 2.2 minecraft with the "Moody" brightness setting, full daylight reaches 98% brightness, while at night brightness is reduced to about 17% and is shaded blue. Full darkness is about 5% brightness.

In the Nether A view of the Nether. The Nether is a hell-like dimension, filled with fire, lava, and dangerous mobs. Contents 1 Accessing 2 Environment 2.1 Mobs 3 Generation 3.1 Naturally generated 3.2 Naturally created 3.3 Structures minecraft , sky lighting doesn`t play a role since there is no source of sky light (although if there were, it would reach about 99% brightness.) Full darkness with the "Moody" brightness setting is at about 25% brightness, which is only slightly darker than a block light level of 7 and no sky light in the Overworld, and is shaded orange like block light.

In the End See the dimension. For the achievement, see Achievements#The End.. For the advancement, see Advancements#The End. A view of the central End island. The ender dragon can be seen flying around obsidian pillars, minecraft , sky lighting wouldn`t play a role even if there were a source of sky light; this can also be seen if lightning Lightning during a thunderstorm. A lightning bolt strikes a tree. A creeper can be seen hopping about in the woods. If it had been closer to the strike, it would have become charged. Thunderstorms are minecraft is summoned in the End, there is no flash of brightness like there is in other dimensions. Full darkness in the End with the "Moody" brightness setting is about 28% brightness, and is shaded towards a bluish-green rather than the orange of the Nether and of block lighting.

  1. ⃢₆ₑ a b c d e f Brightness here refers to ITU-R BT.601 luminance value (luma)

Spread

T 13 12 11 10 9 8 9 10 11 12 13 T
13 12 11 10 9 8 9 8 9 10 11 12 13
12 11 10 9 8 9 10 9 8 9 10 11 12
11 10 9 8 9 10 11 10 9 8 9 10 11
10 9 8 9 10 11 12 11 10 9 8 9 10
9 8 9 10 11 12 13 12 11 10 9 8 9
8 9 10 11 12 13 T 13 12 11 10 9 8

The light from light-emitting blocks decreases by one light-level for each meter (block) of distance from the light source. Note that this applies to each of the 3 axes including N/S, E/W, and up/down. In other words, light decreases diagonally by "taxicab distance", or the sum of the distance along each axis. This means that if a torch (level 14) is placed on the floor, the light level on the adjacent floor blocks in all four direction will be 13 while the diagonal blocks in all four directions will have light level 12 (e.g. 14 minus 1 south, minus 1 east). Along a floor, this effect produces a diamond-shaped pattern of illumination around the light source. Remember, light decrease takes place in three dimensions. This means that if a torch (level 14) is placed on a wall one block up from the floor, then the block on the floor that is diagonally one block way will have a light level of 11 (e.g. 14 minus 1 south, minus 1 east, minus 1 down).

Sources of light

Blocks

Level 0–3 Level 4-7 Level 8 Level 9 Level 10 Level 11 Level 12 Level 13–15

Snow layers


Ice Ice Transparency PC: Partial (-2 to light) PE: No Luminance No Blast resistance 2.5 Tool Renewable Yes Stackable Yes (64) Flammable No Drops None Data value dec: 79 hex: 4F bin: 1001111 Name ice See minecraft
Forms, does not melt Forms and melts Melts

Mushroom
s Mushroom Type Ingredient Block Restores None Cookable No Renewable Yes Stackable Yes (64) Luminance Yes, 1 (brown only) First appearances See History Data values See Data values Name See Data values See minecraft
Spread Uproot unless on mycelium or podzol Podzol Transparency No Luminance No Blast resistance 2.5 Tool Renewable No Stackable Yes, (64) Flammable No Availability Mega Taiga Drops Dirt (1) Data values PCPersonal Computer edition dec: 32 hex: 32 bin: 112 Pocket edition dec: 243 hex: F3 bin: 11110011 Name minecraft

Sapling
s Mushroom Type Ingredient Block Restores None Cookable No Renewable Yes Stackable Yes (64) Luminance Yes, 1 (brown only) First appearances See History Data values See Data values Name See Data values See minecraft


Pumpkin
or Melon Melon Seeds Transparency Yes Luminance No Blast resistance 0 Tool None Renewable Yes Stackable Yes (64) Flammable No Drops Melon Seeds (0–3) Data values Block dec: 105 hex: 69 bin: 1101001 Item dec: 362 hex: 16A bin: 101101010 Name See Data minecraft stems
Does not grow Grows

