"Minecraft" runs on a cheap light bulb from AliExpress

Martin Jud

11/11/2025

Translation: machine translated

In the beginning was the chip. And the chip was in the lamp. And the inventor saw that the circuit board was good. So he separated the light from the code, connected the wires and said: "Let there be a world." And it became "Minecraft" - enraptured, digital, on 276 kilobytes of RAM and a RISC-V core.

What used to provide light now hosts blocks. The hobbyist «Vimpo» took a smart lamp from AliExpress, opened it up, removed the microcontroller from its housing - and breathed new life into it as a «Minecraft» server. The built-in BL602 chip has a single RISC-V core with 192 megahertz and just 276 kilobytes of RAM. And lo and behold: It was good. Login, movement, chat and block placement all work. That's all it takes for a small world.

From light to the world

The transformation begins with a knife. The lamp is opened, the chip exposed, cables soldered individually. A USB-to-serial adapter connects the work to the outside world. And suddenly the lamp is no longer just a source of light, but the host of a world of blocks.

Vimpo's tool is called Ucraft - and it creates a world, not in seven days, but in 90 kilobytes. The server itself is tiny, the RAM consumption per player is between 20 and 70 kilobytes. The rest is left for the network, world management and whatever else you need to make it bear fruit and multiply - in blocks.

Of course, many features of the classic «Minecraft» server are missing - but the basic framework is in place. And that's enough for a genesis that can only come from a light bulb.

On the seventh day, the server went dormant

«Minecraft» is the new «Doom». It runs on toasters, calculators - and now: on a light bulb. Not because it makes sense. But because it works. And because it's fun. Because on the seventh day, the server went dormant - but only because someone flicked the light switch.

If «Doom» simulates hell, then «Minecraft» is the earth simulator. «Doom» is fire, lava, demons and constant stress. «Minecraft» is earth, water, wood - and the silent desire to create something. Not the earth as it is. But how it could be. Square, peaceful, mouldable. Both are iconic. Both are minimalist. But only «Minecraft» runs on a lightbulb - and lets you build a world instead of destroying it.

Martin Jud

Senior Editor

martin.jud@digitecgalaxus.ch

I find my muse in everything. When I don’t, I draw inspiration from daydreaming. After all, if you dream, you don’t sleep through life.

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