How do I unlock lockers in Probably Stolen?
Drag the matching Disposable Keycard onto the locked crate: Security, Engineering, Medical or Service for that department's crate, or a Command keycard for any of them.
How to Unlock Lockers (Locked Crates) in Probably Stolen
In Probably Stolen, the lockers you need to unlock are locked supply crates, and each one says "Access card required". Open one with the Disposable Keycard for the department named on the crate, or with a Command keycard. Buy cards, find them in crates, or write your own in a Cryptographic Desequencer.
How to unlock lockers in Probably Stolen
For what the game is and every guide we publish, start at the Probably Stolen guide hub.
- Match the department: Security, Engineering, Medical and Service keycards each open their own department's crate.
- Command opens them all: its text says "most locks", and in the demo's code it opens all five crates.
- Evidence Locker: it uses the Security lock, so a Security or Command keycard opens it.
- Wrong card: nothing happens, and you keep the card.
- Research and Supply keycards: no crate in the current demo takes them.
Probably Stolen lockers at a glance
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| What the lockers are | Five locked crates that say "Access card required". Source: In-game text. |
| What opens them | A Disposable Keycard for the crate's department, or a Command keycard. Source: In-game text; the demo's code. |
| Evidence Locker | Opens with a Security or a Command keycard. Source: The demo's code. |
| Using a card | Keycards are single-use; a card that doesn't match is not used up. Source: In-game text; the demo's code. |
| Making your own | A Blank Keycard and a department chip in a Cryptographic Desequencer, with power, overnight. Source: In-game text. |
| Who sells cards | Dr. Jackson sells Blank Keycards, the Desequencer and chips; Thieves sell department keycards and chips. Source: The demo's code; player reports. |
| Research and Supply keycards | No crate takes them in the current demo. Source: The Update 049 patch notes, September 14, 2026; the demo's code. |
The five locked crates
Players call them lockers, crates, boxes or cases. In the game they are five items, and every one of them ends its description with "Access card required":
- Security Department Supply Crate: "A locked crate. Labeled for the Station Security Armory. Full of supplies."
- Engineering Foundry Supply Crate: "A locked crate. Labeled for the Station Engineering Foundry. Full of supplies." Its flavor text adds: "Those hard hats will regret losing their tools..."
- Medical Bay Supply Crate: "A locked crate. Labeled for the Station Medical Bay. Full of supplies." Flavor: "Surely these missing supplies won't cost anyone their lives... right?"
- Security Department Evidence Locker: "A locked crate. Labeled for the Station Security Evidence Locker. Valuable."
- Service Department Supply Crate: "A secure crate. Labeled for the Station Service Department. Full of supplies." Flavor: "The Station Service Department distributes utility supplies to those who need, or pay, for them."
Read the names carefully. "Supply Crate" in four of them means a crate of supplies, not the Supply department; the game lists all five under the item type "Supply Crate". The department that matters is the one before it: Security, Engineering Foundry, Medical Bay or Service.
For the demo, the UPDATE 049 patch notes of September 14, 2026 add one line about these crates: "The Security Supply Crate has been buffed."
Which access card opens each crate
The "access card" the crates ask for is a Disposable Keycard. Each department card says which locks it opens: the Security card "Can open locks that require Security Department access", and the Engineering, Medical and Service cards say the same for their own department. In the demo's code, each crate has a department lock and each card a matching key:
| Crate | Keycards that open it |
|---|---|
| Security Department Supply Crate | Security or Command |
| Security Department Evidence Locker | Security or Command |
| Engineering Foundry Supply Crate | Engineering or Command |
| Medical Bay Supply Crate | Medical or Command |
| Service Department Supply Crate | Service or Command |
How to use a card. Buy or take the crate first, then drag the keycard onto it. Any keycard can be tried on any locked crate you own. A matching card opens it, and since every department card is "A single-use keycard", it is spent. A card that doesn't match does nothing: the demo's code only plays a sound and leaves the card in your inventory, so trying the wrong one costs you nothing.
The Command keycard. Its text reads "A single-use keycard for Station Command. Can open most locks that require keycard access." and its flavor "A master keycard, to be carried only by Station Command." In the demo's code it opens all five crates without exception. The "most" is the game's own wording; keep a Command card for whichever crate turns up without its own key.
The Supply mix-up. A Disposable Keycard (Supply) does not open any of the four "Supply Crates", and neither does a Research keycard. Players who tried a Supply card on the Engineering Foundry Supply Crate found it did nothing. Research and Supply keycards have their own section below.
Where to get access cards and how to write your own
There are three ways to get the keycard a crate needs.
Buy it. In the demo's code, Thieves carry Command, Security, Medical, Engineering and Service keycards, and the matching Desequencer chips, among their wares. Dr. Jackson sells Blank Keycards, the Cryptographic Desequencer and the chips. While you hold a crate you cannot open yet, the code also has Dr. Jackson try to stock the Desequencer, Blank Keycards and the chip for that crate's lock.
Find it. Players report that an opened crate often holds another keycard, so one crate can pay for the next.
Write it. The Disposable Keycard (Blank) is "An unwritten keycard. With the right machine, this can be reprogrammed with all kinds of access." The machine is the Cryptographic Desequencer: "Can be used to write various permissions to Blank Keycards." Its description sums up the job: "Requires a Desequencer Chip and an Access Keycard. Requires Energy. Overnight."