Wheat


Carrot
s Mushroom Type Ingredient Block Restores None Cookable No Renewable Yes Stackable Yes (64) Luminance Yes, 1 (brown only) First appearances See History Data values See Data values Name See Data values See minecraft


Potato
es Potato Type Food Restores 1 () Cookable Yes Renewable Yes Stackable Yes (64) Experience Cooked: 0.35 First appearances See History Data values Block dec: 142 hex: 8E bin: 10001110 Item dec: 392 hex: 188 bin: 110001000 Name Block potatoes Item potato minecraft


Beetroot
s Mushroom Type Ingredient Block Restores None Cookable No Renewable Yes Stackable Yes (64) Luminance Yes, 1 (brown only) First appearances See History Data values See Data values Name See Data values See minecraft
Uproot Does not grow Grows

Grass Block


Mycelium
Becomes dirt if opaque block or partially transparent block on top Does not spread Spreads to nearby dirt (see below)

Dirt
Does not accept spread Accepts spread if no opaque or partially transparent block on top
  1. Sunlight does not affect snow and ice. The relevant light level is what would be in the block if it were air Air Type Non-Solid Block Transparency Yes Luminance No Data value dec: 0 hex: 0 bin: 0 Name air Air is the block present in otherwise empty space. Contents 1 Obtaining 1.1 Natural generation 2 Usage 3 History 4 minecraft .
  2. For growth, the relevant light level is that in the block above the plant. The growth of pumpkins or melons from a stem checks the light above the stem, not the block where the pumpkin or melon grows.
  3. For growth, the relevant light level is that in the block above the plant. For uprooting, the relevant light level is the plant block itself.
  4. a b The relevant light level is that in the air block above it. "Partially transparent" blocks are those that reduce light by at least 3 levels (2 in addition to the normal propagation reduction), such as water or ice.

Other

Level 0⃢₀ₓ3 Level 4-7 Level 8 Level 9 Level 10 Level 11 Level 12 Level 13⃢₀ₓ15
Ambience A dark cave. This is where one will most likely hear ambient sounds. Ambience (cave sounds in console edition and eerie noise according to subtitles) is a set of sounds that occasionally play when the minecraft On Off

Light-filtering blocks

How ice affects light. Click through to see it animated between ice and water.

Opaque When leaves are opaque (in "fast" graphics), they completely block rendering. When leaves are transparent (in "fancy" graphics), the world behind them is also rendered. Opacity (and its inverse, transparency) are properties of blocks with minecraft blocks prevent the spread of light; a 21⃗21 square of opaque material is enough to spawn mobs in the shadow underneath. By contrast, some transparent blocks such as glass Glass Transparency Yes Luminance No Blast resistance 1.5 Tool Any tool Renewable Yes Stackable Yes (64) Flammable No Drops None Data values Glass: dec: 20 hex: 14 bin: 10100 Stained Glass: PC: dec: 95 hex: 5F bin: 1011111 PE: dec: 241 hex: F1 minecraft and iron bars Iron Bars Transparency Yes Luminance No Blast resistance 30 Tool Renewable Yes Stackable Yes (64) Flammable No Drops Itself Data value dec: 101 hex: 65 bin: 1100101 Name iron_bars See the decorative block. For the minecraft have no effect on light level. All other transparent blocks reduce the spread of light.

