If you’ve ever sprinted back to your ship mid-exploration, arms full of rare storm crystals and ferrite dust, only to find your inventory full and no way to carry that extra stack of platinum you just stumbled on, you know how critical extra storage is in No Man’s Sky. I can’t tell you how many times I lost out on rare S-class upgrade modules early on because I had nowhere to put them, so I made it a priority to figure out the fastest way to unlock all available storage options. Most new players hit this wall within their first 10 hours of play, wasting valuable resources by dropping them or passing up high-value loot entirely. We’ve put together this simple breakdown to walk you through how to get storage containers in No Man’s Sky, no complicated exploits or late-game grind required. We’ve tested every method across both regular and survival modes, so you know all the tips work no matter what playstyle you prefer.
How to Get Storage Containers in No Man’s Sky: Base Version
The most common storage containers are the basic numbered units you can build on any planetary base, and you can unlock them surprisingly early in your playthrough. You don’t need to progress the main story past the third or fourth mission to access these, so you can get extra storage within your first few hours of gameplay if you prioritize it. All you need to do is visit the Space Anomaly, head to the Construction Research Station near the back of the main deck, and look under the Base Building tab for storage container blueprints.
The first blueprint costs 10 Salvaged Data, which you can collect by digging up glowing buried technology modules on any planet, marked with small white gear icons on your scanner. Once you have the blueprint, you can build each storage container with 30 Ferrite Dust, 20 Magnetised Ferrite, and 15 Sodium Nitrate, all common materials you can farm on any starting planet. Each container gives you 20 extra inventory slots, and you can build up to 10 total numbered containers across all your bases and freighters. Once you know how to get storage containers in No Man’s Sky, you can build one every few minutes as long as you have the materials on hand. You can name each container to sort resources by type, which cuts down on search time by 70% in our experience, and you can color code them for even faster visual identification.
Unlock Freighter Storage Containers for On-the-Go Access
Base storage is great for items you only need when you’re building or crafting at home, but freighter storage lets you access your extra inventory no matter what system you’re exploring. You’ll get your first free freighter after your third warp jump, when you answer a distress call and help fight off pirate attackers, and you can build the same storage containers directly on your freighter’s deck with no extra blueprints required. The materials cost is exactly the same as building containers on a planetary base, so you don’t need to farm any special resources to set up mobile storage.
All numbered storage containers (0 through 9) share a universal inventory, no matter where you build them, so if you put 100 units of tritium in container 3 on your planetary base, you can pull that same tritium out of container 3 on your freighter 10 systems away. This universal sync is one of the biggest perks of learning how to get storage containers in No Man’s Sky, as it means you never have to haul resources between your base and freighter manually. You can even access all your storage containers directly from your freighter’s command console, so you don’t have to run across the decks to find the unit you need.
Advanced Storage Solutions for Late-Game Players
Once you’ve unlocked all 10 basic numbered containers, you can access additional storage options for even more space, perfect if you’re a hoarder who collects every rare resource you find or you’re building a massive base that requires thousands of units of building materials. Most of these upgrades are unlocked from the same Construction Research Station on the Space Anomaly, though some cost more Salvaged Data than the basic containers. We recommend prioritizing these upgrades in the following order to get the most value for your resources:
- Portable personal storage unit: Unlock for 5 Salvaged Data, lets you drop a temporary 10-slot chest anywhere on a planet to hold extra resources mid-mine or mid-exploration, no base required
- Freighter cargo bulkheads: Purchase from freighter pilots at space stations to expand your freighter's main inventory, separate from container storage, with space for up to 120 extra slots
- Storage rooms: 80-slot dedicated storage units that don't count towards your 10 basic container limit, unlocked for 50 Salvaged Data each, with a max of 4 per base or freighter
- Ship inventory expansions: Always prioritize increasing your ship's cargo slots first, as they're the most accessible storage you have at all times, even when your freighter is too far away to call
Storage room blueprints are the most underrated of these upgrades, as each one holds 4x more space than a basic container, and they look far cleaner if you’re building a themed base that you want to share with other players. You can also install storage augments on your exosuit to get extra inventory slots for items you need to carry with you at all times, like healing items and launch fuel, so you don’t waste valuable storage container space on everyday supplies.
Common Storage Container Mistakes to Avoid
Even experienced players make simple storage mistakes that cost them valuable resources or hours of extra work, so we’ve rounded up the most common ones to help you skip the frustration. Never skip naming and color coding your storage containers – it takes 10 seconds per container and saves you minutes of searching every time you return to your base to drop off loot. I personally color code my containers by resource type: blue for atmospheric gases, red for building materials, green for crafting supplies, and purple for rare trade goods, so I can find what I need at a glance.
Another common mistake is deleting a storage container without emptying it first. If you have enough free inventory space, the items will automatically move to your inventory when you delete the container, but if your inventory is full, any items that don’t fit will be lost forever with no way to recover them. Always double check that a container is empty before you delete it, especially if you’re rearranging your base or freighter layout. You also don’t want to place your storage containers too far from your base teleporter, since most players teleport in and out of their base constantly, and running across a huge base to drop off loot gets old fast. Keep your most used containers within 10 feet of the teleporter for maximum convenience.
At the end of the day, extra storage is one of the most impactful quality of life upgrades you can get in No Man's Sky, and it doesn't take a ton of work to unlock. Even if you're only a few hours into your first playthrough, taking 20 minutes to farm a bit of salvaged data and unlock your first few blueprints will make every subsequent exploration run far less stressful. Whether you're a casual player who just wants to carry all the pretty rocks you find or a survival mode veteran hauling resources for a massive base build, learning how to get storage containers in No Man’s Sky will completely change how you interact with the game. Don't be afraid to experiment with sorting systems that work for your playstyle, and remember there's no right or wrong way to organize your loot.
