Tech/sandbox

Tech, sometimes called techniques, are special moves Madeline can do to enhance her mountain-climbing ability. They come in a wide range of uses and difficulties. Many can be used to skip sections of a room or multiple rooms at once. There are a lot of techs in Celeste and their variations, so it is virtually impossible to describe them all.

All numerical values of speed given are in pixels per second.

Note: Some higher-level and more obscure tech may be missing, improperly named, or poorly described, so do not expect 100% accuracy or comprehensiveness. If you notice any issues, inaccuracies, or typos, please let us know by reporting them on the talk page or fixing them yourself. This way, you get to improve Celeste Wiki for future readers, and we appreciate your help in making the wiki more complete!

Some other (possibly more extensive) sources of tech:

• Celeste TAS tech document
• Strawberry Jam Collab gyms and library
• The Celeste Dictionary, pages 9—26

Last revision: 23.08.2024 (DD.MM.YYYY). Update?

Mechanics

These "techs" were added primarily to make the game feel smoother and more forgiving. Some of them can be taken advantage of.

Berry Mechanics

The first strawberry Madeline carries is collected when she is on the ground (except strawberry blockfields), jumpthroughs, or most other non-moving entities for 9 consecutive frames. The next berry is collected after 9 additional frames, and so on.

Climbhop

Climbing onto the top of a ledge causes Madeline to do a small hop to get onto the platform. This usually does not occur if the platform has spikes or spinners on it that would kill Madeline.

Corner Correction

A leniency mechanic where dashing or jumping within 4 pixels of a corner of a solid surface causes Madeline to automatically be pushed around the corner rather than getting stopped by it. This was added to make tech such as wallbounces easier and generally make the game feel better.

Coyote Time/Jump

Madeline can input a jump for 5 so-called "coyote" frames after walking off a ledge, allowing for more distance in certain situations. Hyperdashes and superdashes can be done during coyote frames despite not being on the ground.

Dash Attack

The dash lasts for 15 frames (including 3 freeze frames). The period of 6 frames after the dash is known as Dash Attack, since Madeline can interact with entities (like Dash Switches or Kevin Blocks) during this period as if she is still in the dash state. However, executing a jump (including a climbjump/wallkick) or grabbing the entity will cancel the Dash Attack and the entity won't be activated; while this could be used intentionally, it is often done by mistake resulting in Madeline being stranded and dashless.

Directional Spikes

Spikes won't hurt Madeline if she collides with them, as long as she's moving in the direction they point.

Fastbubbling

Pressing the dash key inside a stationary green or red bubble makes it move instantly in the chosen direction, saving around a second if done immediately after entering a bubble. It is not counted as a dash. Fastbubbling, like most inputs, can be buffered, so optimal fastbubbling is almost always pressed and held just as Madeline is on her way into the bubble.

Fastfalling (Fastfall)

Holding down mid-air changes Madeline's max fall speed to 240 pixels per second instead of the usual 160. This is notably required in Farewell and is used to save time in "falling" areas.

Input Buffering

Attempting to perform an action that's not currently possible will "buffer" (store) the input for the next 5 frames. If it becomes possible within those 5 frames, Madeline will instantly perform it. For example, if you press jump slightly before landing on the ground, Madeline will jump on the first possible frame. This is notably used to execute tech instantly after a screen transition or to turn frame-perfect tricks into 5-frame windows. It can be done with almost every action in the game.

Liftboost

When being moved by an entity like a Zip Mover, the amount it moves you is stored as a value called liftboost. When letting go of the moving entity, your speed gets set to your liftboost value. There is a maximum value for liftboost, which is -130 for vertical velocity and 250 in the moving direction for horizontal velocity. When jumping, liftboost is added to your jump speed, so the maximum vertical speed for a jump with liftboost is -235 and the maximum horizontal speed is 355.

Other actions, such as hypers, supers, and dashes, apply liftboost the same way a jump does. The speed calculation for a hyper is (260+liftboost)*1.25 horizontal and (-105+liftboost)*0.5 vertical, so liftboost is applied slightly differently to hypers than to other actions.

