smart lightbulb Archives

AppWizard

November 19, 2025

Developer Runs Minecraft On Smart Lightbulb

Developer Vimpo has established a Minecraft server on a budget smart lightbulb using the BL602 microcontroller. The server, called Ucraft, is a lightweight system that lacks many traditional features but operates effectively. The binary size is approximately 46 KB without the authentication library and 90 KB with it. Memory consumption varies based on active players, peaking at around 70 KB with authentication for up to 10 players, or dropping to 20 KB without it.

AppWizard

November 11, 2025

This bright spark built a 90 KB Minecraft server and got it running on a Wi-Fi-equipped lightbulb

YouTuber Vimpo successfully ran a custom Minecraft server, named Ucraft, on a modified Wi-Fi smart lightbulb. The lightbulb was altered by removing its glass exterior to access the BL602 RISC-V chip, which was connected to a microcontroller with a USB port. The server binary is compact, measuring 46 KB without the authentication library and 90 KB with it, and uses a maximum of 70 KB of memory with ten players. The server supports basic minigames like TNT run, although it has limitations on blocks and map sizes.

AppWizard

November 11, 2025

Hardware hacker installs Minecraft server on a cheap smart lightbulb — single 192 MHz RISC-V core with 276KB of RAM, enough to run tiny 90K byte world

A hardware hacker named Vimpo installed a Minecraft server on a budget-friendly smart lightbulb, utilizing the bulb's BL602 RISC-V-powered microcontroller. Vimpo disassembled an LED bulb from AliExpress, soldered connections to its headers, and used a USB-to-serial adapter for communication. The software aspect involved using Ucraft, a compact implementation available on GitHub, which has a binary size of approximately 46K bytes without authentication and 90K bytes with it. Memory usage varies with active players, reaching a maximum of around 70K bytes with 10 players connected. Ucraft, however, lacks most features of the vanilla server.