Glass in No Man’s Sky is crafted from 40 silicate powder in a refiner, taking just 5 seconds per unit. It’s one of the most commonly needed materials for base building and advanced crafting, so knowing the fastest way to produce it in bulk will save you a lot of time.
The Fastest Method: Silicate Powder Refining
Place 40 silicate powder into any refiner to produce one glass. This is the quickest recipe at 5 seconds per output, and silicate powder is everywhere. You collect it by using your terrain manipulator on virtually any planet surface. Digging into the ground, carving out caves, or flattening terrain all yield silicate powder as a byproduct, so you’ll often accumulate thousands of units without even trying.
If you need glass in bulk, load up a medium or large refiner and let it run while you handle other tasks. Since silicate powder stacks high and costs nothing to gather, this is the go-to method for most players.
Alternative Refining Recipes
Two other refiner recipes produce glass, each useful in different situations.
Frost crystals: 40 frost crystals refine into one glass. This takes 30 seconds per unit, six times slower than silicate powder. Frost crystals grow on frozen planets (listed in your scanner as Frozen, Glacial, Hyperborean, or similar labels). You can also plant frostwort in hydroponic trays or biodomes to farm them at your base. This method makes sense if you already have a frost crystal farm running but is otherwise slower than mining terrain.
Cyto-phosphate and salt: Combining 50 cyto-phosphate with 50 salt produces one glass in 10 seconds. Both resources come from underwater environments. This is a niche option if you happen to be exploring ocean planets, but the higher material cost and the need for two ingredients make it less efficient overall.
Buying Glass Directly
You can skip crafting entirely by purchasing glass from certain NPCs. Small habitat outposts and single-landing-pad outposts on planet surfaces occasionally stock glass in small quantities. Space station trade terminals rarely carry it, so your best bet is landing at minor outposts and checking the vendor inventory. The supply per vendor is low, though, so this works for topping off a shortfall rather than sourcing large amounts.
What Glass Is Used For
Base Building
Glass is a primary ingredient in many of the best-looking base parts. Biodomes, glass cuboid rooms, glass ceiling panels, glass floor sections, and various window attachments all require it. If you’re building a base with natural light or transparent walls, expect to burn through dozens or even hundreds of glass units. Biodomes alone are popular for indoor farming setups, and each one costs several glass to construct.
Living Glass
Living Glass is a high-value crafted product that requires 5 glass and 1 lubricant. You unlock the Living Glass blueprint through the Scientist questline at your Science Terminal, which itself becomes available during the Overseer missions. Living Glass sells for a solid profit and is also used in further advanced crafting recipes, making it one of the better reasons to set up a dedicated glass production line.
Since each unit of Living Glass eats 5 glass (which means 200 silicate powder), having a stockpile of silicate powder or a frost crystal farm pays off quickly if you plan to craft these for income.
Setting Up Efficient Glass Production
For occasional needs, just mine terrain with your terrain manipulator and refine the silicate powder. You’ll have glass in seconds. For larger-scale production, consider these approaches:
- Multiple refiners: Place two or three medium refiners in your base and run silicate powder through all of them simultaneously. Each batch of 40 powder converts in 5 seconds, so you can produce glass very quickly this way.
- Frost crystal farming: Build a biodome, plant frostwort inside, and harvest on a timer. This gives you a renewable frost crystal supply without leaving your base. The refining is slower at 30 seconds per glass, but the harvesting is passive.
- Terrain mining runs: If you need hundreds of glass, fly to a barren planet and dig. The terrain manipulator collects silicate powder extremely fast when you carve large holes, and you can fill your inventory in minutes.
For most players, keeping a few hundred silicate powder on hand and refining as needed is the simplest approach. Glass is easy to make once you know the recipe, and silicate powder is the one resource in No Man’s Sky you’ll never run out of.