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Redstone · Build technique · Java & Bedrock

How to Make a Redstone Elevator

A redstone elevator rides a slime-block platform up a shaft and stops at each floor. It is faster and more controllable than a water elevator, with one catch: the slime-and-piston engine takes real wiring.

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▲▲ slime + pistons lift the platform, stopping each floor
A redstone elevator rides a slime-block platform up a shaft and stops at each floor. Faster and floor-stoppable than a water elevator, just trickier to wire.

Three ways to build one

Flying-machine lift

Observers and pistons form an engine that drags a slime platform up and down. The fastest and most flexible, but the hardest to time correctly.

Piston lift

A chain of pistons pushes a slime platform up floor by floor, each one shoving the stack one block higher. Simple to follow, slower to ride.

Honey-and-slime tower

Alternating honey and slime blocks let part of the engine move while the rest stays put, the trick behind compact two-way lifts.

The slime-and-honey rule

Slime sticks to everything it touches and drags it along, the platform included. Honey sticks too, but slime and honey will not stick to each other. That one exception is what lets a flying machine pull one part forward while leaving another behind, which is the whole secret of a compact two-way lift.

Quick answers

How does a redstone elevator work?
A slime-block platform is driven by pistons, usually with observers forming a flying machine. The engine carries you up or down a shaft and can be wired to stop at each floor.
What is the difference between slime and honey blocks here?
Slime sticks to every block next to it and drags them along, including the platform you stand on. Honey also sticks, but slime and honey do NOT stick to each other, so honey is used to split the engine into parts that move separately.
Is a redstone elevator better than a water elevator?
It is faster and can stop at exact floors, but it is far more complex to build and tune. A water bubble elevator is much simpler, so most players start there and graduate to redstone lifts.
What actually moves the platform?
An observer detects a block change and fires the pistons; the pistons push the slime engine, which is stuck to the platform, one block at a time. Repeat that and the platform climbs the shaft.
Why does my flying-machine elevator fall apart?
Almost always a sticky-block mistake: a slime block touching a honey block (they do not stick), or trying to push more than twelve blocks at once, which is the piston push limit.
Do redstone elevators work the same on Bedrock?
No. Slime, piston and observer timing differs between Java and Bedrock, so a Java flying-machine elevator often needs a Bedrock-specific design to work reliably.
Database →
Slime, honey & pistons
Look up every block the elevator engine is built from.
Guide →
Make a water elevator
The simpler, beginner-friendly way up and down.