What is Applied Energistics 2?
Applied Energistics 2 (AE2) is a storage and automation mod for Forge, NeoForge, and Fabric. It stores items and fluids as data in an ME network (Matter Energy), so a single terminal gives searchable access to everything you own. On top of storage, AE2 provides one of the deepest autocrafting systems in modded Minecraft: encode a recipe once and the network crafts it on demand, including multi-step recipes with intermediate ingredients.
AE2 has a deliberate progression curve built around meteorites, crystal growth, and the channel system. The payoff is a network that scales from one chest replacement to a base-wide nervous system.
Getting Started: Meteorites and Presses
- Find a meteorite. Meteorites leave large craters of Sky Stone on the surface (some bury themselves underground). Craft a Meteorite Compass to point at the nearest one.
- Open the Mysterious Cube. At the meteorite's center, this block contains all four Inscriber Presses: Calculation, Logic, Engineering, and Silicon. Every processor recipe depends on them.
- Grow Certus Quartz. Meteorites contain Budding Certus blocks that sprout quartz clusters over time, like amethyst. Place Growth Accelerators beside a budding block to speed it up dramatically.
- Charge and combine. A Charger turns Certus Quartz into Charged Certus. Drop Charged Certus, Nether Quartz, and Redstone into water to craft Fluix Crystals, the material behind cables and network gear.
- Build Inscribers. Inscribers stamp printed circuits and assemble Logic, Calculation, and Engineering Processors, the crafting components used by nearly every network device.
Tip: Avoid breaking Flawless Budding Certus blocks; they degrade when moved. Build your quartz farm around them where they generate, or move only the lower-tier budding blocks.
Building Your First ME Network
A minimal working network needs four things:
- Energy Acceptor – feeds the network from any FE power source.
- ME Drive – holds up to ten storage cells (1k through 256k bytes).
- ME Terminal or Crafting Terminal – search, deposit, and withdraw items; the crafting variant embeds a crafting grid.
- ME Glass Cable – connects everything.
That setup already outperforms a chest wall. From there, common additions include the Import Bus (pull items from a furnace or machine into storage), Export Bus (push items out), and Storage Bus (map an external inventory, like a drawer wall, into the network).
Channels structure larger networks: a standard cable carries 8 device channels and dense cable carries 32, while an ME Controller anchors big systems. Channel planning is the main skill gap between small and large AE2 builds; P2P tunnels and sub-networks are the standard tools for scaling past the first controller.
Storage Cell Sizes and the Type Limit
Cells are budgeted in bytes and types. Every distinct item (a unique sword enchant counts separately) reserves an upfront byte cost, and after that, eight items consume one byte regardless of stack size — 64 identical saddles take no more room than 64 stone.
| Cell | Bytes | Max types | Bytes per type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1k | 1,024 | 63 | 8 |
| 4k | 4,096 | 63 | 32 |
| 16k | 16,384 | 63 | 128 |
| 64k | 65,536 | 63 | 512 |
| 256k | 262,144 | 63 | 2,048 |
Type pressure is why partitioning matters. A cell filled with a single item type holds roughly double what it holds at all 63 types:
| Cell | Capacity at 1 type | Capacity at 63 types |
|---|---|---|
| 1k | 8,128 items | 4,160 items |
| 4k | 32,512 items | 16,640 items |
| 16k | 130,048 items | 66,560 items |
| 64k | 520,192 items | 266,240 items |
| 256k | 2,080,768 items | 1,064,960 items |
The practical playbook: keep bulk stackables (cobble, ingots) out of cells entirely by mapping a Storage Bus over drawers, partition a few cells for high-type clutter like enchanted gear, and let general storage absorb the rest. The Cell Workbench sets partitions, and equal-distribution cards split a cell's bytes evenly across its allowed types.
Autocrafting Explained
AE2 autocrafting has three moving parts:
- Patterns. Encode recipes in the Pattern Encoding Terminal, either as crafting patterns (crafting table recipes) or processing patterns (any machine input/output).
- Pattern Providers + Molecular Assemblers. A Pattern Provider pushes ingredients to adjacent machines; a Molecular Assembler executes crafting-table patterns. Providers facing a Mekanism or Thermal machine automate that machine through the same interface.
- Crafting CPUs. Multiblocks of Crafting Storage, Co-Processing Units, and Crafting Monitors that schedule jobs. More co-processors means more parallel ingredient crafting.
Request an item from any terminal and the network resolves the whole dependency tree, crafting intermediates as needed. Level Emitters and Export Buses with crafting cards keep stock levels topped up automatically.
Applied Energistics 2 FAQ
Is AE2 available for Fabric?
Yes. Applied Energistics 2 ships official builds for Fabric alongside Forge and NeoForge from Minecraft 1.18 onward.
How do AE2 channels work?
Most network devices consume one channel. Standard cables carry 8 channels, dense cables 32, and each ME Controller face supplies 32. When devices stop working, trace the cable route and count channels; smart cables display usage visually.
How do I find an AE2 meteorite?
Craft a Meteorite Compass from Sky Stone and a compass; it points to the nearest meteorite. Surface craters are visible from a distance, and buried meteorites show up as circular Sky Stone patches underground.
AE2 or Refined Storage: which should I pick?
AE2 offers channels, deeper autocrafting, P2P tunnels, and spatial storage, with a steeper learning curve. Refined Storage reaches a working digital storage system faster with a flat network model. Many packs include both; pick AE2 when you want the deeper endgame.