Tutorial:Soft inversion

This tutorial page is a work in progress.

Anyone is encouraged to edit this page and add more content into the topic.
Additional note: This article covers an advanced redstone circuit technique specific to Bedrock Edition.

This tutorial page needs cleanup to comply with the style guide.

^[discuss]

Please help improve this page. The talk page may contain suggestions.

This tutorial is exclusive to Bedrock Edition.

Soft inversion - the lever hard powers the solid block, which soft powers the piston, turning off any redstone torch attached to the piston while it's extended

Soft inversion is a mechanic of pistons and sticky pistons that creates a inverter (NOT gate). When a piston is activated even by a weak (soft) power source it turns off any redstone torch attached to its block within a single Bedrock redstone tick (the piston activates on a C-tick and the torch turns off on a P-tick). This NOT gate behavior is the foundational building block for more complex circuitry, all other compact logic circuit designs are built from this core property of soft inversion. The mechanic works even if the piston is blocked and cannot extend.

The key distinction of Soft Inversion lies in the way a piston processes weak (soft) power compared to other opaque blocks.

I
	p

Basic Concept: Pistons (P) are "soft powered" from above. The input (I) controls a block that enables/disables this power source.

A block is soft powered when:

• Redstone dust runs past it, but is not configured to point directly into it.
• Redstone dust is placed directly above it.
• It is adjacent to a strongly-powered block.

For most opaque blocks (e.g., Stone, Wool):

• A block receiving soft power will not turn off an attached redstone torch. A strong power source (e.g., a redstone repeater or redstone comparator facing the block) is required to turn off the attached torch.

For pistons (the soft inversion mechanism):

• A piston receiving soft power will turn off an attached redstone torch.

Tileability

The primary advantage of soft inversion is its excellent tileability. Because the core mechanism often relies on vertical power transmission through blocks, multiple inverter units can be placed directly adjacent to each other (stacked vertically or side-by-side) without causing cross-talk. This allows for the construction of dense, modular logic arrays, such as for AND gate banks or memory cells, in a footprint that is impossible with traditional 1-wide, tileable torch inverters.

There are 10 redstone ticks per 20 game ticks. Meaning each redstone tick lasts exactly 2 game ticks. These two game ticks are separated into two phases:

• Odd game ticks → P-tick
• Even game ticks → C-tick

• Redstone torches read their input during the P‑tick and apply their output change on the following C‑tick.
• Pistons activate exclusively during the C‑tick.

Sending a 1 game tick redstone pulse (half a redstone tick) to a piston with a redstone torch attached on either the P- or C- tick produces two completely different behaviors. The pulse’s phase determines whether the piston moves or the attached redstone torch toggles:

• A P‑tick pulse activates only the attached redstone torch which turns OFF, while the piston ignores this pulse entirely and does nothing.
• A C‑tick pulse activates only the piston which extends or retracts, while the attached redstone torch ignores this pulse entirely and stays ON.

Blocked pistons: Even if the piston is blocked and cannot extend, a P‑tick pulse still turns the torch off (the torch responds to the piston's powered state, not its physical movement). Conversely, a C‑tick pulse causes the blocked piston to attempt activation (triggering a block update) but leaves the torch unaffected.

Hopper item sorter - using soft inversion This sorter is optimized for bedrock redstone tick speeds, 1-wide, tileable, silent, overflow proof

41

The core sorting mechanism is controlled by a soft inverter (piston + redstone torch). When the hopper is over 41 items (represented as diamonds in the schematic) the comparator activates the piston and turning off the torch, which locks the hopper. This sorter is optimized for bedrock redstone tick speeds, making it faster than using a java design on bedrock.

All gate designs are one-wide, silent, and tileable.

NOT gate

NOT gate

The piston + redstone torch combination serves as a fast and compact NOT gate (inverter), taking power from adjacent dust and outputting an inverted signal.

			A
			B

OR gate

						A
						B

OR gate

		A
		B

NOR gate

					A
					B

NOR gate

			A
			B

AND gate - can be built vertically or horizontally.

