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The Codex: everything you have found.
Press K (or D-pad down) to open the Codex. It is your field guide to the planet: what you have touched, what it is, and what you have made from it.
Opening the Codex
Press K, or D-pad down on a controller. On a phone the Codex is in the pause menu, under the Codex button. The Codex also appears as the Codex tab of the inventory. It is the same record either way, and it is kept with your world.
How a material is recorded
Materials are recorded in three steps:
- Discovered: you have held the material in your hands. It goes into the Codex the moment you pick it up.
- Identified: the material is known to science, or you have analysed it at a Lab Bench. Its name and properties are shown.
- Named: an invented material, one the planet made that no one has a name for, stays unidentified until you analyse it. Then you can give it a name of your own.
Analysing an unknown sample takes a Lab Bench and a sample in its slot, from the Lab tab of the inventory. Build a Lab Bench, put the sample in, and the result goes into the Codex.
What the Codex covers
| Section | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Materials | Every material you have found, and whether it is discovered, identified or named. |
| Creatures | The animals and monsters you have met, with where they live and how to deal with them. The Codex also says how far away the Kraken's lair is and which way it lies, once you have found it. |
| Biomes | The landscapes you have visited. |
| Alloys and compounds | The mixes you have made, and what is still missing. |
| Completion | How much of each part of the Codex you have filled in, as a percentage. |
Each entry explains what the thing is, how it is used, and what it can make.
Using the Codex in play
- Select an item in your bag and click What is this? to open its Codex entry straight away.
- The Recipes tab in the inventory lists everything you can make, what it needs, and where to find what you are missing.
- Some machines and suits only open when your world's age reaches them. A locked item says which age it waits for.
Tips
- Analyse every odd-looking sample you find. Each one is a new entry, and some of them open new recipes.
- Name the invented materials you find. Your names stay with the world, and the Codex is the first place to check what something is.
For the first steps, see Getting started. For the deep materials you will need for suits, see Going deep.
← Back to the wiki · Last updated 25 October 2026. Mantlenaut is in alpha, so things change.