Screen Transition

When transitioning between two screens, Madeline's dash(es) and stamina are restored. This can be used to gain height or reach otherwise unreachable areas. This is required to get a crystal heart in Old Site.

Additionally, after doing a vertical screen transition, Madeline gets a slight vertical speed boost to ensure that she passes the jumpthrough or does not return so quickly.

Dash Tech

Dash Techs require a dash to perform, though, for many, a dash can be substituted with a bubble.

Superdash (Super)

Reverse Superdash (Top), Superdash (Bottom)

Main article: Superdashes

Hyperdash (Hyper)

Main article: Hyperdashes

Wavedash

Wavedash and Reverse Wavedash

Main article: Wavedashes

Extended Dashes

A dash lasts 15 frames. When performing a dash, there is a 10-frame cooldown before Madeline's dash is restored. When performing a super/hyper/wavedash, you can regain your dash by jumping at the right time; dashing after the 10-frame cooldown has passed, but before the dash has ended.

Reverse Dashes

When performing a super/hyper/wavedash, the direction of your dash is not actually relevant. By jumping in the opposite direction of the dash, the tech can be performed in the opposite direction, for instance, a reverse wavedash by dashing down-left and jumping right.

Superwave

An extended superdash immediately followed by a reverse wavedash. It is mostly performed on pink clouds or crumble blocks.

Ultradash (Ultra)

Ultra

Main article: Ultradashes

Demodash (Demo)

Main article: Demodash

Wallbounce (wounce, wb)

Wallbounce

Main article: Wallbounces

Spring Cancel

Dashing just after hitting a spring cancels all momentum given by the spring. It can be done on both normal and sideways springs and also be a buffered input if you do not have a dash before hitting the spring.

Dashless Tech

Dashless Tech refers to tech that do not require a dash to perform. They tend to be more complex or precise.

Bunnyhop (Bhop)

Main article: Bunnyhops

Cornerkick

Cornerkicks are wallkicks off corners. Performed when Madeline passes right under them, they give a little bit of height.

To cornerkick, jump towards the corner, and press Jump again when you're right next to the corner.

Cornerkicks will be neutral if no directional keys are held on the frame you press jump.

Ceiling Pop (cpop)

Tutorial (referenced in Celestecord): Parrot Dash (YouTube)

When Madeline grabs a wall with downward momentum, she slides a tiny amount down. If she holds the bottom pixel of a wall while she has a low enough subpixel, she will slide below the wall while still being able to climbjump for one frame. Because there is no wall in the way, this climbjump will give Madeline forward momentum. This tech can also be turned into a buffer if a setup is found even in vanilla like the last room of Shrine in 4A for speedruns, or if the map is designed to keep the ceiling pop as buffer such as the ones used in MOCE // CPVL.

Crouch Jump / Crouch Climb

Madeline can jump while crouching and will keep crouching as long as she goes upward. This can be used to reduce her hitbox to avoid getting hit. Madeline can also climbjump while keeping crouch state, but she can not grab walls without moving downward and hence uncrouching. Wallkicks will also uncrouch you.

Note that it is possible to be crouched while holding a wall if the player lands a delayed ultra by sliding to the bottom of a wall while still grabbing it. They can then wallclimb upward while keeping their crouched hitbox until they next move downward.

Neutral Jump (Neutral)

Neutral jumping

Main article: Neutrals

5jump

When Madeline grabs the top of a wall, she will slide down a significant amount and not be able to climb up further. However, you still can climbjump or wallkick off the top of the wall. A 5jump is executed by using a neutral climbjump to reach the top of the wall and then jumping or climbjumping off it. This tech allows you to cross a 5-tile gap, hence its name.

Cornerboost (cb)

Main article: Cornerboost

Spike Tech

Main article: Spike Tech

Stamina Cancel

When climbing a wall, holding up and tapping grab repeatedly instead of simply holding up and grab lets you climb the wall with less stamina than normal, if done correctly.

