Item stack
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An item stack is a collection of multiple items of the same type. Any item type has a stack limit, it is not possible to stack more items of such an item than the stack limit.
Appearance
Item stacks be stored in inventories and can also appear in the world itself.
In an inventory
In the inventory, item stacks are represented by an icon and optionally a number. The number is the size of the item stack. If there is no number, the size is 1. Refer to Inventory#Controls for instructions how to use item stacks in inventories.
In the world
| Dropped item stack | |
|---|---|
 | |
| An object in Minetest | |
| Health | ∞ |
| Object collision | No |
| Block collision | Yes |
| Entitystring | __builtin:item |
Item stacks appear in the world as objects. They are represented by some sort of symbol. For blocks, the icon is a rotating mini-version of it. Other things represented by the inventory icon.
In the world, any item stack appears just as a single object, even with a stack size of 99. But item stacks with a larger stack size will appear larger than item stacks with a low stack size.
An item stack can be collected by punching it.
Item stacks are subject to gravity. If multiple item stacks of the same item occupy the same block position, they will merge into one object, as long the stack limit is not exceeded. Dropped items also have a life time. If they stay untouched in the world for too long, they disappear. The life time can be changed via minetest.conf (item_entity_ttl).
Dropped items can appear for many reasons. Some of them include:
- A player drops them (duh!)
- A player mines a block, but there's no more space in the inventory
- A mob dies
- (other events are possible)
Item stacks in the Minetest Game
All tools and weapons have a stack limit of 1. All other items have a stack limit of 99.
Dropped items which are flammable get destroyed in a puff of smoke when they stay in lava or fire for too long. Non-flammable items are safe, however.
Item stacks in other games
Other games can set the stack limit freely for all items.
It's also common to change the behaviour of the dropped items completely. Some common changes include:
- Item magnet: When a player stands close to a dropped item, it gets attraced like a magnet and will be automatically collected. Punching it is not required
- Water flow: Dropped items move with the flow of water
- Destruction: Dropped items get destroyed if they touch lava or fire