Core Keeper Habitable Room Guide

• • Core Keeper

In the ever-expanding underground world of Core Keeper, adventure rewards the curious. Whether you’re digging through forgotten tunnels or toppling towering bosses, there’s always some unique loot waiting to be discovered. But not everything in the game comes from combat or exploration alone.

Some of the most useful—and sometimes exclusive—items can only be purchased from merchants. These friendly NPCs sell everything from rare equipment to special crafting stations you won’t find anywhere else. In exchange, you’ll use Core Keeper’s currency: Ancient Coins, which you can earn by selling valuables back to them.

But here’s the catch—trekking all the way back to a merchant’s spawn point every time you need something can get old fast. That’s where habitable rooms come in.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to build proper habitable rooms that will allow merchants to move into your base. It’s not just convenient—it’s essential for building a well-connected, self-sufficient hub that keeps your adventure flowing smoothly.

How to Build a Habitable Room in Core Keeper

A screenshot from the game Core Keeper shows a player character and the Bearded Merchant standing in a small, well-lit, tiled room. The room contains a bed and a torch surrounded by walls. To the left of the room, a darker, more natural cave environment is visible, with dirt paths, some water, and glowing plant life. A large tree dominates the left side of the image, lit by a beam of light from above.

‘To build a habitable room for merchants, start by placing down walls or blocks to form an enclosed space. Just make sure you don’t go overboard with the size—rooms that are too large won’t be considered valid housing. According to the Core Keeper Wiki, a habitable room should have no more than 64 floor tiles.

You’re not limited to one specific building material, either. Any crafted walls—like Wood Walls, Paintable Walls, or even Glass Walls—will work. You can even use solid blocks like Dirt, Stone, or Grass to enclose the room.

Once the walls are in place, be sure to seal off the room with a door. This is important—a room that isn’t fully enclosed won’t count as habitable. Interestingly, doors are treated like walls by the game as well, so feel free to use more than one if it suits your design.

After enclosing the space, place a bed inside. That’s the final piece needed to make the room habitable.

From here, all that’s left is to place the merchant’s summoning item in the room and wait a few seconds. The merchant should appear shortly and move right in.

A screenshot from the game Core Keeper shows a rectangular, well-lit room with tiled floors and grass block walls. The room is densely packed with five different merchant characters, each with their distinct appearance. There are multiple beds scattered around the room, along with several torches providing light. A wooden door is visible at the top of the room. The areas outside the room are completely dark.

If you’d like multiple merchants in a single room, that’s totally possible too—just be sure to place a bed for each merchant, and make sure there’s enough floor space for them to stand on.

If your merchant doesn’t show up, double-check the following:

  • The room is fully enclosed with walls and at least one door.
  • The total floor tile count doesn’t exceed 64.
  • You’ve placed a bed and the merchant-summoning item, with free space for the merchant to appear.
  • Try walking far enough away from the room so it goes off-screen, then come back after a few seconds.
  • Disable mods and restart the game.

Still no luck? It might be a bug. Use the “Report bugs/feedback” option in the main menu, or reach out to the developers at Pugstorm for support.

How to Relocate Merchants

Relocating merchants in Core Keeper is refreshingly straightforward. If you want to move a merchant to a new location, just pick up both the bed and the merchant-summoning item from their current room and place them in a new habitable room.

You can even move a merchant into a room that’s already occupied—just make sure there’s an extra bed and enough space for them. As long as the room meets the usual requirements (enclosed, under the tile limit, and properly set up), they’ll move in shortly after the items are placed.

Your Merchant Housing, Complete

A screenshot from the game Core Keeper depicts a cross-shaped central room connected to four smaller, single-room extensions, resembling a plus sign. The central room features a player character. Each of the four radiating rooms contains a unique merchant NPC, a bed, and is illuminated by tall, glowing blue torches that emit an ethereal light. The floor tiles are dark and shimmering, creating a sense of being underground or in a magical space. The areas outside of the rooms are completely dark.

One of the best parts about building habitable rooms in Core Keeper is that, beyond the basic requirements, you’re free to decorate however you like. Add furniture, lighting, and even livestock—if that’s your thing. Your personal flair won’t affect the room’s habitability, so feel free to get creative and make your merchant quarters feel like home.

Also, in case you accidentally (or not-so-accidentally) take out a merchant, don’t worry—they’ll respawn after a while, as long as their room remains habitable. Just give it a bit of time, and they’ll be back like nothing happened.

With all this in place, you’re now ready to set up your own habitable rooms right inside your base. No more long trips to NPC spawn points—just convenience, charm, and a steady supply of items and Ancient Coins, all in one place.

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