# Traders

**Folder:** `Configs/Traders/` (any file name, `.cfg`)

Fixed-price shop listings for a Trader NPC — spend a set item to get a set item back, no randomness involved. Once you have written a profile here, put its name in a `Trader`-type NPC's **Profile** field to make it live — see [Core identity settings](../npc/npc-system.md#core-identity-settings). It can also be reached remotely, without a nearby NPC, by listing it under `TraderProfiles` in [Distanced UI](distanced-ui.md).

![Trader UI in-game](../images/screenshots/WMFaYl4.png)

The `x1` / `x5` / `x10` / `x100` buttons in the top right of the trade window scale a trade's quantities on both sides at once for faster bulk trading — `Coins, 5, Wood, 1` at `x100` becomes 500 Coins for 100 Wood, not a different trade.

## Example

`Configs/Traders/general_store.cfg`:

```cfg
[general_store]
Wood, 10, Coins, 5
Coins, 50, SwordIron, 1, 2
```

Each line is one trade offer. Format: `cost item, cost amount, result item, result amount, [result level]`. The second line sells a level-2 Iron Sword for 50 Coins.

Assigning the profile to an NPC's **Profile** field:

![Assigning a Trader profile to an NPC](../images/screenshots/BjPrHIS.png)

## Trading more than one item per side

Wrap both sides with `=` to trade bundles of items instead of one-to-one — up to 5 items per side, and any item on either side can carry its own `, level` field:

```cfg
Coins, 100, Ruby, 1 = SwordSilver, 1, 3
```

Spend 100 Coins **and** 1 Ruby to receive a level-3 Silver Sword.

```cfg
GreydwarfEye, 10, Wood, 20 = BowFineWood, 1, 2
```

```cfg
BlackMetal, 1, AxeBlackMetal, 1, 9, Coins, 25 = AxeBlackMetal, 1, 10, Wood, 123
```

Spend 1 BlackMetal, a level-9 Iron Axe, and 25 Coins, to receive a level-10 Iron Axe and 123 Wood:

![A multi-item trade with quality on both sides](../images/screenshots/tkb8MM5.png)

You can mix plain 4/5-field lines and `=`-bundled lines freely within the same profile:

`Configs/Traders/mixed_formats.cfg`:

```cfg
[mixed_formats]
SwordIron, 1, 9, Ruby, 666 = SwordIron, 1, 10
BlackMetal, 1, AxeBlackMetal, 1, 9, Coins, 25 = AxeBlackMetal, 1, 10, Wood, 123
Coins, 0 = AxeBlackMetal, 1, 9
Coins, 0, BlackMetal, 5
```

![Several trade formats offered by the same profile](../images/screenshots/eTT5SbT.png)

## Pets as trade results

A creature name on the result side gives a tamed pet instead of an item — spawned already-tamed in front of the player, the same way a quest [Pet reward](quests.md#reward-types) works. The level field becomes the pet's level, shown one star lower on the confirmation screen (a level `5` Wolf displays as 4 stars, since Valheim counts stars from 0 while this field counts from 1):

`Configs/Traders/pets_trader.cfg`:

```cfg
[pets_trader]
Stone, 100, Wolf, 1, 5
Ruby, 25, Boar, 10, 2
```

![A pets-only trader profile](../images/screenshots/10OELul.png)

Trading Stone for a tamed Wolf, or Ruby for a tamed Boar:

![Trading for a tamed pet in-game](../images/screenshots/W4YHMKr.png)

A creature is only recognized on the **result** side — the cost side always expects a plain item.

## Locking trades behind item discovery

Add `= true` to a profile header to only show trades for items the player has already discovered/picked up in the world:

`Configs/Traders/rare_goods.cfg`:

```cfg
[rare_goods = true]
Coins, 200, Ruby, 1 = SwordSilver, 1, 3
```

Leave the header plain (`[profile]`) for trades that are always visible, regardless of what the player has found.

## Scheduling a trader to specific hours

Traders can be limited to a real-clock time window using a folder naming trick — see [Scheduling a config to a time window](../concepts/time-windows.md).

```
Configs/Traders/18-00_23-00/evening_specials.cfg
```

## Related

- [Profiles](../concepts/profiles.md) — how a trader profile name groups trades across files.
- [Scheduling a config to a time window](../concepts/time-windows.md).
- [Distanced UI](distanced-ui.md) — remote access without a nearby NPC.
- [Shop and economy guide](../guides/shop-and-economy.md).