Building Gadgets 2 guide for All the Mods 10 0.32 to 0.53

Same as in the All the Mods 10 8.1 guide

Building Gadgets 2 adds a set of tools that make big building jobs quick: building many blocks at once, swapping materials, copying or moving whole structures, and clearing out space. This pack includes version 1.3.9.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

It's for anyone who is tired of placing blocks one at a time. The gadgets need Forge Energy (FE) for most of their functions, so you'll want a way to charge them. Hold the settings key (default 'g') to open a gadget's settings menu.^[7][8]

The gadgets

• Building Gadget places lots of blocks at once. You Shift right-click a block to pick what to build with, and its default mode is Build to Me.^[2]
• Exchanging Gadget swaps one set of blocks for another. It can't replace air, so use the Building Gadget for that. Its default mode is Surface.^[6]
• Copy Paste Gadget copies a structure between opposing corners and pastes it somewhere else, with a ghostly preview before you commit.^[3]
• Cut Paste Gadget moves a structure, including chest contents and block configurations. It holds only one structure at a time and has no undo.^[4][9]
• Destruction Gadget clears a large area. The removed blocks are voided, but you can undo if you make a mistake.^[5]

Undo remembers the last 10 actions a gadget made. You can also bind a gadget to an inventory, or to an Applied Energistics 2 system through its wireless access point, so it pulls items from there.^[9][10]

Where it fits in the pack

The pack's quest book has a Building Gadgets quest in the Building Tips chapter, a quest in "?", which comes after the Paxel quest. A second one, a quest in "?", sits in the Tips and Tricks chapter and mentions diamonds as part of making the gadgets. Either quest is completed by getting any of the gadgets listed above. Both quests also point out that you can link the gadgets to an AE2 network by putting them in a Wireless Access Point.^[8][11]

Unverified Whether the ATM Star path uses this mod is not shown by the sources here. Check the Building Tips and Tips and Tricks quest chapters in your quest book for how the pack presents it.

Same as in the All the Mods 10 8.1 guide

Building Gadgets 2 gives you tools that place, swap, copy and clear huge numbers of blocks at once. Every gadget runs on Forge Energy (FE), and you open each gadget's settings menu by holding the settings key, which is G by default. Many mods can charge items with FE, so make sure you have some way to charge your gadgets before you start.^[7][8]

Start with the Building Gadget

Make the Building Gadget first. It's the one you'll use most. This pack adds its own recipe for it, so follow the one below.^[12]

Give it some energy, then shift right-click a block to choose what to build with. The default mode is Build to Me, and you'll see a ghostly preview of the blocks. A red overlay means you're missing items or energy. Right click to place. Blocks you don't have items for are skipped, and you can undo a mistake.^[2]

Add the Exchanging Gadget

The Exchanging Gadget swaps one set of blocks for another, which is great for changing a wall's material. It can't replace air, so keep the Building Gadget for that. You can also enchant it with silk touch, otherwise grass returns dirt.^[6]

Exchanging GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
any diamond gem	any lapi gems	any diamond gem
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_exchanging

Copy structures and save them

The Copy Paste Gadget replicates structures. In copy mode, right click one corner and shift right-click the opposite corner. Then switch to paste mode, check the preview and right click to place it. The items needed are taken from your inventory.^[3]

Copy Paste GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
any emerald gem	any redstone dust	any emerald gem
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_copy_paste

Once you have a build you like, craft the Template Manager. Put a Copy Paste Gadget in the top slot and paper in the bottom slot, then click Save to turn the paper into a template you can keep or share.^[13]

Template ManagerMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
Paper	any redstone dust	Paper
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:template_manager

Clear space and move builds

The Destruction Gadget clears a large area. Set the area in the settings menu, then right click a block. The blocks are voided, but you can undo it.^[5]

Destruction GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
any ender pearl	any redstone dust	any ender pearl
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_destruction

The Cut Paste Gadget works like the Copy Paste Gadget but moves a structure, including chest contents.^[4]

Cut Paste GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
Shears	any redstone dust	Shears
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_cut_paste

Quests and AE2

The pack has two quests called a quest in "?" and a quest in "?". Either one completes when you have any of the gadgets. They also note that you can link a gadget to an AE2 network by putting it into a Wireless Access Point.^[8][11]

