The Litematica material list is the build’s bill of materials: for the selected placement it counts every block the schematic needs, what is already placed, what you are carrying, and what is still missing. In survival mode it is arguably the mod’s most important screen — it turns “gather a lot of stone and glass, probably” into an exact shopping list, and it updates live as you build. This guide covers opening the list, reading its counts, keeping it on screen with the HUD, how shulker boxes are counted, and a gathering workflow that scales from a cottage to a megabase. It assumes you have a placement loaded; if not, load the schematic first.
Opening the Material List
The material list belongs to a placement, so start there: press M, open Schematic Placements, select the placement you are building, and open its Material List. The GUI lists one row per block type in the schematic. Keep in mind that switching the selected placement switches the list — if the numbers ever look like they belong to a different build, check which placement is selected before doubting the counts.
Reading the Counts
Each row answers four questions:
- Total — how many of this block the complete schematic contains.
- Placed — how many are already correctly in the world against the hologram.
- Available — how many you currently have in your inventory, ready to place.
- Missing — the gap: total minus what is placed and at hand. This is your gathering target.
The counts are live. Place a stack of blocks correctly and the placed number climbs and the missing number falls without reopening the screen, which makes the list a progress bar as much as a shopping list. Blocks count in the state the schematic saved them in — a build that uses a lot of stairs, slabs and oriented blocks still just needs those items in your inventory; the orientation is your job at placement time, guided by the hologram.
Keeping the List on Screen: The HUD
Closing the GUI to check numbers every few minutes gets old fast, so Litematica also offers the material list as a HUD overlay: the still-missing items stay visible in a corner of the screen while you build. Turn it on from the configuration GUI (M + C), in the info overlay / renderer settings for the material list. The HUD is at its best paired with layer mode: the hologram shows one floor, the HUD shows what that floor still needs, and you only open the full GUI when restocking.
Shulker Boxes Count — Use That
The available count is smarter than a quick glance at your hotbar: it includes the contents of shulker boxes in your inventory. For survival logistics this changes how you pack. Instead of making ten trips with loose stacks, pre-pack shulkers by material at your storage base — one of stone variants, one of glass, one of redstone components — and the list credits all of it as available the moment the boxes are in your inventory. When the HUD says a material is done, it means placed plus packed.
A Gathering Workflow That Scales
- Gather against the total list, not by feel. Before placing a single block, open the list and collect the full totals for a small build, or the first stage for a big one.
- Split big builds into stages. The list covers the whole placement, so for a large project, gather what the first layers need, build them, then re-check the missing column — it has already subtracted everything you placed.
- Produce the processed materials last. Stairs, slabs, glass panes and similar derivatives are cheap to overproduce and annoying to store; craft them after the raw blocks are on site.
- Finish with the verifier, not the list. A zero-missing list means the materials are accounted for; the Schematic Verifier (M + V) is what proves the blocks actually landed in the right places.
Common Confusions
- “The list is for the wrong build.” It follows the selected placement — select the right one in Schematic Placements.
- “I placed the blocks but missing didn’t move.” The block is in the world but not matching the schematic at that spot — wrong position or wrong state. The hologram overlay marks it as wrongly placed rather than placed.
- “Do I gather per layer?” No — gathering is against the whole-placement totals; layers only control what you see and place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the material list count what is already in my inventory?
Yes. Alongside the total the schematic needs, the list tracks what you have available — including the contents of shulker boxes you are carrying — and shows the remaining amount as missing. That is what makes it usable as a shopping list: the missing column is what you still have to produce or collect.
Does the material list work per layer?
No — the material list always covers the whole selected placement, no matter which layers you are rendering. Layer rendering changes what you see, not what the build needs. Use the total list for gathering, and layer mode for deciding the order you place things in.
Why do the counts look wrong for my build?
The most common reason is that the list belongs to a different placement than the one you think — the list always follows the selected placement in Schematic Placements. The second is block states: the schematic needs the blocks it saved, and the counts settle as the verifier does, once the placement in the world actually matches.
Can I have material lists for two builds at once?
Each placement has its own material list, and you view one at a time by selecting that placement. For a combined shopping list across two placements, gather for one, then switch — or load the builds as sub-regions of a single schematic so they share one list.
Next Steps
Pair this guide with layer mode for the build itself and how to use Litematica for the complete loop from loading to verifying. If your list shows materials for a game version you do not play, double-check the build against the download hub versions first.