Wallboost

Main article: Wallboosts

Cornerslip

If Madeline is within 1 pixel of a surface, her dash is refilled without resetting her vertical speed. It also gives coyote frames which can allow you to perform a crouch jump out of the cornerslip, and this is called a jasig jump, named after a speedrun strategy in Chapter 3 called jasig.

Entity Tech

Entity Tech refers to using various blocks or entities to do useful techs.

Archie

Tutorial: Flesh117

An Archie is entering a bubble with a crouched hitbox (from any direction), raising it by two pixels. This is usually performed with a demodash, but can also be done simply using a crouch jump. Archies are possible because bubbles center your hitbox when entered, hence you will be higher up if you enter the bubble with a smaller crouching hitbox.

Bubble Super / Hyper

If the game considers you grounded while in a bubble, you can hyperdash or superdash out of the bubble. Once you leave the ground, for 5 frames, you are in "coyote time" when the game still considers you to be on the ground. By entering a bubble and inputting a hyper or a super within this 5-frame window, you will gain the speed boost as well as keep your dash from the bubble, even if the bubble is mid-air.

Bumper Clip

When a bumper is hit, its hitbox is removed for a few frames. During this time the player can buffer a dash through it thus passing through the bumper. You have to hit the bumper at a precise angle to be able to pass through it with the dash and it can be done in any direction.

Explosion Boost

Explosions caused by pufferfishes, bumpers, or reviving seekers grant Madeline some momentum. If you're holding the same direction Madeline is boosted towards, you gain about 50 extra horizontal speed.

Fish / Iceball / Oshiro / Seeker / Snowball Jump

Holding jump when bouncing off the top of something (Oshiro, snowballs, pufferfish, seekers, or ice balls in vanilla) grants a significant amount of height compared to not pressing jump, and if dashed into will also preserve any horizontal momentum as the bounce will cancel the dash. For this reason, dashing horizontally onto one of these entities and jumping is sometimes referred to as a "fish super", "snowball super", and so on, despite mechanically not being related to a superdash.

Cloud Jump / Spiked Cloud Jump

Madeline only needs to jump when the cloud is at its highest position to gain the vertical speed boost; this can be used to avoid dying if there are spikes or other hazards under the cloud. Jump quickly to push it down, then jump again as it comes up.

Cloud Super/Hyper

Just like on the ground, Madeline can do a Super or a Hyper off clouds and still get the vertical speed bonus, although it is somewhat more precise. Input a Super or a Hyper as the cloud bounces upwards. The higher you jump, the more height you'll gain.

Cloud Hyper Bunnyhop

On top of doing Supers and Hypers on clouds, you also can do a Hyper Bunnyhop on white clouds, but since it's extremely tight, most Cloud Hyper Bunnyhops are done with a reverse Demohyper (doing a Demohyper instead of a regular Hyper makes it easier since the vertical dash of the Demohyper is faster and thus goes further than a down-diagonal dash).

To execute it, do a very short Reverse Demohyper with a tiny jump as soon as you land on the edge of the cloud, then Bunnyhop when the cloud reaches its highest position to get maximum height.

Core Hyper/Super

Core blocks give coyote frames before disappearing at the end of their launch, and a hyper/super can be performed during coyote time. The speed from this is combined with a large amount of horizontal liftboost granted by the core block, causing core hypers to give high amounts of speed.

Delayed Blockboost

A blockboost can still be achieved while not in contact with the block, but instead walljumping off another surface within a 9-frame window of no longer being in contact with the block. Most commonly done by holding a zip mover or dash block, then diagonal dashing towards a wall and jumping off of it to retain the momentum from the block.

Dream Tech

Dream Grab

Main article: Dream tech

Featherboost

Holding a diagonal direction with the movement buttons on the first frame of feather movement will give you an initial speed boost.

Feather Super

If you move horizontally along the ground in a feather and perform a jump, you will exit the feather state and perform a long jump. Despite the name, feather supers bear no mechanical relation to superdashes.

Jumpthrough Clip

If an entity pushes Madeline into a jumpthrough, she passes through it.