Building Gadgets 2 is built around a handful of tools that all share the same ideas: energy, a settings menu, a ghostly preview, and items pulled from your inventory. Learn those once and every gadget feels familiar.^[14][15]

Power and the settings menu

Every gadget needs Forge Energy (FE) for most of its functions, so charge it before you use it. Plenty of mods can charge items with FE, and the in-game guide also points to Charging Gadgets as an option.^[14]

Hold the settings key (default 'g') to open a gadget's settings menu. Each gadget has different settings, and this is also where you pick modes.^[14][15]

Unverified How much FE each gadget stores and how much each action costs is not covered by the available sources, and no config files for this mod were provided for the pack.

The gadgets

• Building Gadget: shift right-click a block to choose what to build with. A ghostly preview shows what will be placed, and blocks you lack the items or energy for get a red overlay. Right click to build. Items come out of your inventory, and blocks you have no item for are skipped.^[15]
• Exchanging Gadget: swaps one set of blocks for another, but it cannot replace air (that's the Building Gadget's job). Shift right-click a block to choose the block to exchange to. Items for the removed blocks are returned to you, and you can enchant the gadget with silk touch (without it, grass returns dirt, for example).^[16]
• Copy Paste Gadget: in 'copy' mode, right click one corner of a structure and shift-right click the opposing corner. A green outline appears. Switch to 'paste' mode to preview it and right click to place it. The block you right clicked first is the structure's starting point. Items are removed from your inventory, and blocks you lack items for are skipped.^[17]
• Cut Paste Gadget: works like the Copy Paste Gadget, but in 'cut' mode the outline is red. The structure is only removed when you click the 'cut' button in the settings menu. Pasting uses the blocks you removed, so no items are needed.^[18]
• Destruction Gadget: set the area in the settings menu, then right click a block to void all highlighted blocks. The area is relative to the block and face you are looking at.^[19]

Cut Paste details

The gadget holds only one structure at a time, and placing it erases the stored data. If you cut a new area while data already exists, you are prompted to confirm, and the first set of data is lost forever if you accept. All block-entity data moves with the structure, including chest contents and block configurations.^[18]

Range and building modes

The building and exchanging gadgets have a 'range' setting that controls the area affected, and each mode treats it a little differently. In Horizontal Row mode, a range of 3 covers 3 blocks total, one on each side of the block you're looking at. In wall modes, a range of 3 builds a 3x3 wall, and even numbers change the wall's height slightly. Use the preview to check the result.^[21]

The Building Gadget defaults to Build to Me, which builds a row from the block face you're looking at toward you and ignores the range setting. The Exchanging Gadget defaults to Surface. Other modes in the guide include Grid, Horizontal Row, Horizontal Wall, Stairs, Vertical Column and Vertical Wall.^{[15][16][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]}

• Place on Top: instead of placing around the block you're looking at, it places on top of it. It behaves a little differently in each mode, and some modes ignore it. In Build to Me, it builds to your head rather than your feet.^[22][29]
• Surface: extends the set of blocks you're looking at. Fuzzy lets the gadget target any blocks rather than only matching ones. On the exchanger, Connected only exchanges blocks connected to the ones you're looking at.^[30]
• Grid: places blocks in a grid, handy for torches. As range grows the blocks spread apart until the area itself gets larger. It also works as an exchanger mode.^[23]

Anchor, undo and animations

Anchor locks in the block you're looking at so you can move and look around freely, and you can right click to build while it's anchored. It has a hotkey and is also in the settings menu. Changing the range may not take effect until you remove and replace the anchor.^[31]

Undo reverses your gadget's last task and remembers the last 10 actions. It works via hotkey or the settings menu. Undoing a Destruction Gadget action takes nothing from your inventory, because it just returns the voided blocks. Undoing an exchange does need the right items: if you swapped grass for stone bricks, you must have grass to swap back.^[16][19][20]

Each gadget can have a build animation, which defaults to 'grow'. It only changes how building looks and has no effect on function.^[32]

Inventories and Applied Energistics 2

A gadget can bind to an inventory to extract and insert items. Enable 'bind inventory' mode in its settings menu, then shift-right click a chest or other inventory. A blue box confirms the bind. Shift-right click a non-inventory block, like grass, to disconnect.^[33]

