What began as a simple technical curiosity has ended in a milestone: a developer known as Vimpo has managed to host a Minecraft server on a low-cost smart bulb bought on AliExpress.
The heart of the feat is a BL602 RISC-V microcontroller that operates at 192 MHz and offers only 276 KB of RAM and 128 KB of ROM, tiny figures that force us to push optimization to the limit for the experiment to make sense.
From the light socket to the laboratory: this is how the hardware was prepared
The Wi-Fi LED bulb used housed a single-core BL602 chip , with minimal I/O and meager resources; an apparently hostile environment for any game server.
To work with more control, the author removed the microcontroller from the light bulb and mounted it on an adapter board with inputs and a small screen , allowing a stable connection for flashing, controlling, and monitoring the system.
The next step was to solder wires to the chip's pins and link them to a USB-serial adapter ; with that interface he was able to turn the device on and off, and treat it as an embedded "system" ready for network testing, flashing and debugging.
A tiny server: software and usage figures
The key piece on the software side was Ucraft, a minimalist server written in C that cuts back much of the functionality of the "vanilla" version to fit extreme memory and storage constraints.
In numbers: the Ucraft binary occupies 46 KB without authentication and reaches about 90 KB with the authentication library . In practice, with 10 players, RAM usage is around 20 KB without authentication and approximately 70 KB with authentication , figures that demonstrate remarkable optimization engineering.
- Architecture: RISC-V BL602, single core at 192 MHz.
- Memory: 276 KB of RAM and 128 KB of ROM available.
- Connectivity: Minimal I/O and USB-serial link for programming.
- Assembly: microcontroller removed and placed on adapter board.
What it can and cannot do
Although the server is functional, it does not replace a professional deployment : Ucraft omits most advanced features (plugins, world management, and more complex authentication options) to fit the hardware.
The transformed light bulb demonstrates the flexibility of embedded systems , but its capability is more of a proof of concept than a practical improvement over standard housing solutions.
Context: From “Can it run Doom?” to “Will Minecraft fit here?”
For years, the popular challenge was to run Doom on any imaginable device; now Minecraft takes over in these demonstrations, and this test adds to other optimization feats, such as the extreme reduction of operating systems (famous cases with the very lightweight Windows 7) or academic and corporate experiments.
These types of projects, which are very popular with the maker community in Spain and Europe , serve as a teaching tool for discussing architecture, networks, and C programming, rather than as a commercial avenue for daily use.
Trying it at home? Considerations and safety
To replicate it, the essentials are a BL602-based bulb (not all will do), a USB-serial adapter, fine soldering skills, and knowledge of embedded systems; also familiarity with cross-compilation and flashing tools.
Caution: Handling devices connected to 230V involves risks; work must be done with the bulb disconnected from the mains, preferably with a laboratory power supply, and in compliance with current EU electrical safety regulations to avoid damage and void warranties.
Beyond the media impact, this initiative demonstrates that with engineering, feature reduction and a lot of patience , a Minecraft server can reside in the most unexpected place: the microcontroller of a smart light bulb.