Compact Machines Mod Guide: Miniaturized Rooms, Machine Tiers & Quantum Entanglement
Compact Machines lets you build entire automated systems inside a single block. Place a Compact Machine, shrink yourself down with the Personal Shrinking Device, and step inside a private room where you can build whatever you want. Six machine tiers offer rooms from 4x4x4 to 14x14x14, with full support for items, fluids, energy, and signals passing through the walls.
Overview
Compact Machines adds a unique spatial compression mechanic to Minecraft. Each Compact Machine is a single block in the outside world that contains an entire room in a special dimension. You can walk inside, build machines and systems, and pipe items, fluids, Redstone Flux, and even gases through the walls using 
Interface blocks. The result is that complex automation setups that would normally span dozens of blocks can be hidden inside a single cube.
The mod offers six tiers of machines with interior rooms ranging from 4x4x4 (Tiny) to 14x14x14 (Maximum Size), crafted with progressively more expensive materials. Advanced features include Quantum Entanglement, which lets multiple machine blocks share the same interior room, and deep integration with mods like Applied Energistics 2, Mekanism, Botania, Thaumcraft, and PneumaticCraft. You can browse all items this mod adds using the Items tab above.
Getting Started
- 1
Craft the Atom Modules
Everything starts with two crafting components: the Atom Shrinking Module and the Atom Enlarging Module. The Shrinking Module is crafted from 6 Glass blocks, 2 Redstone Dust, and a Piston in the center. The Enlarging Module uses the same recipe but with a Sticky Piston instead. You'll need both of these for every subsequent recipe, so craft several of each.
- 2
Build a World Resizing Interface
The World Resizing
Interface is the core crafting ingredient for nearly everything in this mod. Combine 4 Iron Ingots, 1 Gold Ingot, 2 Redstone Dust, 1 Atom Shrinking Module, and 1 Atom Enlarging Module in a crafting grid. This item represents the technology that makes spatial compression possible, and you'll need one for each World Resizing Cube you want to make. - 3
Craft a World Resizing Cube
The World Resizing Cube is the central component of every Compact Machine. Craft it using 4 World Resizing Interfaces and 1 Diamond. This cube goes in the center of any machine recipe, surrounded by the tier material. Think of it as the "engine" that makes the spatial compression work.
- 4
Build Your First Compact Machine
All machine tiers follow the same recipe pattern: 8 of the tier material surrounding 1 World Resizing Cube. For your first machine, the Tiny tier uses Wood Planks, giving you a 4x4x4 interior room. Place it in the world and you're ready to go inside. If Wood Planks feel too cramped, the Small tier (Iron Ingots) provides a 6x6x6 room that's much more workable.
- 5
Craft a Personal Shrinking Device and Enter
The Personal Shrinking Device (
PSD) is your key to entering and leaving Compact Machines. Craft it from 3 Diamonds, 2 World Resizing Interfaces, 2 Redstone Dust, and 2 Nether Quartz. Right-click a Compact Machine while holding the PSD to shrink down and enter its interior room. Once inside, right-click the PSD again to return to the outside world. While sneaking inside a machine, right-clicking the PSD sets your spawn point to that location.
The walls, floor, and ceiling of a Compact Machine room are made of indestructible Compact Machine Wall blocks. These cannot be broken by any means in survival mode, and are immune to explosions and entity destruction. The only way to remove them is in creative mode while holding an Atom Shrinking Module. Players are also kept inside room boundaries by default, so you can't walk through the walls.
Machine Tiers
Compact Machines come in six tiers, each offering a larger interior room. Every tier uses the same crafting pattern: surround a World Resizing Cube with 8 of the tier material. The interior dimensions represent the usable space inside the room, not counting the walls themselves.
Tiny (Tier 0) — Wood Planks
The cheapest machine with a 4x4x4 interior room. This is quite cramped and best suited for very simple setups like a single machine or a small Redstone circuit. The low cost makes it ideal for early-game experimentation.
Small (Tier 1) — Iron Ingots
A 6x6x6 interior room. This provides enough space for most single-purpose setups, like an ore processing line or a small mob farm. Iron is plentiful enough that this tier is a solid starting choice for practical builds.
