Entirely a vanilla Minecraft datapack for 1.17 & 1.18

The Gat Auto-Torch makes some functions of placing your torches automatic.

Having a torch in the off-hand will automatically place torches when the block_light level becomes 0, which is dark enough to spawn underground mobs. An off-hand torch will begin to smoke at light levels below 8, alerting the player it is dark enough for mobs to spawn under the sky.

Having a torch in the lower-right corner of the inventory will disable the auto-placement feature in case you want to be able to carry torches in your off-hand but don't want them auto-placing all over the place. In this case, instead of placing torches, it will alert the player with an extinguishing sound (pshhh) when you have traveled too far from your nearest torch.

Auto-placement favors placing the torch on a wall to the left of the player, and if there is no viable wall to the player's immediate left, it will place the torch on the floor. Why favor placing torches on the left? So you don't get lost in complex caverns. To find your way back out, simply follow your torches back out keep the wall-placed torches to your right. You will find your way back out easily without getting lost. Left-In, Right-Out! It's better than bread-crumbs, because, you know... birds. Hugging the left wall on your way into darkness will help ensure more left-side torches are getting placed.

In either mode (auto-placement or sound-alert), the player will be warned with a click whenever they travel far enough from the nearest torch to be at risk for mob spawning.

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Be sure to check out some of my other fun packs found here.
-GatPack DataPack, packed full of all kinds of fun enhancements to the vanilla experience.
-GatSilk Silk Touch DataPack, allows picking up spawners and infested blocks.
-CTM Generator DataPack, makes any world into a Complete The Monument world.
-GatPack Texture Pack, makes vanilla Minecraft 3D, animated, and algebraic.