- Get the chip for the department you need. Each Cryptographic Desequencer Chip is "A module that allows the Cryptographic Desequencer to write" that department's "permissions to Blank Keycards". There are chips for Command, Security, Medical, Engineering, Service and Supply.
- Fill the slots. Put the chip in the Chip Slot and a Blank Keycard in the Input.
- Give it power. The Desequencer needs a Power Source with energy in it.
- Wait overnight. While it works, the machine shows "Desequencing..." with its progress and the card shows as a Modified Access Card. In the demo's code the finished card in the Output is an ordinary department keycard that opens crates like a bought one.
A Command chip is the most useful, because a Command keycard opens all five crates. Modules make the Desequencer work faster, and the machine's manual, How To: The Desequencer, lists which module stat does what. Players report that Blank Keycards, not chips, are what limits how many cards they can write.
Players also report an Underground Exchange trade that swaps one Command keycard for two random department keycards, which helps when you have Command cards but need a particular department.
Research and Supply keycards have no crate
If you have a Disposable Keycard (Research) or a Disposable Keycard (Supply), there is no crate for it to open. The Update 049 notes of September 14, 2026 say it directly: "Supply and Science keycards and desequencer chips will no longer be stocked by anyone, since there are currently no supply crates for them in the game. They have been shelved to avoid confusion."
The game files agree. The Research card names "Science Department access", none of the five crates uses a Research or a Supply lock, there is no Research chip for the Desequencer at all, and neither Dr. Jackson nor Thieves stock Research or Supply keycards or chips in the demo's code.
Cards you already hold still count as access cards. The Shady Merchant offers to buy "any contraband you got" "and any access card", though "only at a discount on the market price".
The Security Department Evidence Locker
The Security Department Evidence Locker is one of the five crates, not a separate kind of lock. Its description reads "A locked crate. Labeled for the Station Security Evidence Locker. Valuable. Access card required." and its flavor text "There's enough here to put the entire Lower Levels behind bars."
Which card opens it. In the demo's code the Evidence Locker uses the same Security lock as the Security Department Supply Crate, so either a Security keycard or a Command keycard opens it. Players have opened it with a Command card.
Why it is risky to hold. The demo's code sets the Evidence Locker and the Security Department Supply Crate up as contraband items, unlike the Engineering, Medical and Service crates. Players report that what comes out of an Evidence Locker leans towards contraband and varies from crate to crate, so it is a gamble rather than a sure profit. Players also report that a seller offering one can be reported to Security instead.
The Break-In news. Separately, the game has a news event called "Evidence Locker Break-In!": "A daring break-in at the Station's Central Evidence Locker has left Security scrambling. Reports indicate that a crate of confiscated contraband, including key evidence in an active investigation, has gone missing." In the demo's code the event is followed by a Black Market seller who says "Hello, I need to sell this quickly" and "There is too much heat on me." The news story is an event; the Evidence Locker is the item.
Where locked crates come from and who buys them
Players report three sources of locked crates:
- Thieves. Thieves offer locked crates for sale. Players set a Black Lamp to attract thieves and report that a high Black Market reputation brings more of them.
- The Underground Exchange. Some of its trades take keycards and give back a locked crate.
- Special visitors. A few characters turn up with a crate early in a run.
Who buys crates and keycards. Odin Haraldsson asks for "guns, ammo, armor, poison, supply crates and access cards". The Shady Merchant buys "any access card". The game also has a crime called "Trafficking (Restricted Access Cards)".
After opening. Players keep empty crates as extra storage or sell them on.
Version notes and limits
Outside the patch notes, the developers have said nothing public about crate locks or keycards, so the lock rules, the sellers' stock and the contraband setup on this page come from the demo's code. How the demo's files and code were read is listed with the other baselines on our sources and versions page. Two things are still open: what each crate contains and how often, which this page does not list, and whether a later build adds crates for Research or Supply keycards.
A new demo build triggers a recheck of the crate, keycard and chip text and the lock rules once it is pushed. After the full release on October 28, this page is updated in place, and a changed rule is added with the date it was checked.
Probably Stolen lockers FAQ
Which keycard opens the Evidence Locker?
A Security keycard or a Command keycard. In the demo's code the Security Department Evidence Locker uses the Security lock.
Does a Command keycard open every crate?
In the demo's code it opens all five locked crates. The card's own text says it opens "most locks that require keycard access".
What happens if I use the wrong keycard?
Nothing. The crate stays locked and you keep the card.
Where do I get keycards?
Thieves sell department keycards, Dr. Jackson sells Blank Keycards for you to write, and players often find a keycard inside an opened crate.
How do I make my own keycards?
Put a Cryptographic Desequencer Chip for the department and a Blank Keycard in a Cryptographic Desequencer, give it power and leave it overnight.
Why won't my Supply keycard open a Supply Crate?
The four "Supply Crates" belong to Security, Engineering Foundry, Medical Bay and Service. No crate in the current demo takes a Supply or a Research keycard.
Is the Evidence Locker worth buying?
It is a gamble. Players report its contents lean towards contraband and vary, and the crate itself is set up as contraband in the demo's code, so only buy it if you can open it or sell it on safely.
Where do I find locked crates?
Mostly from Thieves, and from Underground Exchange trades that take keycards.
Sources and version history for this guide: Probably Stolen sources and versions.
Spot an error or a post-patch change? See how we label evidence and handle corrections in the Editorial Policy.