Feather Clip

Feather clip in Reflection

By touching a jumpthrough in feather mode before the feather expires, Madeline can pass through jumpthroughs from the other side.

Lava Neutrals

There is a single pixel of solid lava right infront of the lava hurtbox, so despite the fact that you can not grab and hold onto the lava, it is possible to buffer neutrals off of the lava or ice using this 1 pixel of leniency. Similarly, lava climbjumps, lava walljumps, lava wallbounces, lava 6jumps, lava 5tiles, and so on are also possible.

Moon Boost

If you do a superdash or demohyper into the top 3 pixels of a moon block, due to corner correction the player is corrected to be on top of the moon block, but simultaneously the block will also be pushed. Since the moon block is moving while you’re on top of it, the block gives you liftboost and results in a major speed boost.

Neutral Drop

Holding down while letting go of a throwable drops the throwable in place and resets any horizontal momentum it may have had, rather than throwing it towards a side. It is necessary for all types of vators.

Reform Tech

Main article: Reform Tech

Seeker Bounce

After hitting a wall, seekers enter a different state for a brief moment. In this state, you can bounce into them and get a horizontal speed boost (approximately Hyper speed). On top of refreshing your dash, it also affects your vertical speed depending on the angle at which you bump them. You cannot bounce off the top of the seeker since that's where the hitbox for "killing" them is.

Theo/Jelly Tech

A Jelly Regrab

Main article: Throwable Tech

Jellyvator / Theovator

Main article: Vators

Waterboost

Waterboost (TAS)

When you are on the surface of water, it is possible to jump multiple times, with each jump giving 40 horizontal speed. Humans can generally only do two or three jumps, while the TAS can bounce on every possible frame, achieving incredible speed.

Koral Clip

If an entity such as a kevin, zip mover, etc. pushes Madeline (or a throwable) against a screen border such that Madeline is clipped into the entity, then the entity starts moving back away from the screen border, Madeline will teleport to the side the entity is moving towards. This happens as if you end up clipped inside an entity, the game is coded to teleport you out in the direction the entity is moving.

Other Tech

These techs have very niche uses. Some of them are very difficult to perform.

Bino Tech

With Binos, you can do many obscure techs.

Bino Clip

To reduce strain on the game, when the player uses binos, the game will unload spinners not currently visible, allowing Madeline to dash or walk through them safely until they load back in. To do this, look in the binos, move them away enough to unload the spinners, and then quickly leave and dash through them.

Bino Control Storage

Bino Control Storage done by a TAS in Farewell.

Bino Control Storage is a complex tech that allows the player to control the bino and Madeline at the same time. It is done if Madeline gets knocked out of a bino after entering it, which is commonly accomplished by explosions or skipping a cutscene. This effect disappears after leaving the bino. In Farewell, it is possible to do a Bino Control Storage in the final room by entering it at a high speed, grabbing the jelly after triggering the pufferfish, activating a bino, and skipping a dialogue with Badeline.

Bino Interaction Storage

Interacting with binos for exactly one frame and jumping on the next frame tricks the game into thinking that Madeline is interacting with them when she is not. One of the consequences of this is that a dash through a screen transition gets canceled, which means that performing a grounded ultra through a screen transition allows the 1.2x speed boost to be retained past the end of the dash.

Bubsdrop

Main article: Bubsdrop

Cassette Raise

A raised cassette block. You can move through the solid purple section.

Remaining inside a cassette block while it activates and deactivates causes it to move upwards by two pixels. This can be repeated indefinitely. The cassette block will leave a trail matching its color, but it is not solid and Madeline can pass it.

Cutscene Warps

Some cutscene skips only teleport Madeline along the X-axis and keep her Y position. This allows Madeline to end up in unexpected places and is sometimes used in 2A and 5A to skip a part of the room.

Half Stamina Climbing

For a straight vertical wall, immediately after performing a wallboost, there are 2 frames where Madeline is still close enough to the wall to jump off it. Climbjumping gives you +40 speed back towards the wall, allowing you to return to the wall sooner at the cost of stamina. This combination of a wallboost and a climbjump uses the stamina of one climbjump but gives the height of two.

