Keys & Crates

Keys & Crates

By NicoTheKid

Keys & Crates is a Minecraft Bedrock add-on built around naturally generated crates scattered across the world. As players explore different biomes, caves, and Nether regions, they can discover wooden crates, locked crates, and trader-related structures. By using the right key or tool, each crate can be opened for randomized loot that ranges from low-tier supplies to more valuable rewards. The result is an exploration loop that adds more discovery, more trading, and a stronger sense of progression to survival gameplay.

Contents

Blocks

Crates in this add-on are not storage blocks like chests or barrels. They act as loot containers rather than long-term inventory space.

Wood Crates
Wood Crates are the most common crate type in the Overworld. They do not require keys; instead, players use a Flint Axe to open them, causing the loot to drop directly. In general, Wood Crates provide random common-tier loot. Unless otherwise noted, most Wood Crates are Common rarity, stack to 64, have 15.0 blast resistance, 2.0 hardness, are mined with an Axe, drop themselves when broken, and can be opened with a Flint Axe.

Oak Wood Crate
Guide Book #55. Naturally generates on the surface of Plains, Forest, Windswept Hills, Beach, Stony Shore, and Mushroom Fields. Traded by the Crates Trader, not craftable, and flammable.

Spruce Wood Crate
Guide Book #55. Naturally generates on the surface of Snowy Plains, Windswept Forest, Taiga, Snowy Taiga, Grove, Snowy Slopes, and Snowy Beach. Traded by the Crates Trader, not craftable, and flammable.

Birch Wood Crate
Guide Book #55. Naturally generates on the surface of Flower Forest, Birch Forest, and Meadow. Traded by the Crates Trader, not craftable, and flammable.

Jungle Wood Crate
Guide Book #55. Naturally generates on the surface of Jungle and Overgrown Jungle. Traded by the Crates Trader, not craftable, and flammable.

Acacia Wood Crate
Guide Book #55. Naturally generates on the surface of Savanna and Badlands. Traded by the Crates Trader, not craftable, and flammable.

Dark Oak Wood Crate
Guide Book #55. Naturally generates on the surface of Dark Forest, Swamp, and Corrupted Forest. Traded by the Crates Trader, not craftable, and flammable.

Mangrove Wood Crate
Guide Book #55. Naturally generates on the surface of Swamp and Mangrove Swamp. Traded by the Crates Trader, not craftable, and flammable.

Cherry Wood Crate
Guide Book #55. Naturally generates on the surface of Cherry Grove. Traded by the Crates Trader, not craftable, and flammable.

Pale Oak Wood Crate
Guide Book #55. Naturally generates on the surface of Pale Garden. Traded by the Crates Trader, not craftable, and flammable.

Bamboo Wood Crate
Guide Book #55. Naturally generates on the surface of Bamboo Jungle. Traded by the Crates Trader, not craftable, and flammable.

Crimson Hyphae Crate
Guide Book #55. Naturally generates in Crimson Forest. Traded by the Piglin Crates Trader, not craftable, and not flammable.

Warped Hyphae Crate
Guide Book #55. Naturally generates in Warped Forest. Traded by the Piglin Crates Trader, not craftable, and not flammable.

Locked Crates
These crates are mainly found underground or acquired through traders, and each one requires its matching key. Copper, Iron, Golden, and Diamond Crates are generally Common, not craftable, stack to 64, have 45.0 blast resistance, 2.5 hardness, are flammable, are mined with an Axe, and drop themselves when broken.

Copper Crate
Guide Book #57. Naturally generates in the Overworld underground, can be traded from the Crates Trader, and opens with a Copper Crate Key.

Iron Crate
Guide Book #57. Naturally generates in the Overworld underground, can be traded from the Crates Trader, and opens with an Iron Crate Key.

Golden Crate
Guide Book #57. Naturally generates in the Overworld underground, can be traded from the Crates Trader, and opens with a Golden Crate Key.

Diamond Crate
Guide Book #57. Naturally generates in the Overworld underground, can be traded from the Crates Trader, and opens with a Diamond Crate Key.

Piglin Crate
Guide Book #57. This one is Uncommon, does not generate naturally, cannot be crafted, stacks to 64, has 150.0 blast resistance, 5.0 hardness, is not flammable, must be mined with a Pickaxe, drops itself when broken, is traded by the Piglin Crates Trader, and opens with a Piglin Crate Key.

Items

Flint Axe
A Common item that can be crafted on a Crafting Table or obtained from a Tool Smith Villager. It is equipable, non-stackable, has 149 durability, 3 mining speed, 3 melee damage, cannot be enchanted, and can be repaired with Flint or another Flint Axe. Its main role is opening or looting any Wooden Crate.

Copper Crate Key
Guide Book #56. Common rarity, craftable on a Crafting Table, stackable to 64, and used to open the Copper Crate.

Iron Crate Key
Guide Book #56. Common rarity, craftable on a Crafting Table, stackable to 64, and used to open the Iron Crate.

Golden Crate Key
Guide Book #56. Common rarity, craftable on a Crafting Table, stackable to 64, and used to open the Golden Crate.

