Less sorting.
More surviving.

1. Set up your base

1. Stand beside a normal crate or shelf in a powered area. Right-click it → Base Organiser → Set as sorting hub. This also selects the hub for linking.
2. Stand beside another container. Right-click → Base Organiser → Link to selected hub: accept items. Choose a group, then a category: for example Food and drinks → Pantry food.
3. Repeat for Materials, Ammunition and your other storage. Link one container to Other storage → Overflow as a fallback.
4. Open the hub’s Hub overview / linked destinations to check the count and each destination’s status.
5. Drop loot into the hub, or choose Sort all linked storage to organise items already in your linked containers.

2. Everyday use

Unload a vehicle

Park within the hub’s range, stand within six tiles of the vehicle and unlock accessible cargo. Right-click the hub → Vehicle unloading → Unload accessible cargo: [vehicle]. Loose cargo goes directly to matching destinations. Bags inside vehicles remain packed. Repeat the unload action if it reaches its batch limit.

Keep your personal supplies

Right-click an item → Favourite. Favourited, equipped, attached, active and in-use items stay put. Favourite a bag to exclude its contents from carried-bag unloading. Bags themselves are not moved, including ammunition boxes that the game treats as bags.

Several hubs

Name your hubs, for example Garage and Kitchen. Each destination belongs to one hub. Linking it to another hub changes that connection. Select the intended hub before linking or unloading bags. Select it again after reconnecting.

3. The hub overview

The title shows the hub name, linked-destination count, power and sorting state. The list includes paused and unloaded destinations. Twenty destinations are shown per page.

For a nearby destination, the same category and priority controls are available under Manage container.

4. Categories and priorities

A shelf can accept several categories: open Actions → Accepted categories (toggle). Checked entries are accepted. Toggling an entry does not remove the others. Choosing a fresh single-category link or “learn from contents” replaces the old category rules.

Priority applies within each matching level.

High / Normal / Low decides which equally suitable destination fills first. Full containers spill into the next suitable destination. An Overflow container never beats an Ammunition container merely because it has High priority.

Use High for the shelf you use every day and Low for reserve storage. Sort all also moves existing items into higher-priority storage when there is room. Equal matches keep items where they already belong; otherwise older registrations win. Existing containers default to Normal.

Learn from contents saves exact item types from sample items. For example, put a hammer and a saw in a shelf and learn its contents. The samples need not remain there. A destination can remember up to 128 exact types.

A drink label does not certify that a liquid is safe to drink. Unknown items and fluid types may need an exact item rule.

5. Leftovers and Overflow

1. Open the hub overview. For intake, click Review hub. For Overflow or another destination, select its row → Actions → Review items / Overflow.
2. Read each item’s reason: no matching destination, storage full, a restriction, favourite, bag/container, another hub, paused storage or unavailable storage. Item review shows 40 items per page.
3. To create a match, select the item → Actions → Assign this item type to a destination….
4. The destination list appears. Select the intended shelf → Actions → Accept [item] here. This adds an exact type rule while preserving its categories.
5. Click Sort all to move eligible matching items out of Overflow.

Unloaded storage cannot be fully inspected, so the review reports that uncertainty. Another hub is identified only when matching storage is loaded and accessible. Reviews are snapshots: refresh after moving items.

What the completion message means

• Still sorting: more batches are running.
• Finished sorting available storage: all currently eligible moves have been attempted. “Need review” counts unresolved items, including unmatched Overflow items.
• Protected: favourites, equipment, active items or packed containers deliberately stayed put.
• Destinations skipped: paused, inaccessible, out-of-range or unavailable storage was excluded. Finished does not mean those containers were sorted.
• Stopped: power, proximity or access was lost, the hub was paused, or someone stopped the job. A disconnect or server restart cancels pending work. Start Sort all again when ready.

6. Unlink or remove a hub

Unlink disconnects storage from this hub and stops its Sort all job. It leaves the items, category settings and increased capacity in place. The hub owner or an admin can unlink from the overview, including unloaded destinations; their labels update when loaded.

To remove a hub, first use Unlink all destinations. Then stand beside the hub → Manage container → Remove registration (restore capacity). If it holds more than its original capacity, remove enough items first.

To fully restore an unlinked destination, use its own Remove registration action too. You can instead link it to another hub. Moving furniture requires registering it at its new location.

7. Install and update

Use the same mod version as the server you want to join. Ask the server administrator which release to install.

Windows players

Close Project Zomboid, run Client Setup and check the selected Zomboid data folder. The installer backs up that folder before updating the mod. Start the game and join the server once its update is complete.

Server administrators

Stop the server before updating. On Windows, run Server Setup and select the correct server profile. Players must install the matching client release before joining.

For manual installation, extract the ZIP’s BaseOrganiser folder into the dedicated server account’s Zomboid/mods directory. A custom -cachedir changes this location. Enable the mod ID BaseOrganiser in the server profile. Keep the data folder and mod files in persistent storage when using a hosting panel or container.

Open this manual again

The manual is saved at Zomboid/mods/BaseOrganiser/Manual.html. Open it in a browser at any time; it works offline.

8. Quick troubleshooting