Redstone · Deep Dark · 1.19+
How to Use a Sculk Sensor
A sculk sensor is a vibration detector. It listens for movement and sound within about 8 blocks and fires a wireless redstone pulse, no dust required. Sneak past it and it never hears you.
~8-block range
wireless redstone out
cooldown after each detection
A sculk sensor hears vibrations within 8 blocks, footsteps, breaking blocks, projectiles, and fires a wireless redstone pulse, then waits out a short cooldown. Sneak to stay silent.
What it hears, and what it ignores
Hears
Footsteps and running
Breaking or placing blocks
Arrows and projectiles landing
Doors, gates and trapdoors
Items dropping nearby
Ignores
Players who are sneaking
Sounds muffled by wool
Anything beyond ~8 blocks
A second hit during cooldown
Quiet it or calibrate it
Pack wool around a sensor to soak up noise you do not want it to hear. To go further, craft a calibrated sculk sensor with three amethyst shards: feed a signal into its side and it only reacts to that one vibration type.
Quick answers
What does a sculk sensor detect?
Vibrations within about 8 blocks: walking and running, breaking or placing blocks, projectiles landing, doors opening, items dropping. It reacts to the event, not to light or line of sight.
How do you stop a sculk sensor triggering?
Sneak to move silently past it, or pack wool around it. Wool absorbs vibrations, so it is the standard way to shield circuits and hide from the Warden in the Deep Dark.
Is a sculk sensor wireless redstone?
Yes. It emits a signal with no dust attached, which you can read directly from a neighbouring block or with a comparator on top. That makes it perfect for hidden, contactless circuits.
What is a calibrated sculk sensor?
A 1.20 variant crafted from a sculk sensor plus three amethyst shards. Feed a redstone signal into its side and it only listens to that one vibration frequency, so it can react to just footsteps, or just block breaks.
How far does a sculk sensor reach?
Roughly 8 blocks in every direction, a sphere around it. The output signal strength encodes how far away the vibration was and what type it was.
Where do you get sculk sensors?
They generate in the Deep Dark biome and Ancient Cities. Mine them with a Silk Touch tool to keep the block; without it the sensor only drops experience.