Copper golems in Minecraft work as automatic item sorters and transporters. They take items from copper chests and attempt to deposit them into nearby wooden chests that are either empty or already contain at least one of the same item type. They carry up to 16 items at a time and check up to 10 chests within a radius of 16 blocks horizontally and 8 blocks vertically around them. The golem will scan these chests sequentially to find a matching chest to deposit the items it carries. If it can't find a match, it deposits items into an overflow chest if available, or idles briefly before retrying the process. The copper golem's behavior allows for an automated sorting system when paired with copper chests as item collection points and wooden chests as categorized storage.

Key mechanics:

• The copper golem picks items from copper chests.
• It searches nearby chests (normal or trapped) within a certain range for storing items.
• Items are deposited only in chests that are empty or hold the same item type.
• It transports up to 16 items at a time.
• It checks a maximum of 10 chests.
• If no matching chest is found, items go to an overflow chest or the golem idles temporarily.
• The golem's scanning radius is 16 blocks horizontally and 8 blocks vertically centered on itself, not the chests.
• The golem is about one block tall and can only reach two blocks high for chests.

This functionality makes copper golems helpful for sorting and organizing items automatically.