You can also bind to an Applied Energistics 2 system by connecting to its wireless access point. In that case the gadget has unlimited range, so range upgrades don't matter.^[33]

Fluids

Gadgets can work with fluids. Turn on Raytrace Fluids to select a fluid with shift-right click. With it on, exchangers can swap out fluids and builders can build on top of fluids. With it off, the gadgets ignore fluids and build on the blocks behind them.^[34][35]

To place fluids you need a bucket with the right fluid, or a tank from a mod like Mekanism, in which case fluids are removed from or inserted into the tank. The Copy Paste Gadget handles fluids too. When undoing or exchanging fluids, the gadget looks for somewhere to put the fluid, such as an empty bucket or tank, and voids it if none is found.^[34]

Paste Replace and Rotate

Paste Replace is only available on the Cut Paste and Copy Paste gadgets. When it's disabled, a paste only overwrites blocks you could normally replace, like water and tall grass. That can be dangerous with the Cut Paste Gadget, since blocks could be 'lost'. When it's enabled, the paste replaces any block in the world, air included, which is great for building a house into a mountain. Replaced blocks are voided and drop or return nothing.^[36]

Rotate turns a Copy Paste or Cut Paste structure around its starting point, and the preview updates so you can check it first. You can also fine-tune the copy and paste positions with the Adjust Placement window in the settings menu, using plus and minus buttons or absolute world coordinates for copy.^[17][37]

Open the settings menu's 'material list' option to see a scrollable list of which items you have and which you're missing for a paste.^[17]

Template Manager

The Template Manager saves structures from the Copy Paste Gadget as items, and you can even share them outside your world. Put a copy paste gadget in the top slot and paper in the bottom slot, then click 'Save' to turn the paper into a template. A render of the structure appears that you can pan, spin and zoom. Click 'load' to copy a template back onto the gadget.^[38]

The 'Render' button toggles to Materials Mode, which lists the materials the structure needs. Templates can be named, and the name shows on the item. 'Copy' puts a json string on your clipboard to share with friends. They click 'paste' in the same GUI to replicate your structure, as long as there's paper in the bottom slot.^[38]

Crafting the gadgets

The Building Gadget recipe is added by the pack, so it differs from what you'd see in the mod on its own. The other gadgets and the Template Manager use the mod's recipes.^[39]

Building GadgetAdded by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
Diamond Gear	Lapis Lazuli	Diamond Gear
any iron ingot	any netherite ingot	any iron ingot

Recipe id: minecraft:kjs/buildinggadgets2_gadget_building

Pack-added recipe

Exchanging GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
any diamond gem	any lapi gems	any diamond gem
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_exchanging

Copy Paste GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
any emerald gem	any redstone dust	any emerald gem
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_copy_paste

Cut Paste GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
Shears	any redstone dust	Shears
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_cut_paste

Destruction GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
any ender pearl	any redstone dust	any ender pearl
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_destruction

Template ManagerMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
Paper	any redstone dust	Paper
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:template_manager

Same as in the All the Mods 10 2.12 guide

Building Gadgets 2 doesn't have formal tiers in this pack. As far as the pack's data shows, you get five gadgets plus a Template Manager, each with its own crafting recipe, and the quests only ask you to get one of them. Here's how that fits together.^[40][41][42]

The quests

Two quests in the pack involve this mod, and both are simple item checks. a quest in "?" is in the building_tips chapter and unlocks after another quest in that chapter. a quest in "?" is in the tips_and_tricks chapter.^[40][41]

Each quest has a single task that accepts any one of the five gadgets: the Building Gadget, Exchanging Gadget, Copy Paste Gadget, Cut Paste Gadget or Destruction Gadget. So you can pick whichever gadget suits your build and still complete both quests.^[40][41]

Crafting the gadgets

The pack changes how the Building Gadget is made. Its recipe is added by the pack's own scripts, so don't rely on the mod's default recipe.^[42]

Building GadgetAdded by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
Diamond Gear	Lapis Lazuli	Diamond Gear
any iron ingot	any netherite ingot	any iron ingot

Recipe id: minecraft:kjs/buildinggadgets2_gadget_building

Pack-added recipe for the Building Gadget.