This tech can be made somewhat more RTA-viable by binding the same key to left, right, and jump. After climbjumping away from the wall to wallboost, pressing it within 2 frames makes Madeline turn around and climbjump.

Madeline can also neutral jump within 2 frames of a wallboost. This does not consume stamina and allows Madeline to climb faster than using only neutral jumps.

The 100% TAS uses this tech when obtaining the heart in 6A.

Kermit Dash

Kermit Dashing is a very rarely forced tech. Dashing through a screen transition cancels your dash, but does not remove the 'dashattack' timer which allows Madeline to do dash actions like wallbounces, breaking blocks, and entering dream blocks, sometimes called kermit wallbounces and so on. The dash direction of a cancelled dash is also maintained. For example, this lets you activate a Kevin from angles not usually possible or for preserving your dash. This is used in the "True ending" in Ivory from Strawberry Jam Collab.

Pause Buffering

When unpausing the game, there is a short window in which the game has not started yet. Inputting during this period up to 6 frames (notably longer than the standard 5-frame buffer window) before the game starts will make the input occur on the first frame of the game running. This allows you to input a movement command as well as another pause command, effectively making the game run one frame at a time, making frame-perfect techs significantly easier to perform.

Roboboost

Video: ZKB (YouTube)

Roboboost, also known as mb6fbhsphdrcb, is a moving block 6-frame bunnyhop subpixel hyperdash reverse cornerboost. This tech is incredibly complex to do RTA.

Screen Transition Cassette Offset

Screen transitioning while a cassette block activates causes all cassette blocks of that color in the new room to be 1 pixel higher and all cassette blocks of the previous color to be a pixel lower.

Spinner Stunning

Information: Msushi (YouTube)

Spinners only gain collision when within a certain distance of Madeline, and they check whether they are in this distance every third frame. By pausing on the frame this check occurs, the check is skipped, keeping the spinner uncollidable. This can be chained to keep spinners nonlethal for arbitrarily long time periods. Critically, this check has a pseudo-random offset on each spinner, effectively separating all spinners into three groups, only one of which may be stunned. While humans have performed spinner stunning, it is generally considered a TAS-only tech as each pause is frame-perfect, and without using hitboxes it is impossible to tell which group is being stunned. Lightning can also be stunned in the same manner as described above.

(Note that spinners are made uncollidable rather than unloaded — they are still loaded as usual, just unable to kill Madeline.)

Spinner Freeze

After the player waits for around 118 hours in a level, the TimeActive variable will stop increasing due to floating point imprecision. TimeActive is the variable that decides which spinner group to check, so two-thirds of spinners will never be loaded, making a variation of spinner stunning humanly possible.

Undemo dashing

This tech is the opposite of a manual demodash. Instead of forcing the frame 1 crouch check to be made on a non-downward dash, the player avoids the crouch check on a downward dash by redirecting from a neutral or non-downward direction. It is useful in particular circumstances, like entering a dream block uncrouched or collecting a heart from the bottom with a down dash. A good example of this is the Weightless Pressure mod.

Trivia

• 1A — Dashless tech is used extensively to collect the Winged Golden Strawberry. The Cornerkick named "Coffee Jump" refers to the Cornerkick in the room with the coffee shop in the background.
• 2A — Screen Transitions must be used to obtain the Old Site Crystal Heart.
• 3A — The Elevator Shaft Demo strategy, which requires a Demodash through the Dust Bunnies created by Oshiro, can be used to skip many rooms at once.
• The bird will teach the player multiple techs throughout the game: climbing and dashing in Prologue, Dream Jumps in 2B, Wallbounces in 7B, and Hyperdashes in 8C.
• The game will teach Wavedashes to the player in Farewell on the screen after the Heart Door in Event Horizon. The bird is also mentioned in that tutorial.
• The Demodash is named after the player DemoJameson, who discovered the tech on October 14, 2018.