The Tavern Keeper workshop encompasses both an in-game sandbox level for designing custom furniture and an official online hub at tavernkeeper.com/workshop for discovering community creations. Inside the dedicated Item Workshop level, you can build without tavern finances, staff management, or patron demands using more than a thousand modular design pieces. Creations can be synchronized directly to your game through your Steam account, shared via generated share codes, or loaded into active campaign and freeplay taverns.
In-Game Item Workshop vs. Web Workshop Hub
Tavern Keeper splits custom design between the local game client and an integrated web platform. Understanding the differences helps you choose whether to craft items from scratch or pull community templates into your playthrough.
| Feature | Item Workshop Level | Tavern Keeper Web Workshop |
|---|---|---|
| Access Point | Main menu (button next to the mini-map) | External browser (tavernkeeper.com/workshop) and in-game menu |
| Primary Function | Pure sandbox designing without patrons or upkeep costs | Browsing, favoriting, and synchronizing player templates |
| Catalog View | Pieces laid out in-world for direct cloning | Web catalog organized by tags, collections, and featured sets |
| Sharing Method | Right-click to generate local templates and share codes | One-click library addition synced to your Steam profile |
| Patron Integration | None (isolated creative space) | Featured items can appear as gifts from satisfied patrons in-game |
The Item Workshop map lays out the game's building catalog directly in the 3D space. Instead of searching menus, you can inspect existing assemblies, explode them into component parts, or use the Clone tool in Design Mode to duplicate individual pieces instantly.
Essential Design Mode Controls and Building Tools
Tavern Keeper's Design Mode operates like a precision 3D modeling tool built directly into the game engine. You can customize existing furniture or combine hundreds of geometric, organic, and decorative shapes into functional centerpieces.
- Surface Snapping: Objects automatically snap to the surface beneath your mouse cursor. Press Tab while hovering over a surface to cycle between alternate snapping points, such as laying a rose flat or standing it upright.
- Scaling and Free Rotation: Dragging up or down after placement scales an item's dimensions. Click and drag allows rotational adjustments, while holding Q or E fine-rotates the camera perspective.
- The 3D Gizmo: Clicking a placed item reveals a red, blue, and green coordinate gizmo. This tool allows sub-pixel positioning and lets you rotate hinged elements, such as cracking open cabinet doors.
- Color Picker Tool: Introduced in Major Update 1, the Color Picker lets you select individual color channels on any design piece. You can modify hues and adjust surface properties to make items matte, shiny, or metallic.
- Design Sockets: When building complex furniture like modular bar counters or 4-seater tables, you can manually assign components to specific sockets within the Object Hierarchy. This prevents custom chairs or attached props from clipping improperly when furniture is placed against a wall.
- Text Tool: Blank signage, door mats, and plaques can receive custom labels typed directly through the interface.
- Particle and Light Attachments: Elements like candle flames and glowing fire particles include functional light sources that illuminate rooms and register on the tavern's atmosphere overlay.
Any functional base item—such as a dining chair, tap counter, or bed—retains its underlying gameplay functionality after decoration. Patrons will sit on heavily customized chairs, eat from redesigned tables, and sleep in beds reshaped from boats or barrels.
How to Save, Export, and Share Custom Templates
Once you assemble a custom prop or decorated furniture piece, you can store it in your permanent template library or distribute it to other players.
- Enable Design Mode and right-click on your finished item.
- Select Save as Template from the context menu.
- Choose a category (set the category to "Decoration"), then enter a name and descriptive text.
- Position the preview camera in the thumbnail box to set your template's display image.
- Confirm the save. The game generates a unique alphanumeric share code (such as TKC-0e14cb16) and allows you to export a shareable image card containing the design metadata.
Saved templates automatically synchronize across your own devices through Steam Cloud. Multiple Steam profiles playing on the same PC maintain isolated template databases to prevent accidental overwrites.
Importing Community Creations and Synchronization
Adding community furniture to your tavern requires either the online workshop platform or a direct share code.
Synchronizing via the Workshop Hub
Log in to tavernkeeper.com/workshop using the Steam account that owns Tavern Keeper. Browse popular collections, such as themed taproom sets, holiday decorations, or custom hearths, and click to add items to your personal library. The next time Tavern Keeper launches, your library automatically synchronizes, placing the new designs directly into your in-game build categories without requiring manual file transfers.
Importing with Share Codes
If you receive a code from a forum post or community contest, open Design Mode in any tavern or inside the Item Workshop. Open the Import menu, paste the code into the text input field, and confirm. The template loads immediately into your placement cursor, allowing you to position it or save it permanently to your local roster.
Functional Decor and Patron Satisfaction Rules
Decorating furniture is not purely cosmetic; it directly impacts tavern ratings and visitor behavior.
- Atmosphere and Decor Ratings: Patrons evaluate the atmosphere continuously during their visit. Higher-tier visitors (such as Tier 2 patrons) have stricter decoration expectations. Placing customized tables and decorative centerpieces increases localized decor value, raising total satisfaction.
- Avoiding Negative Atmosphere Zones: Service equipment, including cleaning gear and fire extinguishers, projects a negative decor rating. If placed in primary walkways or dining taprooms, they lower patron mood regardless of how many custom decorations surround them.
- Light Range Scaling: Rescaling a decorative light fixture also scales its physical illumination radius. Scaling down candles reduces their reach, while scaling up lanterns expands their lit footprint across dark floors.
- Decorating Moving Parts: Animated props, such as outhouse doors and swinging cabinets, accept decorations directly onto their moving geometry. Attached items remain anchored when the doors open or close during simulation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my custom item spawn on the floor instead of sitting on top of furniture?
When designing an item on the ground in the Item Workshop, its pivot point defaults to floor height. When placing it inside a tavern, switch to Design Mode, select the item, and use the pick up tool in the design toolbar to lift it onto a table or bar counter. Alternatively, build the decoration directly on top of the target furniture so the surface snapping point registers the table height from the start.
How do items get featured in Creator Highlights?
The Creator Highlights visible in the main menu pull dynamically from the "Featured" category on tavernkeeper.com/workshop, which rotates regularly based on popularity and developer curation. The static showcase items placed physically inside the Item Workshop level are manually placed by the Greenheart Games development team during major game updates.
Can custom floors and wallpapers be created in Design Mode?
Custom tiling floors and wall textures are not supported in Design Mode. The developers have explained that tavern floors and walls are not flat 2D textures, but rather complex, endlessly tiling 3D models with physical depth. Players frequently create custom floor designs by layering and overlapping resized rugs and carpets from the decoration catalog instead.
