Uploaded June 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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This week, we're creating Langton's Ant in Minecraft with just 5 commands!

Langton's Ant is a simple 2-D system where an "ant" traverses a field of cells, and changes direction each turn based on the color of the cell beneath it. These simple rules lead to fairly complicated behavior. You can read more about Langton's Ant on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langton%27s_ant

Langton's Ant was featured in Minecraft's 2020 April Fools update (Snapshot 20w14∞). By typing the command "/warp ant", players would be teleported to a superflat dimension containing a single ant following its simple routine.

Here are the commands used in this episode:
Command 1 - Check for white concrete and turn right:
execute as @e[type=armor_stand,name=Langton] at @s if block ~ ~-1 ~ minecraft:white_concrete run tp @s ~ ~0.25 ~ ~90 0

Command 2 - Check for black concrete and turn left:
execute as @e[type=armor_stand,name=Langton] at @s if block ~ ~-1 ~ minecraft:black_concrete run tp @s ~ ~0.75 ~ ~-90 0

Command 3 - Toggle white concrete:
execute as @e[type=armor_stand,name=Langton] at @s align y if entity @s[distance=0.2..0.3] run setblock ~ ~-1 ~ minecraft:black_concrete

Command 4 - Toggle black concrete:
execute as @e[type=armor_stand,name=Langton] at @s align y if entity @s[distance=0.7..0.8] run setblock ~ ~-1 ~ minecraft:white_concrete

Command 5 - Move forward:
execute as @e[type=armor_stand,name=Langton] at @s rotated as @s positioned ^ ^ ^1 align xyz run tp @s ~0.5 ~ ~0.5

Chapters:
0:00 Overview and Demo
3:42 Command 1
4:37 Command 2
4:56 Command 3
5:49 Command 4
6:06 Command 5
7:11 Timelapse
8:24 Outro