Screenshot 1 of 3. A pink cherry-blossom tree and a large willow-like tree stand inside a walled room built in Compact Machines.
What Compact Machines works with.
| Platform | Java Edition |
|---|---|
| Loaders | NeoForge |
| Minecraft versions | 1.21.1, 1.21.8 |
| Environment | Client, Server |
Compact Machines is a Minecraft Java mod that adds one mechanic, small rooms inside blocks, so a whole contraption can sit hidden in a single block. It runs on NeoForge and on Forge, where releases have stopped, and the files are tagged for both client and server. The mod is by davenonymous and RobotGryphon.
Loaders and versions
- NeoForge: Minecraft 1.21.1 to 1.21.8. The newest build needs no dependencies.
- Forge: Minecraft 1.16.4 to 1.20.1, builds stopped after December 2024. The newest build needs no dependencies.
What the rooms do
Each Compact Machine block holds a room you build inside. You wall in your machinery there, and from outside it is one block. Compact Machines 7 introduced room templates, so modpack makers can register new machine and room types in datapacks. The familiar basic room sizes now live in a datapack built into the mod.
Before CM7, tunnels connected a room to the outside. You right-click a wall block inside the room with a Tunnel Tool to place one, then right-click again to cycle the outer faces it links to. No face can be connected twice, so a room holds at most six tunnels of a given type.
Installation
- 1.Install NeoForge for the Minecraft release you play, following the Forge and NeoForge install guide.
- 2.Put the mod file in the mods folder inside .minecraft, as the mod install guide shows.
- 3.Add the same file to the mods folder on a multiplayer server, since the files are tagged for both sides.
- 4.Launch with the NeoForge profile and check the creative tab for machines.
Support and trade-offs
Support is short by design. Once a new release ships for a Minecraft release, the previous one is dropped, and when a new major Minecraft release is covered, the older major gets 45 days.
Questions about Compact Machines.
4 questions
Why are there no machines in creative or JEI?
Compact Machines 7 moved the basic room sizes into a datapack built into the mod. If a modpack has not enabled that datapack and provides no room templates, no machines appear in the creative tab, JEI, REI or EMI. Enabling the basic templates brings the machines back.
Does Compact Machines still get Forge updates?
No. Forge builds stopped in December 2024, so the last Forge release is the final one for that loader. NeoForge builds continued afterward, and the newest one is dated February 2026. If you play on Forge, you can keep using that last Forge release without any other dependencies.
Do I need Compact Machines on both client and server?
The files are tagged for both client and server, so put the mod in the mods folder on both sides when you play multiplayer. Compact Machines needs no other mods on its newest builds, so there is nothing else to add alongside it on either side.
What does Compact Machines actually add?
It adds one mechanic, small rooms inside blocks. You build machinery in the room and hide it in a single Compact Machine block in the world. Older releases also have tunnels, which connect the room to the outside faces of the block.
