Daylight Detector

Daylight Detector

Regular

Inverted

Renewable	Yes
Stackable	Yes (64)
Tool
Blast resistance	0.2
Hardness	0.2
Luminous	No
Transparent	Yes
Waterloggable	JE: No BE: Yes
Flammable	No
Catches fire from lava	Yes
Map color	13 WOOD
Note block instrument	Bass

A daylight detector (also known as a daylight sensor) is a block that outputs a redstone signal based on its exposure to sky light.

Using the detector inverts it, causing it instead to output a constant strong signal that weakens from exposure to sky light.

Obtaining

Breaking

Daylight detectors can be mined by hand or with any tool, but axes are the quickest. Inverted daylight detectors cannot be collected directly; they drop a regular daylight detector. In Bedrock Edition, the inverted detector may be obtained with pick block in Creative mode,^[1] or via inventory editing or add-ons.

Block	Daylight Detector
Hardness	0.2
Tool
Breaking time (sec)[A]
Default	10.3 (JE) 0.3 (BE)
Wooden	10.15 (JE) 0.15 (BE)
Stone	10.1 (JE) 0.1 (BE)
Copper	10.1 (JE) 0.1 (BE)
Iron	10.05 (JE) 0.05 (BE)
Diamond	10.05 (JE) 0.05 (BE)
Netherite	10.05 (JE) 0.05 (BE)
Golden	10.05 (JE) 0.05 (BE)
Options
Efficiency	000
Haste	001 1JEBE

Legend

• incorrect tool, drops nothing
• correct tool, drops nothing or something other than the block itself
• correct tool, drops the block itself
• italicized can be instant mined

Crafting

Ingredients	Crafting recipe
Glass + Nether Quartz + Any Wooden Slab

Usage

Redstone component

A daylight detector is 0.375 blocks high (3/8ths of a block). In Java Edition Daylight detectors cannot be moved by pistons. Water and lava flow around daylight detectors without affecting them.

A Daylight detector can be changed to its inverted state by using it.

Activation

A daylight detector activates when exposed to sufficient daylight (default mode) or when exposure to daylight is low enough (inverted mode). Placing blocks that partially or fully block sky light anywhere above a daylight detector affects its output signal.

Sources of block light (torches, glowstone, etc.) cannot activate a daylight detector.

Behavior

An active daylight detector emits weak power in all six directions.

The output signal of daylight detectors is updated once every second (specifically, it's updated whenever gametime‌^{[Java Edition only]} or daytime‌^{[Bedrock Edition only]} is perfectly divisible by 20). It can also be manually updated by using the daylight detector.

Default mode

In the Overworld, a daylight detector's output signal strength depends on the time of day, the weather, the detector's exposure to the sky, and the internal sky light level.

A non-inverted daylight detector never produces a signal in the Nether and the End.

Inverted mode

Unlike what the name might imply, the output of the inverted detector is not a simple inversion of the daylight detector's output: a much simpler algorithm that depends on the internal sky light level is used instead. Specifically, it outputs a signal strength of 15 minus the current internal sky light level, where values over 15 or below 0 are taken as 15 or 0 respectively. This means that, in the Overworld, an inverted daylight detector actually outputs a strength of 11 at midnight when the weather is clear, if it has line of sight with the sky. The effects of shade are applied before inverting, so shade increases the signal strength when it is not already full, and prevents it from reaching zero. Completely blocking an inverted daylight detector from exposure to the sky causes it to emit a signal strength of 15 at all times of day.

in Java Edition, inverted daylight detectors in the Nether always produce a signal strength of 15. In the End, they work identically to how they work in the Overworld at noon in clear weather conditions.

in Bedrock Edition, inverted daylight detectors in the Nether or End never produce a signal under any circumstance.

The cells on inverted daylight detectors are emissive if Vibrant Visuals is enabled.

