Vintage Story Controls Guide: All PC Keybinds

Vintage Story has a deep and complex control scheme that reflects its survival-focused gameplay. Whether you are mining deep underground, forging tools at the anvil, or managing your inventory, knowing the right keybinds makes the difference between smooth gameplay and frustrating fumbles. This guide covers every default keybind in Vintage Story, organised by category, plus tips for customising your controls.

All keybinds listed here are the default PC controls. You can rebind every key in the settings menu if the defaults do not suit your play style.

Movement Controls

Movement in Vintage Story follows standard first-person game conventions with some survival-specific additions:

• W / A / S / D — Move forward, left, backward, right.
• Space — Jump. Hold to climb ladders and vines.
• Left Shift — Sneak. Walk quietly to avoid alerting animals and enemies. Also prevents falling from block edges.
• Left Ctrl — Sprint. Increases movement speed at the cost of higher hunger drain.
• X — Toggle between walking and running modes.
• Z — Crouch toggle. Useful for extended sneaking without holding Shift.
• Q — Drop the currently held item.
• Ctrl + Q — Drop an entire stack of the held item.

When swimming, Space raises you in the water and Left Shift submerges you. Sprint-swimming is faster but drains stamina and hunger more quickly.

Inventory Controls

Managing your inventory efficiently is critical in Vintage Story, where item weight and stack limits matter:

• E — Open your inventory / character screen.
• Tab — Toggle to the secondary inventory panel (crafting grid, backpack, or container).
• Shift + Left Click — Move an item stack between your inventory and an open container or hotbar.
• Ctrl + Left Click — Pick up half the items from a stack.
• 1 through 0 — Hotbar slots. Press a number to select that slot. 0 is the tenth slot.
• Scroll Wheel — Cycle through hotbar slots.
• R — Rotate the held item when placing (for directional blocks).

Hold Shift while dragging items in your inventory to split stacks precisely — a feature added in Update 1.22.0. This is invaluable when organising resources into even stacks for smelting or crafting.

Interaction Controls

Interacting with the world uses both mouse buttons and several keyboard keys:

• Left Mouse Button — Attack, break blocks, harvest crops, or interact with tools.
• Right Mouse Button — Use held item, place blocks, open containers, or interact with NPCs and workstations.
• F — Switch tool mode (see dedicated section below).
• G — Pick up an item from the ground directly into your hotbar (if there is space).
• V — Pick block. Middle-click equivalent. Copies the targeted block into your hotbar.
• B — Open the crafting grid / workbench interface when near a workbench.
• N — Toggle between first-person and third-person camera view.

Right-click behaviour changes depending on context. For example, right-clicking with an empty hand on a chest opens it, while right-clicking with a tool opens the tool's interaction menu.

Building and Block Placement Controls

Vintage Story's building system is more detailed than many survival games, and the controls reflect that depth:

• Mouse Wheel — Rotate the block you are placing horizontally. Works for stairs, slabs, logs, and other directional blocks.
• H — Enter hammer mode. When holding a hammer, H toggles between smithing and building modes. In building mode, you can flatten, carve, and shape stone blocks.
• Ctrl + Scroll Wheel — Cycle through block variants (e.g., different wood types when placing planks).
• B — Open the block selection menu when in creative mode.

When placing blocks, Vintage Story shows a ghost preview of where the block will go. The preview updates as you rotate with the mouse wheel, helping you align builds precisely.

Chat and Communication Controls

Multiplayer communication uses standard conventions:

• T — Open chat input.
• / — Open chat with a slash prefix for commands.
• Enter — Send the chat message.
• Escape — Close chat without sending.
• Up Arrow / Down Arrow — Scroll through previously sent messages.

Common chat commands include /msg <player> for private messaging, /list to see online players, and /help for a full command list. Server admins have access to additional administration commands.

Tool Mode Switching

The F key is one of the most important buttons in Vintage Story. It cycles through available modes for the currently held tool. Different tools have different modes:

• Hammer: Switches between smithing mode (used at anvils) and building mode (used for stone shaping).
• Knife: Switches between cutting and carving modes.
• Axe: Switches between felling trees and stripping bark.
• Shovel: Switches between digging and flattening terrain.
• Hoe: Switches between tilling soil and creating furrows.
• Scythe: Switches between harvesting crops and cutting tall grass.

The current tool mode is displayed in the HUD. Pay attention to which mode you are in — using the wrong mode results in no interaction or unintended block changes.

Special Action Controls

Several keys open dedicated UI panels and special actions:

• C — Open the character panel. Shows your character model, equipped armour, health, hunger, and hydration stats.
• M — Open the world map. The map reveals terrain as you explore. You can place waypoints and view your current location.
• L — Open the handbook. Vintage Story's in-game guide contains recipes, block information, and survival tips. This is one of the most useful resources for new players.
• J — Open the journal / quest log. Tracks progression and any active narrative objectives.
• K — Open the skills panel. Shows your character's skill levels in various disciplines like smithing, farming, and combat.
• O — Toggle the overview minimap (if enabled).
• P — Take a screenshot (saved to the screenshots folder).
• Escape — Open the pause menu / game menu.

How to Rebind Keys

To change any keybind, open the game menu (Escape) and select Settings > Controls. The control list is organised by category with the same groupings used in this guide. Click any keybinding and press your desired new key. The game immediately saves your changes.

Tips for rebinding:

• Avoid conflicts: The game warns you if a key is already bound to another action. Resolve conflicts by reassigning one of the overlapping binds.
• Mouse buttons: Vintage Story supports additional mouse buttons. Bind F to a thumb mouse button if you use tool mode switching frequently — it saves reaching across the keyboard.
• Profile backups: Your keybind configuration is stored in the VintagestoryData/Config/Settings.json file. Back this up if you experiment with complex bindings.
• Reset to defaults: A button at the bottom of the controls menu resets all keybinds to their factory defaults.

Tips for Efficient Keybinds

Based on community experience and gameplay hours, here are some optimisation suggestions:

• Bind F to a mouse button: If possible, rebind tool mode switching to a mouse thumb button. This keeps your left hand on movement keys at all times.
• Left Ctrl vs. Alt: Some players prefer Alt for sprinting because it is easier on the wrist during long sessions. Experiment to find what is comfortable.
• Quick-slot food: Place food in your hotbar slot 9 and bandages in slot 8. Muscle memory for these slots saves valuable seconds during combat.
• Toggle sneak: Use Z (toggle crouch) when performing long building tasks. Holding Shift for extended periods causes hand fatigue.
• Handbook key: Keep L bound to something easily accessible. The handbook is your best reference for recipes and mechanics.

Conclusion

Mastering Vintage Story's controls transforms the game from a confusing survival sim into a fluid, intuitive experience. Take a few minutes to learn the default keybinds, then customise them to match your preferences. The time invested in setting up comfortable controls pays off every time you play.

Whether you are a new player or a returning veteran, reviewing the control scheme periodically helps you discover features you may have missed. Many players go hundreds of hours before realising a specific keybind exists — do not be one of them.

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