The one-wide tileable AND gate is constructed using soft inversion mechanics. It requires two inputs, each connected to a solid block with an attached redstone torch. These torches serve as inverted inputs. The two inverted signals (the torches) are positioned to soft-power a single central piston. An obsidian block is placed on the piston face. The gate functions as an AND gate because the piston is only unpowered (and the output torch is thus powered) when both inputs are ON, which simultaneously turns both input torches OFF. If either input is OFF, its corresponding torch is ON, soft-powering the piston and keeping the output OFF.

				A
				B

NAND gate

The one-wide tileable NAND gate is built by taking the output of the AND gate and inverting it with a final redstone torch. The initial structure is identical to the AND gate. Two inputs feed into two inverting redstone torches, which soft-power a central piston. An obsidian block is placed on the piston face. By attaching a final redstone torch to the output side of this obsidian block, the signal is inverted. The NAND gate outputs ON whenever at least one input is OFF, and outputs OFF only when both inputs are ON. This makes it the inverse of the AND gate.

								A
								B

XOR gate

							A
							B

XNOR gate

Soft Inversion allows for the creation of extremely compact, one-wide, tileable, and silent RS NOR Latches (1-bit memory cells). These latches are immune to the noise and signal strength issues of standard dropper-based latches.

• This design requires an input pulse of at least 2 game ticks to prevent the circuit from entering a clocking state.
• The use of pistons (as transparent blocks) in the structure enables a simple, interference-free global reset line to be wired across the top of multiple latches.

Soft Inversion is the foundation for creating the fastest possible one-tick pulse limiters and one-tick clocks in Bedrock.

• One-Tick Pulse Limiter: A piston/torch inverter is looped back to power itself, creating a momentary pulse (1 game tick) before the circuit snaps back to its stable state. This is highly compact, silent, and one-wide tileable.

Clock

• One-Tick Clock: Two piston/torch inverters are connected in a loop, creating a self-sustaining oscillation that toggles every game tick (a 2-tick cycle). This is the fastest, silent, and one-wide tileable clock .

A fundamental soft inverter design involves:

1. A (sticky) piston facing upwards or sideways.
2. A redstone block or other conductive block in front of the piston.
3. A control line that directly powers the piston to make it retract.
4. An indirect power source (e.g., redstone dust on a block above the piston) that would cause the piston to extend if it were directly powered.

When the control line is OFF, the indirect power extends the piston, pushing the redstone block to power the output. When the control line is ON, the piston is directly powered and retracts. If the timing is arranged so the indirect power is removed in the same tick, the piston retracts without ever extending, leaving the output OFF.

• Redstone circuits/Logic - For standard logic gate implementations.
• Redstone components - Details on component behaviors.
• Tutorial:Redstone - General redstone guides.

v t e Redstone
Redstone circuits & tutorials Redstone basics Redstone components Redstone mechanics Conductivity Redstone circuits Clock circuits Logic circuits Memory circuits Miscellaneous circuits Pulse circuits Transmission circuits Featured tutorials Advanced redstone circuits Block update detector (BUD) Comparator update detector (CUD) Flying machine Mechanisms Piston circuits Redstone music Java Edition only Quasi-connectivity Bedrock Edition only Soft inversion
Redstone components Power emission Block of Redstone Buttons Wooden Stone Polished Blackstone Daylight Detector Detector Rail Jukebox Lectern Lever Lightning Rod Observer Pressure Plates Wooden Stone Polished Blackstone Light Weighted Heavy Weighted Redstone Comparator Redstone Torch Sculk Sensor Calibrated Target Trapped Chest Tripwire Hook Tripwire Signal transmission Redstone Wire Redstone Repeater Conductive and non-conductive blocks Item and entity transportation Allay Bamboo Raft with Chest Boat with Chest Copper Golem Crafter Dispenser Dropper Hopper Minecart with Chest with Hopper Potent Sulfur Rail Activator Powered Sulfur Cube Water Bubble Column Java Edition only Minecart with Furnace Comparator-readable Barrel Bee Nest Hive Brewing Stand Cake Cauldron Chest Copper Chiseled Bookshelf Composter Copper Golem Statue Decorated Pot End Portal Frame Furnace Blast Smoker Item Frame Glow Shulker Box Respawn Anchor Observer-related Redstone Ore Deepslate Scaffolding Sculk Catalyst Sculk Shrieker Wall Java Edition only Leaves Pistons/related Piston Sticky Honey Block Slime Block Movable and immovable blocks Sculk sensor-related Block of Amethyst Wool Carpet Slab Stairs Mechanisms/misc. Armor Stand Bell Big Dripleaf Copper Bulb Creaking Heart Doors Copper Iron Wooden Fence Gate Head Note Block Redstone Lamp Shelf TNT Minecart Trapdoors Copper Iron Wooden Creative or commands only Command Block Minecart Structure Block Java Edition only Minecart with Monster Spawner Test Block