Normal (Tier 2) — Gold Ingots
An 8x8x8 interior gives you room for more complex multi-machine setups. At this tier you can comfortably fit a small Applied Energistics 2 network or a multi-step Mekanism processing chain inside a single block.
Big (Tier 3) — Obsidian
A 10x10x10 interior room. The Obsidian cost isn't high, but collecting it takes time. This tier is where you start having enough room to build genuinely complex automation with multiple machine clusters.
Giant (Tier 4) — Diamonds
A 12x12x12 room. The Diamond cost is significant (8 per machine), but the space is enormous. You could fit an entire small base inside a single block at this tier.
Maximum Size (Tier 5) — Nether Stars
The largest and most expensive machine with a 14x14x14 interior room. Requiring 8 Nether Stars, this is firmly endgame content. The massive interior can house entire factory complexes, making it the ultimate space-saving solution.
Machine Tier Comparison
| Tiny (Tier 0) | Small (Tier 1) | Normal (Tier 2) | Big (Tier 3) | Giant (Tier 4) | Maximum (Tier 5) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material | Wood Planks | Iron Ingots | Gold Ingots | Obsidian | Diamonds | Nether Stars |
| Interior Size | 4×4×4 | 6×6×6 | 8×8×8 | 10×10×10 | 12×12×12 | 14×14×14 |
| Interior Volume | 64 blocks | 216 blocks | 512 blocks | 1,000 blocks | 1,728 blocks | 2,744 blocks |
| Material Cost | 8 Planks | 8 Iron | 8 Gold | 8 Obsidian | 8 Diamonds | 8 Nether Stars |
Interface Blocks and I/O
The real power of Compact Machines lies in the Interface blocks embedded in the room walls. When you enter a Compact Machine room for the first time, you'll see Compact Machine Interface blocks on each of the six walls (one per face: top, bottom, north, south, east, west). Each Interface corresponds to the matching face of the Compact Machine block in the outside world.
Interfaces handle the transfer of items, fluids, Redstone Flux (RF), and more between the inside and outside of the machine. Place a Hopper, pipe, or conduit against an Interface inside the room, and it connects to whatever is adjacent to that face of the machine block outside. Right-clicking an Interface opens a GUI where you can configure the hopping mode for each transfer type.
Hopping Modes
Each Interface supports four hopping modes that control how items, fluids, and energy move between the inside and outside. Disabled stops all automatic transfers. Importing pulls items/fluids from outside into the machine. Exporting pushes items/fluids from inside the machine to the outside. Auto automatically determines direction based on which side received items last. This is the most convenient mode for simple setups.
Transfer Rates and Buffer Capacities
Each Interface has internal buffers with configurable capacities and transfer cooldowns. By default, the RF buffer holds 10,000 RF and transfers every tick (no cooldown). Items transfer once every 10 ticks (0.5 seconds) with a stack at a time. Fluids buffer up to 1,000 mB and also transfer every 10 ticks. If you have Mekanism installed, the gas buffer holds 1,024 units and transfers every tick. All of these values can be adjusted in the config file.
Default Buffer Capacities
| Redstone Flux (RF) | 10,000 RF |
| Fluid | 1,000 mB |
| Gas (Mekanism) | 1,024 units |
| Mana (Botania) | 10,000 Mana |
| Essentia (Thaumcraft) | 64 Essentia |
| Item Transfer Cooldown | 10 ticks (0.5s) |
| Fluid Transfer Cooldown | 10 ticks (0.5s) |
| RF Transfer Cooldown | 0 ticks (every tick) |
Each face of the Compact Machine block has its own independent Interface inside the room. This means you can pipe items in from the top, extract products from the bottom, supply RF from the east, and output fluids from the west, all at the same time. Plan your external piping layout to match the Interface positions inside.
Upgrading Machines
Compact Machines can be upgraded by right-clicking them with a Nether Star (configurable in the config file under the "upgradeItem" setting). An upgraded machine gains a distinct texture to visually distinguish it from non-upgraded machines. Upgrading is required before you can use Quantum Entanglement on a machine, so plan to upgrade any machine you intend to link to another.
When you break an upgraded Compact Machine, it drops as an item that retains its internal room data. You can pick it up and place it elsewhere without losing the contents inside. This makes Compact Machines effectively portable, though the machine's contents remain in the special dimension regardless of where the block is placed.