The other four gadgets and the Template Manager use the mod's own recipes.^[42]

Exchanging GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
any diamond gem	any lapi gems	any diamond gem
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_exchanging

Copy Paste GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
any emerald gem	any redstone dust	any emerald gem
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_copy_paste

Cut Paste GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
Shears	any redstone dust	Shears
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_cut_paste

Destruction GadgetMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
any ender pearl	any redstone dust	any ender pearl
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:gadget_destruction

Template ManagerMod recipe

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
Paper	any redstone dust	Paper
any iron ingot	any lapi gems	any iron ingot

Recipe id: buildinggadgets2:template_manager

Which one first?

The quests don't force an order, so choose by what you want to do. Here's what each gadget is for, based on the mod's in-game guide.^{[15][16][17][18][19][40][41]}

• Building Gadget: places lots of blocks at once. The default mode is Build to Me, and it shows a ghost preview before you place anything.^[15]
• Exchanging Gadget: swaps one set of blocks for another, but it can't replace air. You can enchant it with silk touch, and without that, grass gives back dirt.^[16]
• Copy Paste Gadget: copies a structure by marking opposing corners and pastes it back, taking the needed items from your inventory. Blocks you don't have items for are skipped.^[17]
• Cut Paste Gadget: moves a structure, including block-entity data such as chest contents. It stores only one structure at a time and has no undo, so be careful when pasting.^[18][20]
• Destruction Gadget: clears a large area, and the cleared blocks are voided. You can undo it if you make a mistake.^[19]

Same as in the All the Mods 10 2.12 guide

Building Gadgets 2 doesn't have a huge web of crossovers in this pack, but there are a few connections worth knowing about. The clearest one is how you craft your first gadget.^[42]

Crafting the Building Gadget

The recipe for the Building Gadget is added by the pack itself. It's a shaped crafting recipe that uses materials from other mods, so it's not the mod's default recipe. This is the exact in-pack version:^[42]

Building GadgetAdded by the pack

Crafting Shaped

Crafting Shaped

any iron ingot	any redstone dust	any iron ingot
Diamond Gear	Lapis Lazuli	Diamond Gear
any iron ingot	any netherite ingot	any iron ingot

Recipe id: minecraft:kjs/buildinggadgets2_gadget_building

Pack-added recipe, so check it here instead of relying on the mod's defaults.

Quests that point you to the gadgets

Two quests in the pack's quest book are completed by having a gadget: a quest in "?" in the building tips chapter and a quest in "?" in the tips and tricks chapter. Either one accepts any of the five gadgets: Building Gadget, Exchanging Gadget, Copy Paste Gadget, Cut Paste Gadget or Destruction Gadget.^[40][41]

Powering the gadgets

The mod's own guide says its gadgets need Forge Energy for most of their functions. Many mods add support for charging items with Forge Energy, so you can charge them with whatever energy setup you like. The guide also points to a separate mod called Charging Gadgets if you have no other way to charge them.^[14]

Storage and fluid mods

The mod's guide says a gadget can be bound to a chest or other inventory to pull items from it and put items into it. It also says you can bind to an Applied Energistics 2 system through that system's wireless access point, and that the gadget then has unlimited range.^[33]

Unverified The mod's guide also mentions tank mods such as Mekanism for supplying fluids to gadgets. I couldn't confirm from the pack's recipes or quests how Applied Energistics 2 or Mekanism are set up in this pack, so test these links in your own world before you build around them.

Building Gadgets 2 only shows up in one quest in this pack, so there's no long questline to follow here. It sits in the "tips_and_tricks" chapter.^[43]

The quest a quest in "?" has no title in the quest file. It's an item task, and it accepts any one of the mod's five gadgets, so you only need to hand in one of them.^[43]

• Building Gadget^[43]
• Exchanging Gadget^[43]
• Copy Paste Gadget^[43]
• Cut Paste Gadget^[43]
• Destruction Gadget^[43]

Since this is the only quest involving the mod, there's no order to worry about within the chapter for Building Gadgets 2. Pick whichever gadget fits your build style and the quest is covered.^[43]

Unverified The quest's reward, its prerequisites and where it sits among the other tips_and_tricks quests are not confirmed by the available sources.