Controls

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Last Updated: 2025-10-16
Editor: jellygato

Controls

You can change your keybinds at any time using the Options menu in-game.

Interface

At the top left you'll see all the menu buttons with their corresponding hotkeys. Take a look at what they do, especially the emotes menu. Notably, the Admin Help (ahelp) menu button will become red if an admin is trying to contact you.

Action bar

Below the menu buttons, there's the action bar that shows buttons for generic and equipment-dependent actions your character can perform. Hover over them to learn their function.

It's also a hotbar — perform those actions by pressing their corresponding number keys on your keyboard. Rearrange them by dragging one icon over another, or remove icons temporarily by dragging them away.

Status bar

Below the chat window on the right, there's the status bar showing your character's statuses. As with the action bar, hover over those icons to see what they mean.

Some of those icons can also be clicked. For example, if your character ever catches on fire, a fire icon will appear. You would click [keybind="Use"] on it to drop and roll. The same applies to breaking handcuffs if you need to escape restraint.

Inventory bar

Along the bottom you’ll find the inventory bar that contains all the icons related to your equipment and storage, left to right: - clothing inventory (bottom left corner) — opened with [keybind="OpenInventoryMenu"] — has slots for eyes, head, neck, face, ears, body, external, hands, and shoes, - PDA slot — used to store a usable PDA that holds an ID and a pen, - belt slot — used for toolbelts and jetpacks, - back slot — normally used for satchels, backpacks and duffel bags, but it can also store medium to large weapons, and full-sized air tanks. - hand slots — you can think of them as transfer slots, - pocket slots — useful for storing small items for easy access, - suit storage slot — usable only when wearing a space suit, hardsuit or armor. Meant for air tanks and jetpacks, but can also hold guns.

Note: non-humanoid species may have slightly different slots.

Movement

To move your character around, use [keybind="MoveUp"][keybind="MoveLeft"][keybind="MoveDown"][keybind="MoveRight"].

Carried objects and afflictions influence your movement speed, but you can also hold [keybind="Walk"] to walk. This reduces your speed and helps you avoid slipping and falling over when walking over slippery hazards like banana peels or spills.

Note: walking can be switched to a toggle in the controls menu.

Spacewalks

If you find yourself in zero gravity, you'll still be able to move — although with reduced friction — as long as you're within reach of any structure.

If you drift completely off station and into space, you'll need to use the laws of motion, such as by throwing objects in the opposite direction.

Hands

Your character’s hands are represented by hand slots, which are centered along the bottom of the screen. - One of your hands is always the active hand. - Swap hands with [keybind="SwapHands"] to control which one is active. - Take items into your active, empty hand with [keybind="Use"]. - Use [keybind="Use"] to put a held item from your active hand somewhere else, or to use it on something or someone, depending on the context. - Pay attention to your active hand when interacting with the world to prevent accidentally using held items.

Items can't be transferred by drag and drop.

Dropping and throwing

Use [keybind="Drop"] to drop (or place) an item from your hand within arm's reach. Throw items to your cursor with [keybind="ThrowItemInHand"].

Pulling and pushing

You can pull movable entities — items, objects, and mobs such as players, as long as you have an empty hand. - Use [keybind="TryPullObject"] to start pulling. - Push pulled entities to your cursor with [keybind="MovePulledObject"]. - To release, press [keybind="ReleasePulledObject"] or pull the same entity again.

You can also use [keybind="Drop"] to release pulled entities from your active hand.

Interactions

The game features six types of context-sensitive interactions, accessible through different methods.

Standard and alternative

Clicking [keybind="Use"] performs standard interactions. They heavily depend on the item you're holding and what you click on.

Standard interactions range from clicking tables to put held items onto them, to using objects in the world with empty hands, and most commonly, using held items to interact with mobs and with other items.

In some situations, you can directly swap items by clicking. For example, while holding a beaker, click on a machine that holds another beaker.

Some items have alternative interactions — use [keybind="AltActivateItemInWorld"] to lock lockers, eject sub-items such as batteries from other items, etc.

Activation

Interact with objects such as containers even when your hands are full by performing activation interactions with [keybind="ActivateItemInWorld"]. This allows you to, for example, open containers without picking them up, open doors without using the item you're holding, and to cycle guns.

