uo-containers

name	uo-containers
description	List a container's contents and move items into/out of any container (backpack, bank box, chest, another container) with the headless UO client. Use whenever the user asks to put/store/move/drop an item into something, list what's inside a container/chest/box, or otherwise manage inventory beyond the player's own backpack.

Working with containers

Requires a logged-in character with the map loaded (see the uo-login skill).

1. A container's contents are unknown until you open it

UO never sends a container's contents automatically — the server only sends them (packet 0x3C) after the container is actually opened (double-clicked, use). Until that happens, the client has no idea what's inside, and container <serial> will report 0 items even if it's actually full. Always open a container at least once this session before concluding from a listing that it's empty — including your own backpack via plain inv; "0 items" from an unopened container is not evidence of anything.

echo "use <container_serial>" >> /tmp/cuocmd   # double-click = open
sleep 2
echo "container <container_serial>" >> /tmp/cuocmd
sleep 1
tail -10 /tmp/cuolog

This is exactly the same caveat the uo-equip-items skill documents for the player's own backpack — it applies identically to any other container.

2. Finding a container's serial

• Your own backpack/equipped items — inv (layer 0x15 is the backpack).
• Any container you just opened — since [EQUIP]/[CONTAINER] events log at Info level by default (no verbose needed), the serial appears right in the log the moment you interact with it:

  [INFO ] [CONTAINER] Opened: 4046C557 gump=004A
  [INFO ] [CONTAINER] Contents: 1 items
  

  or, for a bank box specifically opened via say bank (see the uo-bank skill), an [EQUIP] [...] layer=1D line right before it — the bank box is attached as a virtual layer-0x1D item on your character while it's open.
• A ground item's container (e.g. a chest) — items [range] lists ground items with their serials; open one with use <serial> to reveal its contents/own serial the same way.

3. List what's inside

echo "container <serial>" >> /tmp/cuocmd    # alias: contents
sleep 1
tail -10 /tmp/cuolog

Prints every tracked item whose Container is that serial — graphic, amount, hue, and resolved name, e.g.:

Container [4046C557] contents (1):
  [4046977E] Graphic:0x0E21 Amt:10 Hue:0000 "clean bandage%s%"

This works for any container by serial, not just your own — inv is limited to your own equipped items + backpack specifically.

4. Move an item into a container

echo "drop <item_serial> <container_serial> [amount]" >> /tmp/cuocmd
sleep 2
echo "container <container_serial>" >> /tmp/cuocmd
sleep 1
tail -10 /tmp/cuolog

amount defaults to 1 — pass it explicitly to move a whole stack (e.g. drop 4046977E 4046C557 10 for a stack of 10 bandages). Under the hood this is a pickup-then-drop (packets 0x07 then 0x08) with a short delay between them, same mechanics as a real client dragging an item between windows.

Always verify with a follow-up container <serial> (or inv if the destination is your own backpack) — like unequip/wear in the equip-items skill, drop logs "Moved X into Y" the instant it's sent, which is only confirmation the packets went out, not that the server accepted the move. Watch for a fresh [CONTAINER] Item added to <container>: [...] log line as the real confirmation.

To move an item into your own backpack specifically (e.g. unequipping something loose, or grabbing a ground item), the shorter dedicated commands already do this:

• get/pickup/grab <serial> — ground item → your backpack
• unequip/topack <serial> — equipped item → your backpack

drop is the general form for everything else (container → container, backpack → someone else's container, etc.).

Typical full workflow

echo "use <src_container>" >> /tmp/cuocmd; sleep 2       # open source, populate its contents
echo "container <src_container>" >> /tmp/cuocmd; sleep 1 # see what's in it, get item serials
tail -20 /tmp/cuolog

echo "drop <item_serial> <dst_container> <amt>" >> /tmp/cuocmd; sleep 2
echo "container <dst_container>" >> /tmp/cuocmd; sleep 1 # confirm it actually landed
tail -10 /tmp/cuolog