idk: Automating Storage in Minecraft with Bots, Shulkers, and a Web UI

Minecraft may be a game, but for me, it was also a fantastic opportunity to tackle something complex and practical in a multiplayer environment. Managing inventories manually can be tedious, especially in large builds or busy servers. My goal was straightforward: create a storage system that allowed players to deposit and retrieve items effortlessly. Ideally, players wouldn't need to remember item locations at all.

The Interface Dilemma

Initially, I thought about using Minecraft-native methods like signs or written books to manage item requests. However, these approaches quickly proved cumbersome and unintuitive. I opted instead to build a dedicated web interface. Players could now visually search, select, and request items through their browsers, making the entire process significantly faster and more user-friendly.

How it Works:

• Players request items via the web interface.
• The bot (powered by Mineflayer) receives these requests.
• The bot navigates efficiently to the required item, retrieves it, and places it in a designated delivery chest.

The Storage Design

The storage layout is intentionally straightforward and highly scalable—organized into rows of chests stacked six high. My priority was to minimize the bot's travel distance between items, optimizing retrieval and deposit times.

Optimization: Pathfinding

Efficient navigation was critical, so the bot utilizes a breadth-first search algorithm on a simplified voxel map. It's aware of obstacles and chest positions. Most pathfinding logic is wrapped in a custom layer over Mineflayer's built-in system, extensively refined to navigate tightly packed environments without getting stuck.

function findPath(start, target):
queue = [start]
visited = set()

while queue not empty:
current = queue.dequeue()
if current == target:
  return path

foreach neighbor of current:
  if neighbor not in visited:
    queue.enqueue(neighbor)
    visited.add(neighbor)
        

Inventory Management with a Real Database

To reliably track item locations and quantities, each stack is recorded in a SQLite database. The database entries include:

• Item ID
• Quantity
• Chest location

This database updates dynamically as players deposit or withdraw items, providing a scalable and dependable backend for inventory management.

Tackling the Shulker Box Challenge

Handling massive item transactions introduced complexities—most notably, the need for bulk storage solutions. Shulker Boxes were ideal but challenging due to their unique interactions:

• The bot had to recognize items stored inside Shulker Boxes.
• It needed logic to pick up, place, unpack, or repack Shulkers efficiently.

One particularly tricky scenario was handling partially filled Shulker Boxes or boxes containing mixed item types. The bot required intelligent decision-making logic to manage these edge cases, significantly enhancing the complexity and depth of the project.

Tech Stack and Key Learnings

Building this project marked my first significant experience using TypeScript and Svelte, making it one of my largest live projects to date. I chose TypeScript for its robustness and clarity, and Svelte for its reactive UI, which simplified state management. Mineflayer facilitated smooth server communication, handling low-level interactions while allowing me to focus more on custom logic and optimizations.

Through this project, I learned extensively about full-stack development, database management, real-time system synchronization, and the complexities of developing within game environments.

Final Thoughts

This project was exceptionally rewarding, blending game scripting, algorithm design, and full-stack web development in ways I hadn’t anticipated. Watching a bot autonomously manage complex inventories and handle intricate tasks like unpacking Shulker Boxes felt genuinely rewarding.

Looking ahead, there’s significant potential for enhancements—such as improving bot speed, introducing bulk export capabilities, or adding advanced sorting features. However, even in its current state, the automated storage system effectively demonstrates the practical intersection of gaming and technical problem-solving. Not too shabby for something built inside a block-based game!