Diamond Crate Key
Guide Book #56. Common rarity, craftable on a Crafting Table, stackable to 64, and used to open the Diamond Crate.

Piglin Crate Key
Guide Book #56. Uncommon rarity, traded by the Piglin Crates Trader, not craftable, stackable to 64, and used to open the Piglin Crate.

Nether Star Fragment
An Uncommon item obtainable from Piglin Crates. It is craftable on the Artifacture Table, stacks to 64, and is used in crafting a Nether Star.

Learning Book of Crates Trading
Guide Book #105. Common rarity, dropped by the Crates Trader and also tradable from it, not craftable, stackable to 64, and equipable in the off-hand. It can tempt custom villager-type mobs and can convert a custom villager into a Crates Trader. When given to a custom villager, its trade table automatically changes and resets. When used on a Crates Trader, it transforms the mob into either a Wandering Crates Trader or a Dwelling Crates Trader.

Mobs

Crates Trader
Guide Book #54. This mob has 2 variants, is Common, passive, and classified as Villager, Trader, and Humanoid. It spawns on the Overworld surface and inside Crates Trader Houses, has 30 health, 0.3 walk speed, breathes air, is tempted by Learning Books, and may drop the Learning Book of Crates Trading along with XP Orbs. It avoids monsters and Sculk Blocks, can trade with players, and can be transformed into another villager type through the Learning Book. The Wandering Crates Trader spawns randomly on the Overworld surface and underground, does not sleep at night, offers cheaper prices and larger stock, but cannot restock. The Dwelling Crates Trader spawns only inside a Crates Trader House, can sleep in a bed at night, responds to bells, charges more, carries less stock, but can restock by interacting with nearby Locked Crates.

Piglin Crates Trader
Guide Book #96. This mob is Common, neutral, and classified as Piglin, Trader, Humanoid, and Monster. It spawns in the Piglin Crates Trader House, has 20 health, 0.3 walk speed, breathes air, and may drop Gold Nuggets and XP Orbs. It avoids Nether Soul Wisps, Soul Fire Birds, and soul-type light sources. It is hostile toward Wither Skeletons and players who are not wearing gold armor. Its default weapon is a Flint Axe, and it deals 5 melee damage. It can barter with Gold Ingots, trade directly with players, pick up and equip weapons and armor, collect gold-type items into its inventory, and convert into a Zombified Piglin if taken out of the Nether. It can also alert nearby Piglins to its enemies. If a player opens or breaks Crates, Chests, Barrels, Shulker Boxes, Gold Blocks, Gold Ores, or attacks other Piglins nearby, it may become aggressive as well.

Structures and Generation

Pile of Wood Crates
Each pile has 9 variants. Oak Wood Crate piles generate on Plains, Forest, Windswept Hills, Beach, Stony Shore, and Mushroom Fields surfaces. Spruce piles generate on Snowy Plains, Windswept Forest, Taiga, Snowy Taiga, Grove, Snowy Slopes, and Snowy Beach surfaces. Birch piles generate on Flower Forest, Birch Forest, and Meadow surfaces. Jungle piles generate on Jungle surfaces. Acacia piles generate on Savanna and Badlands surfaces. Dark Oak piles generate on Dark Forest and Swamp surfaces. Mangrove piles generate on Swamp and Mangrove Swamp surfaces. Cherry piles generate on Cherry Grove surfaces. Pale Oak piles generate on Pale Garden surfaces. Bamboo piles generate on Bamboo Jungle surfaces. Crimson Hyphae piles generate in Crimson Forest, and Warped Hyphae piles generate in Warped Forest.

Locked Crate Generation
Copper, Iron, Golden, and Diamond Crates all generate throughout the underground areas of the Overworld.

Crates Trader Houses
The Plains Crates Trader House generates on Plains and Flower Forest surfaces. The Taiga Crates Trader House generates on Snowy Plains, Taiga, and Snowy Taiga surfaces. The Savanna Crates Trader House generates on Savanna surfaces. The Desert Crates Trader House generates on Desert surfaces. The Swamp Crates Trader House generates on Swamp, Mangrove Swamp, and Mossy Forest surfaces.

Piglin Crates Trader House
This structure generates in Nether Wastes, Crimson Forest, Warped Forest, and Basalt Deltas.

Known Issues

Loot from Wooden Crates and Locked Crates does not currently spawn perfectly centered on the block position.
Some custom blocks always behave like interactable blocks, which prevents players from placing blocks directly on them unless they are sneaking.
The related Mojang bug IDs are MCPE-156080 and MCPE-179928.

Add-on Notes

The add-on is mainly intended for Minecraft 26.30 and above.
It does not use a player.json file.
It is broadly compatible with most other add-ons.
It can work on Realms or servers as long as the correct pack files are installed.
Beta and Preview versions have not been fully tested, so additional issues may appear there.
If you have older packs installed, remove them before switching to the newer version.

Installation

Import either the combined package or the separated Behavior Pack and Resource Pack into Minecraft.
Wait until both packs finish importing successfully before entering your world.
Make sure both packs are enabled correctly before loading the save.
No experimental gameplay toggles are required for this add-on.