Quantum Entanglement
Quantum Entanglement is the most powerful feature in Compact Machines. It allows multiple Compact Machine blocks to share the same interior room. This means you can place one machine block in your base and another one thousands of blocks away, and both will open to the same internal room. Items, fluids, and energy piped into one machine's interfaces are accessible from the other.
How to Entangle
First, craft a Quantum Entangler using 6 Nether Quartz, 2 World Resizing Interfaces, and 1 Nether Star. To link machines, right-click the Quantum Entangler on an upgraded Compact Machine that has already been used (has an assigned room). The Quantum Entangler stores the room coordinates and the machine's size. Then right-click a second upgraded, unused Compact Machine of the same tier. The second machine becomes linked to the first machine's room.
Both machines must be the same tier (you cannot entangle a Tiny machine with a Giant one). The target machine must be upgraded and must not already have a room assigned. If any of these conditions aren't met, you'll receive a chat message explaining why the entanglement failed.
Because entangled machines share the same room and interfaces, they can effectively act as wireless item, fluid, and energy links across any distance. With Applied Energistics 2 integration enabled, this even allows AE2 network connections to pass through, making AE2 Quantum Network Bridges obsolete. This feature can be disabled in the config if your server considers it too powerful.
Crafting Components
The mod's crafting tree is linear: each component builds on the last. Understanding the chain will help you plan your material needs efficiently.
Atom Shrinking Module
Crafted from 6 Glass blocks, 2 Redstone Dust, and 1 Piston arranged in a 3x3 grid (Glass on top and bottom rows, Redstone on the sides, Piston in the center). This module represents the miniaturization technology. Beyond crafting, it also serves as the tool needed to break Protected blocks in creative mode.
Atom Enlarging Module
Identical recipe to the Shrinking Module but uses a Sticky Piston instead of a regular Piston. Together with the Shrinking Module, it forms the basis for the World Resizing Interface.
World Resizing Interface
The pivotal crafting component. Uses 4 Iron Ingots (corners), 1 Gold Ingot (center), 2 Redstone Dust (left and right middle), 1 Atom Shrinking Module (top center), and 1 Atom Enlarging Module (bottom center). You'll need multiple of these since both the World Resizing Cube (requires 4) and the Personal Shrinking Device (requires 2) consume them.
World Resizing Cube
Crafted from 4 World Resizing Interfaces and 1 Diamond in an asymmetric pattern. This block is the central ingredient in every Compact Machine recipe and can also be placed in the world as a decorative block with a hardness of 16 and blast resistance of 20.
Crafting Chain: From Raw Materials to Compact Machine
Decorative Blocks
The mod includes two decorative block variants: Compact Machine Wall (Decorative) and Compact Machine Interface (Decorative). The decorative wall block looks identical to the room walls but can be placed and broken normally, with a hardness of 8 and blast resistance of 20. Craft 8 of them from 8 Wood Planks and 1 Atom Shrinking Module. The decorative interface block uses the same pattern but with 1 Atom Enlarging Module instead, yielding 6 blocks. These are purely cosmetic and have no functional I/O capabilities.
Mod Integrations
One of the biggest strengths of Compact Machines is its extensive integration with other popular mods. Each integration can be individually toggled in the config file.
Applied Energistics 2
AE2 network connections pass through Compact Machine Interfaces using dense cable connections. This lets you place an entire ME system inside a Compact Machine and connect it to your main network through the walls. Combined with Quantum Entanglement, you can create cross-dimensional AE2 networks without Quantum Network Bridges.
Mekanism
Gas transport is fully supported through Interfaces. The default buffer holds 1,024 units of gas with no transfer cooldown, allowing seamless integration of Mekanism's gas-based processing inside Compact Machines. Tube connections work on all sides.
Thaumcraft & Botania
Thaumcraft Essentia can be transported through Interfaces with a buffer of 64 Essentia per side and no transfer cooldown. Botania Mana transfer is also supported, though it works differently: Mana is not sided, meaning all Interfaces on a machine share the same pool of up to 10,000 Mana. Note that Botania integration is disabled by default and must be enabled in the config.