Fuel

Daylight detectors can be used as a fuel in furnaces, smelting 1.5 items per block.

Sounds

Java Edition:

wood sound type
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	​Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	block.wood.break	subtitles.block.generic.break​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block placed​[until: JE 26.4]	Blocks	When the block is placed	block.wood.place	subtitles.block.generic.place​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	block.wood.hit	subtitles.block.generic.hit​	0.25	0.5	16
	​Something falls on a block	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	block.wood.fall	subtitles.block.generic.fall​	0.5	0.75	16
	​Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	block.wood.step	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.15	1.0	16

Bedrock Edition:

wood sound type
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch
	​Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	dig.wood	subtitles.block.generic.break​	1.0	0.8–1.0
	​Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	place.wood	subtitles.block.generic.place​	1.0	0.8
	​Axe strips	Blocks	When an axe strips a log or wood block [sound 1]	use.wood	subtitles.block.generic.hit​	1.0	0.8
	​Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	hit.wood	subtitles.block.generic.hit​	0.23	0.5
	​Footsteps	Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	fall.wood	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.4	1.0
	​Footsteps	Players	Walking on the block	step.wood	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.3	1.0
	​Footsteps	Blocks	Jumping from the block	jump.wood	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.12	1.0
	​Footsteps	Blocks	Falling on the block without fall damage	land.wood	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.18	1.0

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	Translation key
Daylight Detector	daylight_detector	Block & Item	block.minecraft.daylight_detector

Name	Identifier
Block entity	daylight_detector

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	Form	Item ID[i 1]	Translation key
Daylight Detector	daylight_detector	151	Block & Giveable Item[i 2]	Identical[i 3]	tile.daylight_detector.name
Daylight Detector Inverted	daylight_detector_inverted	178	Block & Ungiveable Item[i 4]	Identical[i 3]	tile.daylight_detector_inverted.name

Name	Savegame ID
Block entity	DaylightDetector

Block states

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Block data

A daylight detector has a block entity associated with it which stores only its entity ID and position (the minimum data for a block entity). Although the daylight detector's block entity stores no additional data, the block entity ensures that the daylight detector is updated every game tick.

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Block entity format.

Videos

History

Development

Java Edition

Java Edition
1.5			13w01a				Added daylight sensors.
1.8			14w31a				Daylight sensors can now be toggled between day and night by using them.
1.9			15w47a				Daylight sensors no longer emit signal during the night when sufficiently shaded.
							Inverted daylight sensors now emit a variable signal at night.
1.13			17w47a				"Daylight Sensor" has been renamed to "Daylight Detector".

Bedrock Edition

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.13.0			build 1				Added daylight sensors.
v0.15.0			build 1				Daylight sensors can now be moved by pistons.
Bedrock Edition
1.21.30			Preview 1.21.30.22				Changed name from "Daylight Sensor" to "Daylight Detector" to match Java Edition.

Legacy Console Edition

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU19	CU7	1.12	1.12	1.12	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added daylight sensors.
TU25	CU14	1.17	1.17	1.17			Daylight sensors can now be toggled between day and night by using them.
TU57	CU49	1.57	1.56	1.56	Patch 27	1.0.7	Daylight sensors can now be moved by pistons.

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added daylight sensors.
0.1.0							Daylight sensors are no longer instantly broken.

Data history

Issues

Issues relating to "Daylight Sensor" or "Daylight Detector" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Gallery

Screenshots

• 
  A graph visualising the states of a Daylight Detector under different weather conditions (ends rounded to the nearest quarter of a thousand Game-ticks)
• 
  An example of lights being powered upon the sunrise
• 
  Art made using both states of the daylight detector
• 
  One of the more common uses of the block, a simple street light using a redstone lamp

Mojang screenshots

• 
  First image of a daylight detector
• 
  The 13w01a snapshot image released by Mojang
• 

References

External links

• Block of the Month: Daylight Detector – Minecraft.net on December 14, 2023