v t e Tutorials
Introductory Basics Menu screen Java Edition Bedrock Edition Glossary Playing with a controller Newcomer survival Beginner's guide First ten minutes Second day Third day Best biomes to use Durability management Hunger management Things to do Things not to do Simple tips and tricks Shelters Best biomes for homes Best building materials Building and construction Building safe homes Defense Navigation Shelters Types
General General Achievement guide Legacy Console Edition Advancement guide Minecraft Nether The End Adventure Husbandry How Did We Get Here? Adventuring Best enchantments guide Breaking a fall Breaking bedrock Bridging Chunk loader Combat Complete main adventure Creating a village Dual wielding Exploring caves Gathering food Getting max gear Hitboxes Horses Mapping Measuring distance Minecraft in education Mining Ancient debris Diamonds Fossils Ore veins Nether hub Nether portals Nether survival Organization Parkour Pillar jumping Phantom-proofing Spawn-proofing Things to do when bored Time-saving tips Transportation methods Units of measure Village mechanics Trading Zombie siege defense Enchanting and smelting Enchanting table mechanics Anvil mechanics Automatic smelting Manual smelting Non-standard survival Desert survival Infinite desert survival Snowy survival Infinite ice spikes survival Managing slimes in superflat mode Mushroom fields survival End survival Gathering resources on Peaceful difficulty Nether survival Accessing the void Thunderstorm survival Surviving in a single area for a long time Island survival Advanced Breaking bedrock Headless pistons Indestructible End crystals Summoning jockeys X-ray glitches
Challenges General Acquiring a conduit Archaeology Curing a zombie villager Defeating a village raid Defeating the ender dragon Defeating the wither Locating a stronghold Obtaining every music disc Obtaining every block Obtaining every item Exploring Structures & Biomes Surface Conquering a mountain Conquering an ocean monument Looting temples Mastering the pale garden Conquering a pillager outpost Exploring a woodland mansion Looting a shipwreck Underground Defeating a monster room Defeating a stronghold Defeating trial chambers Exploring a mineshaft Exploring the deep dark and ancient city Killing the warden Nether & End Looting a bastion remnant Exploring a Nether fortress Exploring an End city Mastering the warped forest Mastering the crimson forest Non-standard survival Adventure mode survival Custom maps Beating a CTM map Hardcore mode Ultra Half hearted Manhunt Mob switch No-pickaxe survival Nomadic experience Trapping every mob Skyblock survival SkyWars survival Speedrunning Starting in the Nether Starting in the End Superflat survival Flat survival Getting to the world border Village only survival Vegan survival April Fools' Updates The Craftmine Update Challenge maps Beating a challenge map Creating a challenge map
Constructions Constructions Adding beauty to constructions Airlock Architectural terms Building a cruise ship Building a metropolis Themes Transportation Buildings Building a rollercoaster Building micro shelters Building water features Chunk ban Color palette Creating shapes Elevators Endless circling pool Furniture Glazed terracotta patterns Making nice floors Pixel art Ranches Roof types Roof construction guidelines Secret door Settlement guide Underwater home Walls and buttresses Water gate Water-powered boat transportation Block breaking Blast chamber Igniting TNT underwater Wither cage