Other Integrations
Project Red bundled cable signals pass through Interfaces, enabling complex Redstone control. OpenComputers network connections work through Interfaces for computer-controlled automation. PneumaticCraft pressure transport is supported with its own air handler system. All of these are enabled by default.
Chunk Loading and the Machine Dimension
All Compact Machine rooms exist in a dedicated dimension (dimension ID -1 by default, configurable). Each room is placed on a grid with 64 blocks between them (also configurable, must be a multiple of 16). The mod includes a built-in chunk loading system with three modes.
Mode 0 (Never) disables chunk loading entirely, meaning machines only work when their chunk in the machine dimension is loaded by other means. Mode 1 (Always) keeps machine chunks loaded at all times, which is the default and ensures your automation never stops. Mode 2 (When Machine is Loaded) only loads the interior chunk when the Compact Machine block itself is in a loaded chunk in the overworld. Mode 2 is the best choice for servers concerned about performance, as it prevents machines from running when nobody is nearby.
Configuration
Compact Machines offers extensive configuration options. The config file is organized into three sections: General (CompactMachines), Integration, and Rendering.
Key general settings include chunkLoadingMode (0/1/2 as described above), allowEntanglement to enable/disable Quantum Entanglement, maxDroppedStacks (default 128) which limits how many item stacks drop when breaking a machine, and upgradeItem which defaults to Nether Star but can be changed to any item using the format "modid:item_name". You can also toggle allowEnterWithoutPSD (entering without a PSD gives Wither and Nausea effects by default), allowRespawning inside machines, and adaptBiomes which makes the machine room match the biome where the block is placed (enabled by default).
Buffer capacities for RF, fluids, gas, Mana, and Essentia are all individually configurable. Transfer cooldowns for items, fluids, RF, gas, and Essentia can also be adjusted. Setting a cooldown to 0 means transfers happen every tick. Each mod integration (AE2, Mekanism, Botania, Thaumcraft, Project Red, OpenComputers, PneumaticCraft) can be individually enabled or disabled.
The mod adds a custom Villager that trades Personal Shrinking Devices, Quantum Entanglers, and World Resizing Cubes. This Villager spawns by default (configurable with "enableVillager"). If another mod conflicts with the Villager ID (default 64), you can change it in the config under "villagerId".
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I break a Compact Machine that has items inside?
If the machine has been upgraded (right-clicked with a Nether Star), it drops as an item with its room data preserved. Place it again and everything inside is exactly as you left it. If the machine was not upgraded, its contents are harvested and up to 128 item stacks (configurable) are dropped on the ground.
Can I enter a Compact Machine without a Personal Shrinking Device?
By default, no. Attempting to enter without a PSD will give you the Wither and Nausea effects as a deterrent. However, the config option "allowEnterWithoutPSD" can be set to true to disable this restriction. Some mods can also add items with a CompactMachines NBT tag containing "canShrink: true" that function like a PSD.
Do machines keep running when I'm not inside them?
Yes, as long as the machine's chunk in the special dimension is loaded. With the default chunk loading mode set to 1 (Always), your machines run continuously. If set to mode 2 (When Machine is Loaded), the interior stays active only when the machine block itself is in a loaded chunk. Mode 0 disables the built-in chunk loader entirely.
Can I use Compact Machines with Applied Energistics 2?
Yes, AE2 integration is enabled by default. ME network connections pass through Interfaces using dense cable type connections. You can place an entire ME sub-network inside a Compact Machine. Combined with Quantum Entanglement, entangled machines can share AE2 networks across any distance without needing AE2's own Quantum Network Bridges.
How do I set my spawn point inside a Compact Machine?
While inside a Compact Machine, hold sneak and right-click the Personal Shrinking Device. You'll see a chat message confirming your spawn point has been set. Note that by default, respawning inside Compact Machines is disabled. You'll need to set "allowRespawn" to true in the config for this to work after death.
Why does my machine room have a different biome than expected?
By default, the "adaptBiomes" config option is enabled, which sets the machine room's biome to match wherever the Compact Machine block is placed in the world. If you place a machine in a Desert, the room will have the Desert biome. Disable "adaptBiomes" in the config to use a fixed biome (default is Sky) for all rooms.