Leaves Leaves Transparency Partial (diffuses sky light) Luminance No Blast resistance 1 Tool Renewable Yes Stackable Yes (64) Flammable Yes Drops Sapling (0–1) @@@#@@@Apple(apple.com)###@### (0–1) (from oak and dark oak leaves) Data values Oak/Spruce/Birch/Jungle dec: 18 hex: 12 minecraft and cobwebs Cobweb Transparency Partial (diffuses sky light) Luminance No Blast resistance 20 Tools Renewable No Stackable Yes (64) Flammable No Drops String (1) Data value dec: 30 hex: 1E bin: 11110 Name web Cobwebs are blocks that slow down minecraft do not have any extra effect on block light, but they do diffuse sky light. The light level from sunlight The sun. The sun is a celestial body that provides light and life for the Minecraft world. Contents 1 Daytime 2 Sunlight 2.1 Effects on mobs 3 History 4 Issues 5 Trivia 6 Gallery 7 minecraft or moonlight A full moon. The moon is a celestial body that appears during the Minecraft night. Contents 1 Nighttime 1.1 Stars 2 Phases 2.1 Effects on mobs 3 History 4 Issues 5 Trivia 6 Gallery 7 minecraft is the same in each block of air Air Type Non-Solid Block Transparency Yes Luminance No Data value dec: 0 hex: 0 bin: 0 Name air Air is the block present in otherwise empty space. Contents 1 Obtaining 1.1 Natural generation 2 Usage 3 History 4 minecraft in the column of air above the highest obstruction in the column. When placed, leaves and cobwebs obstruct that light column so that the lowest air block above the leaves acts as other light sources do. As you descend below the leaves, the light level diminishes with distance like it would from other light sources such as torches. To control this effect, create an opaque 1⃗1 chimney with leaves at its opening above you.

The following values are the amount each block decreases the light value. The light emitted decreases by one for each block of distance from the light source, more depending on the block through which it passes.

Icon Block Amount of decrease
Farmland.png Farmland Farmland Transparency PC: Partial (Blocks light) PE: Yes Luminance No Blast resistance 3 Tool Renewable No Stackable Yes (64) Flammable No Drops Dirt (1) Data value dec: 60 hex: 3C bin: 111100 Name farmland “ Want to live minecraft Full decrease as if opaque Java Minecraft Author(s) Mojang AB (Credits) Markus "Notch" Persson (Creator) Jens "Jeb" Bergensten (Lead Developer) Jon "jonkagstrom" Kågström (AI Programmer) Nathan "Dinnerbone" Adams Erik "Grum" Broes Michael "Searge" Stoyke Thomas "ProfMobius" Guimbretière Agnes "LadyAgnes" Larsson Maria minecraft and Console Console Edition Author(s) Mojang AB 4J Studios Platform(s) Written in C++ Latest version Xbox 360 - TU53 Xbox One - CU43 PS3 - 1.51 PS4 - 1.50 PSVita - 1.51 Wii U - Patch 23 minecraft editions
Cobblestone Slab.png Slab Slab Transparency Double slab: No Single slab: Partial (blocks light) Luminance No Blast resistance Wood: 15 Stone: 30 Tools Renewable Stone: Yes Wood: Yes (except Fake Wood) Cobblestone: Yes Stone Brick: Yes Purpur: Yes Quartz: minecraft
Cobblestone Stairs.png Stairs Stairs Transparency Partial (blocks light) Luminance No Blast resistance Wood: 15 Stone: 30 Sandstone, Quartz, Red Sandstone: 4 Tools Renewable Cobblestone, Stone Brick, Wood, Purpur: Yes All others: No Stackable Yes (64) Flammable Wood: Yes minecraft
Ice.png Ice Ice Transparency PC: Partial (-2 to light) PE: No Luminance No Blast resistance 2.5 Tool Renewable Yes Stackable Yes (64) Flammable No Drops None Data value dec: 79 hex: 4F bin: 1001111 Name ice See minecraft 2
Water.png Water Water Transparency Partial (-2 to light) Luminance No Blast resistance 500 (Flowing) 500 (Still) Tool Renewable Yes Stackable N/A Flammable No Drops None Data values Flowing Water dec: 08 hex: 8 bin: 1000 Still Water dec: 09 hex: 9 bin: 1001 minecraft
Cobweb.png Cobweb Cobweb Transparency Partial (diffuses sky light) Luminance No Blast resistance 20 Tools Renewable No Stackable Yes (64) Flammable No Drops String (1) Data value dec: 30 hex: 1E bin: 11110 Name web Cobwebs are blocks that slow down minecraft None, but diffuses sky light at the top-most block
Leaves.png Leaves Leaves Transparency Partial (diffuses sky light) Luminance No Blast resistance 1 Tool Renewable Yes Stackable Yes (64) Flammable Yes Drops Sapling (0–1) AppleTechnology company (0–1) (from oak and dark oak leaves) Data values Oak/Spruce/Birch/Jungle dec: 18 hex: 12 minecraft

Effects of light

Note: Keep in mind that light level is only one of the considerations that apply to mob spawning and plant growth.