Farming Blocks and items Amethyst Armor Azalea Bamboo Basalt Beetroot Blaze Rod Bone Meal Cactus Cactus flower Carrot Cat gift Chorus Fruit Clay Cobblestone Cocoa Beans Copper Dirt Dragon's breath Dripstone Egg Enchanted Golden Apple Experience Fern Fish Flower Froglight Ghast Tear Glow Berries Glow Ink Sac Glow Lichen Goat Horn Gold Hanging Roots Honey Ice Iron Kelp Lava Meat Moss Mud Mushroom Music Disc Nether growth Nether vine Nether Wart Obsidian Ominous Bottle Pink Petals Potato Powder Snow Pumpkin, Melon Resin Clump Rooted Dirt Sculk Turtle Scute Seagrass Sea Pickle Snow Soul Soil Sugar Cane Sweet Berries Tree Trident Vine Villager trading hall Wheat Wildflowers Wither Rose Wool Duplication Mobs Mob farming Mob grinding Monster spawner traps Allay Animals Axolotl Bee Blaze Breeze Cat Cave Spider Chicken Creaking Creeper Dolphin Drowned Ender Dragon Enderman Frog Ghast Glow squid Goat Guardian Hoglin Iron golem Magma cube Phantom Piglin bartering Pillager Raid Shulker Skeleton horse Silverfish Slime Squid Turtle Villager Wandering trader Warden Witch Wither Wither Skeleton Zombie Zombie villager Zombified piglin
Mechanisms Basics Redstone Circuits Components Mechanisms Mechanics Tips Sculk Command block Crafter Iron golem Hopper TNT Tripwire techniques Snow golem Minecart Daylight detector Piston Trapdoor Quasi-Connectivity Soft inversion Components Randomizers Observer stabilizer Block update detector Comparator update detector Redstone telegraph Piston circuits Zero-ticking Instant repeaters Morse code Decorational Redstone music Doorbell Hourly clock Transportation Minecart trains Train station Flying machines 360 degree ender pearl cannon Furnace minecarts Storage Item sorting Item transportation Shulker box storage Storage Storage system PVP TNT cannons Trap design Traps Logic Advanced redstone circuits Arithmetic logic Calculator Redstone computers Miscellaneous Double doors Printer Rube Goldberg machine Command stats Automatic respawn anchor recharger Combination locks
Multiplayer General Griefing prevention Hiding chests Multiplayer survival Spawn jail Playing on servers PvP Java Edition Bedrock Edition Bases Joining a LAN world with alternate accounts Server setup Setting up a Java Edition server Forge server Setting up a Spigot server Setting up a Bedrock Edition server Server maintenance Setting up a LAN world Server startup script FreeBSD startup script OpenBSD startup script Ubuntu startup script Hamachi connection LAN Ramdisk enabled server Improving Server I/O utilising memory Crossplay
Technical General Creating Forge mods Installing mods Moving structures using structure blocks from world to world Improving frame rate Minecraft help FAQ Programs and editors Note Block Studio Running the data generator Update Java See Minecraft's code Downgrading Restoring a Hardcore world Adding profiles to the new launcher Useful commands Minecraft in VR Maps Importing and exporting worlds Command NBT tags Falling blocks Updating old terrain using MCEdit Resource packs Creating a resource pack Loading a resource pack Models Sound directory Making custom panoramas Data packs Adding a new dimension Adding custom enchantments Adding custom paintings Adding custom trims Creating a data pack Custom structures Importing a data pack Repairing a world corrupted by a data pack Creating Minecraft media Creating videos Livestreaming Hide Server IP Game installation Installing versions Installing Minecraft Preview and beta versions How to get a crash report Custom Minecraft directory Playing and saving Minecraft on a thumb drive Playing Minecraft on Linux Recover corrupted saved world data Run Minecraft through Google Drive Save game data to Dropbox (world data only) Saved data Dropbox guide Create a Mac OS X startup daemon Playing Java Edition on ChromeOS
Outdated Farming Bedrock farming Potion farming End of light mob farms Door-based iron golem farming Villages Legacy Console village mechanics Village chaining Glitches Duplication Far Lands Contraptions Minecart booster Repeater reboot system Instant wire Water ladder Water tram Challenges Survival with no data packs Construction Man-made lake Other Custom texture packs How to get a crash report (old) Obtaining removed blocks and items Update LWJGL Update Minecraft Custom world generation Playing and saving Minecraft on a thumb drive with the old launcher Dispenser crash exploit