Notably, press [keybind="ActivateItemInWorld"] on a mob to open the strip menu, allowing you to view their inventory — which lets you try to take it.

In-hand

Many items also have use-in-hand interactions, such as opening bottles, wielding two-handed guns and big melee weapons with both hands (clubs, spears, axes, mops, shotguns, etc.), or cycling guns.

You may just perform them by clicking on your active hand, but it's worth remembering the hotkeys — [keybind="ActivateItemInHand"] and [keybind="AltActivateItemInHand"] for standard and alternative in-hand interactions, respectively.

Click and drag

To "use" a mob (player or NPC) on a static object, click and drag them onto said object with [keybind="Use"]. (Not to be confused with pulling.)

Use it to: - Put a mob on a chair, bed, into a cryogenic chamber, etc.

- Climb yourself onto a table — you can also click [keybind="AltActivateItemInWorld"] on the table.

- Open the strip menu by dragging another mob onto your character — which is also doable with [keybind="ActivateItemInWorld"], as mentioned earlier.

Pointing

Use [keybind="Point"] to point at a location in the world, creating a temporary arrow visible to everyone.

Conclusion

The main interactions are: - [bolditalic]standard[/bolditalic] ([keybind="Use"]), - alternative ([keybind="AltActivateItemInWorld"]), - activation ([keybind="ActivateItemInWorld"]), - [bolditalic]use-in-hand[/bolditalic] ([keybind="ActivateItemInHand"]), - alternative use-in-hand ([keybind="AltActivateItemInHand"]), - click and drag (which is unique for placing mobs onto objects).

Don't worry about having to memorize them — they're usually intuitive and consistent across entity categories, and you'll find that most entities only use one or two interactions.

Items are still interactable while stored in containers.

Context menus

Click [keybind="UIRightClick"/] on any interactive entity to open the context menu, which shows you additional interaction you can currently perform. The context menu can offer interactions such as: - transferring all contents from a container held in your active hand to another container, - splitting item stacks using presets, - choosing more precise transfer amounts for chemicals, - showing deconstruction steps for objects.

If you click [keybind="UIRightClick"/] on a pile of items, you'll open the entity menu, listing overlapping entities you can interact with normally.

Examining

If you're ever unsure about any entity, whether it's an object or a mob, examine it with [keybind="ExamineEntity"]. You can also examine items listed in the entity menu.

Besides viewing the entity's description, you'll see some icons in the bottom right of the menu: - a question mark icon that links to the appropriate guidebook section, - a lightning icon to view the item's statistics, - a heart icon to view a mob's health, - and more.

Inventory and clothing

All items can be equipped/unequipped by using [keybind="Use"] on the appropriate slot.

The easiest way to wear (or equip) a piece of clothing is to use it in your active hand with [keybind="ActivateItemInHand"]. Some items don't support this, so you may need to manually equip them them in the appropriate slot.

Some clothes have internal inventories and behave like containers.

Item stacks

To halve a stack of items, use [keybind="AltActivateItemInWorld"].

Back and belt slots

If you have a bag or a belt, open their inventories with [keybind="ActivateItemInWorld"] or by clicking the mini-icons in the bottom right of their icons. You can also use the [keybind="OpenBackpack"] and '[keybind="OpenBelt"] hotkeys for that.

Press [keybind="SmartEquipBackpack"] to quick-equip — it quick-stores the item from your active hand into your bag, or if your hand is empty, quick-equips the most recently added item from the bag into your active hand. [keybind="SmartEquipBelt"] does the same for your belt, making tool access faster. Tip: You can also quick-equip single items stored in the back slot.

Organizing grid inventories

Rearrange items by dragging them with [keybind="MoveStoredItem"]. While dragging, rotate them with [keybind="RotateStoredItem"].

Click [keybind="SaveItemLocation"] on an item inside a container to save its position, so it always goes back to that position when stored. View saved positions by hovering over items.

Camera

Zoom the camera with [keybind="ZoomIn"] and [keybind="ZoomOut"] and reset with [keybind="ResetZoom"]. Rotate it with [keybind="CameraRotateLeft"] and [keybind="CameraRotateRight"] and reset with [keybind="CameraReset"]. \nNote: maps are generally designed to be played with the default camera rotation.

For more details about controls, you can refer to the Wiki.