Mobs

Level 0–3 Level 4-7 Level 8 Level 9 Level 10 Level 11 Level 12 Level 13–15

Bats
Spawn at y: 0-62 Spawn at y: 0-62 from Oct. 20th to Nov. 3rd Do not spawn

Blazes
Spawn in Nether Fortresses Hostile, do not spawn

Wither skeletons
Spawn in Nether Fortresses Hostile, do not spawn

Silverfish
Spawn in the Overworld The Overworld, as seen in an extreme hills and a forest biome The Overworld is the dimension in which all players begin their Minecraft journey. Contents 1 Creation 1.1 Seeds 2 Environment 2.1 Biomes 2.2 minecraft Hostile, do not spawn

Slimes
Spawn in swamp biomes at y: 51–69 Spawn in certain chunks in most biomes (except mushroom island, the Nether, the End, and the Void) at y: 0–40

Zombies

Skeletons
Spawn in the Overworld Hostile, do not spawn Hostile, burns in sunlight The sun. The sun is a celestial body that provides light and life for the Minecraft world. Contents 1 Daytime 2 Sunlight 2.1 Effects on mobs 3 History 4 Issues 5 Trivia 6 Gallery 7 minecraft

Creepers

Witches
Spawn in the Overworld Hostile, do not spawn

Spiders

Cave spiders
Spawn in the Overworld Hostile, do not spawn Do not spawn, neutral unless provoked

Endermen
Spawn in the Overworld, the Nether A view of the Nether. The Nether is a hell-like dimension, filled with fire, lava, and dangerous mobs. Contents 1 Accessing 2 Environment 2.1 Mobs 3 Generation 3.1 Naturally generated 3.2 Naturally created 3.3 Structures minecraft and the End See the dimension. For the achievement, see Achievements#The End.. For the advancement, see Advancements#The End. A view of the central End island. The ender dragon can be seen flying around obsidian pillars, minecraft Do not spawn, neutral unless provoked Do not spawn, teleports randomly and often ignores players when in sunlight
  1. These restrictions only apply when spawning from a monster spawner, and not from a Silverfish block.

Smooth lighting

The difference between Smooth Lighting on and off.

Smooth lighting (which includes ambient occlusion as well as interpolating lighting across block faces) is a lighting engine that blends light levels and darkens corners to add semi-realistic shadows and glowing from light sources.

This lighting engine is set on by default, and can be set to minimum, maximum, or off by accessing Video Options from the Options menu.

Video

History

Classic
? The lighting engine in Classic was very simple, since there were only two light levels, bright and dark. "Sunlight" is emitted by the top edge of the map and will hit any block that is under it, regardless of distance. It will pass through transparent blocks to light blocks underneath. Blocks that do not receive light are in a dim shadow that remains at the same level of brightness no matter how far they are from a light source.
Indev
0.31 Added 16 degrees of brightness, with a maximum of 15 for full daylight and a minimum of 0 for almost complete darkness. Brightness is a linear scale and represents its value divided by 15; for example 15 is 100% (1515) and 13 is 86.67% (1315).
Sunlight now has a maximum light value of 15, and steadily decreases from dusk, until it reaches a night-time minimum value of 4, representing moonlight.
Alpha
? Lighting is no longer linear.
Each brightness value below 15 is 80% as bright as the one above it. For instance, 14 is 80% as bright as 15, and 13 is 64% as bright as 15.
Sunlight now has its own light array and optimizations to make dawn and dusk smoother. During dusk, nighttime, and dawn, a "darkness" value is subtracted from the sky to create the effects of different times of day.
1.2.0 Halloween Update Added the Nether A view of the Nether. The Nether is a hell-like dimension, filled with fire, lava, and dangerous mobs. Contents 1 Accessing 2 Environment 2.1 Mobs 3 Generation 3.1 Naturally generated 3.2 Naturally created 3.3 Structures minecraft , where light decreases by 10% each level, rather than the normal 20%.
Hostile mobs could spawn in higher light levels at lower depths, using the formula 16 − (Layer / 8). At level 8 and below, mobs could spawn even in sunlight.
1.2.1 Notch reverted mob spawning to the original method, saying, "It was way too annoying. I have plans on what to do with this."
Beta
1.3 Smooth lighting engine added with the help of MrMessiah.
1.8 Implemented a new lighting engine. The lighting on a block is given a tint based on the most prominent source of light.
Day/night cycles no longer require chunk updates and is a smooth transition.
Artificial light now gives a very subtle "flicker."
Added void fog, which increases darkness at extreme depths.
Official release
1.4.2 12w39a Dinnerbone fixed black patches in world generation, and began overhauling the lighting systems such as changing the lighting of blocks to allow for directional lighting.
1.5 13w05a Improved lighting interaction with stairs.
13w06a Several lighting optimizations.
13w09a Added three different levels of smooth lighting: Off, Minimum, and Maximum. Minimum uses the old Smooth Lighting, and Maximum fixes a bug with stairs.
1.7.2 Black patches in world generation and structure generation were made a lot less common.
1.8 14w30a The lighting engine was significantly improved, removing most black spots present in world generation.
14w34c The void fog and particles were removed in order to improve performance.
Pocket Edition
1.1 Added Smooth Lighting toggle to Video options.

