Beginner
Featured
Inventory
Storage
Items
Gameplay

Managing Your Inventory in Star Citizen (2026)

A detailed guide on how to efficiently manage your local and ship inventory, transfer items, and optimize storage space.

Updated: 5/10/2026

TL;DR: Star Citizen inventory has two layers — your personal inventory (items on your character, follows you everywhere) and local storage (habitat, ship cargo hold, outpost terminal — stays put until you retrieve it). Press I to open the screen, then drag items between the left panel (personal) and right panel (location/ship). Always move valuables out of your ship's hold before claiming it — insurance reclaim destroys the cargo.

Last updated: May 10, 2026.

Inventory Types

  • Personal inventory: Items on your character — armor, weapons, consumables. Capacity depends on your equipped armor and backpack. Travels with you everywhere.
  • Backpack: Additional storage you wear. Increases personal carry capacity significantly.
  • Local storage: Location-specific (habitat room, outpost storage terminal). Large capacity but tied to that location. Persists between sessions.
  • Ship inventory / cargo hold: Storage attached to your ship. Cargo (SCU boxes) goes in the hold; small items go in the ship's inventory panel. Lost if the ship is destroyed without recovery.

How to Transfer Items

  1. Press I to open the inventory screen.
  2. Make sure you're near your ship or storage terminal — items can only be transferred when both inventories are in range.
  3. Drag items from the left panel (personal) to the right panel (location/ship) or vice versa.
  4. For bulk moves, right-click an item and choose Transfer all or use the stack transfer button.
Star Citizen inventory screen showing personal inventory panel on the left and ship storage panel on the right

Storage Persistence Rules

  • Personal inventory items persist between sessions and across servers.
  • Local storage (habitat, outpost) persists — items stay there until you retrieve them.
  • Ship cargo hold persists if the ship is intact — but cargo is lost if the ship is destroyed.
  • Claiming a ship (insurance reclaim) destroys the current hull including everything in it — always unload cargo before claiming.
Close-up of Star Citizen inventory screen with a weapon being dragged from personal inventory into ship storage

Organization Tips

  • Pick a home base: Keep your main loadout and valuables at one station you visit frequently.
  • Ship specialization: Dedicate different ships for different roles — don't mix combat loadouts with cargo hauling in the same ship inventory.
  • Sell regularly: Loot and commodities pile up fast. Visit a Trade & Development Division (TDD) terminal to sell excess.
  • Cargo planning: Check SCU capacity before buying trade goods — 1 SCU ≈ 1.95m³. Know your ship's hold size.

Frequently Asked Questions