Issues

Issues relating to ⃢₀ₜLight⃢₀₝ are maintained on the issue tracker. Report issues there.

Gallery

Contents

show

    Overview

    Torches are the most common source of light during the night.

    There are 16 levels of light, the highest being produced by Sunlight. Light is decreased (or blocked entirely) when a block is situated in front of a light source. The block which decreases light the most is the base of a piston. The light level of a block affects whether or not certain Hostile Mobs will spawn on it.

    The Sun is the main source of light in Minecraft.

    Levels of Light

    The light level determines if hostile or passive mobs will spawn. For example, a Cow will spawn in light level 7 or higher on Grass blocks. This is also the case for Pigs, Chickens and Sheep. Hostile mobs, such as Skeletons and Zombies, will spawn in light levels 7 or lower. A player can keep Hostile mob from spawning in an area by lighting up the area with torches or other light-emitting objects.

    List of light levels in Minecraft:

    15: Sunlight, Jack o` Lanterns, Beacons, End Portal Blocks, Fire, Glowstone, Lava, Active Redstone Lamps, Sea Lanterns

    14: Torches

    13: Active Furnace

    12: Sunlight (during rain or snowfall), Glowing Obsidian (Pocket Edition only)

    11: Nether Portal blocks

    9: Redstone Ore (when touched)

    8: Sunlight (during thunderstorms), Ender Chests

    7: Powered Redstone Torches, Redstone Torch

    4: Moonlight

    1: Brewing Stands, brown mushrooms, Dragon Eggs, End Portal Frames

    Smooth Lighting

    The differences between on and off smooth lighting (click to see)

    Smooth lighting is the lighting engine added in Beta 1.3. This lighting engine is on by default (it is always on in Minecraft: Pocket Edition), and can be set to maximum, minimum or off by accessing Video Options from the Options menu.

    The engine blends lighting to add semi-realistic shadows and glow from light sources. It darkens inside corners, resulting in small spaces appearing much darker. Before Beta 1.3, the feature could be only obtained by modifying the game with the help of MrMessiah`s BetterLife Mod.

    The "maximum" smooth lighting toggle fixes bugs with stairs. However, this is an optional toggle. The "minimum performance" does not fix the bug.

    History

    Minecraft has been evolving over time, and the lighting system itself has changed along with it.

    Classic

    Smooth Lighting didn`t exist in Minecraft Classic. Instead, light spread on dim-lit areas. "Sunlight" was emitted by the top edge of the map and would hit any block that was under it. It would pass through transparent blocks to light blocks underneath. Blocks that did not receive light were in a dim shadow that remained at the same level of brightness, no matter how far the block was from a light source.

    Indev/Infdev

    In Indev and Infdev versions, there were 16 levels of brightness: 0 for almost complete darkness, and a maximum of 15 for full daylight.

    Alpha - Beta 1.2_02`

    Lighting in Alpha through pre-Beta 1.3 worked similar to Indev and Infdev, except the light scale was not linear.

    Beta 1.3 - Beta 1.7.3

    Lighting from Beta 1.3 to Beta 1.7.3 worked the same as it was in Alpha, but was optimized to allow smooth lighting".

    1.7.2

    Black patches in world generation and structure generation were fixed in update 1.7.2.