Knowing the right Trash Day keyboard controls turns a chaotic first shift into a smooth wagon haul. Every raccoon in the crew relies on muscle memory for grab, throw, attack, and sprint, and a single mistimed key can mean a flipped wagon or a lost haul. This guide maps every keybind a PC raccoon needs so you can stop guessing and start depositing loot before the 4 AM cut-off.
Default Trash Day Keyboard Layout for PC Raccoons
The default layout puts movement on WASD, camera control on the mouse, and every important verb — grab, throw, interact, sprint, attack — on a single hand near the left thumb. Off By One Games designed this so a single raccoon can drive, fight, and loot without ever leaving the keys, which is a small miracle in a co-op physics sandbox.
The core verb keys live around the space bar because most raccoons hold the sprint key down while doing everything else. Once you internalize that the Interact Key sits where you'd expect a context action, the rest of the bindings feel familiar rather than alien. Players who prefer dual-stick gamepad input can read the Trash Day dualsense support guide to compare layouts, but the keyboard remains the fastest input for solo play.
| Action | Default Key | Hand | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move Forward / Back / Strafe | W / S / A / D | Left | Standard WASD layout |
| Sprint | Left Shift | Left | Hold to run, drain stamina |
| Camera Look | Mouse Move | Right | Raw input, no acceleration |
| Grab / Pick Up | E | Left | Hold to carry an item |
| Throw | Left Mouse Button | Right | Tap for a quick toss |
| Attack | F | Left | Short-range melee |
| Interact | Space | Left | Context prompts, doors, deposit bin |
| Crouch / Scurry | Left Ctrl | Left | Stealth and low passages |
| Push Wagon | Hold E + Move | Left | Different from grab |
| Repair / Wheel | R | Left | Used near broken wagon parts |
| Emote Wheel | Q (hold) | Left | Quick-call co-op pings |
| Pause / Menu | Esc | Both | Opens options and quit menu |
The layout's biggest design choice is overlapping the Grab and Push verbs on the same key. The game reads context, so the Grab Key (E) becomes Push when you're standing next to a wagon. According to community testing, this takes roughly an hour of play to feel natural, and the muscle memory carries over to the repair hotkey which lives right next to it.
Movement Keys and Why WASD Wins on PC
The reason WASD sticks around for the Trash Day controller support conversation is that two players on one keyboard can mirror each other without colliding. Crews running split-screen-lite sessions report that mirror layouts let one raccoon drive while the other manages the back of the wagon. The Sprint Key (Left Shift) also works on a DualSense left trigger if you eventually swap to gamepad, so the muscle pattern transfers cleanly.
Mouse Buttons for Combat and Throwing
Left mouse button is the Throw Key, right mouse is reserved for camera look. Attack lives on F so the index finger never has to leave the WASD cluster during a fight. Veteran raccoons in the Off By One Games community report that keeping your left hand glued to the movement cluster and letting the right hand aim is the fastest way to clear bear traps and raccoon-ai patrols at the same time.
Grabbing, Carrying, and the E Key Behavior
The Grab Key (E) is the single most important binding in the game. Pressing E near a dumpster or item triggers a pickup that becomes a held object, and the raccoon switches into a carry animation. The same key is also used for the How to grab prompt that appears at the start of every tutorial area, which is where most new players first learn the binding. If the E key feels unresponsive, the controller-not-working troubleshooting guide covers the rebind procedure that fixes a stuck input layer.
| State | E Press Result | Animation | Stamina Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standing near item | Pick up item | Lift + carry | None |
| Standing near wagon | Push wagon | Both hands, lean | Continuous drain |
| Standing near deposit bin | Deposit item | Toss into bin | None |
| Standing near co-op player | Trade item | Hand-off | None |
| Holding item, near wagon | Load wagon | Drop into bed | None |
| Holding item, near co-op | Pass item | Hand-off | None |
The grab logic is context-sensitive, which is why the prompt text changes between Grab, Push, Load, and Deposit depending on what's nearby. Players learning the How to grab flow should pay attention to the on-screen icon because it previews which verb will fire. A common early mistake is pressing E while standing on the wrong side of a dumpster and accidentally grabbing the wrong pile, which the deposit bin silently counts as a low-value item.
Carrying Limits and Drop Physics
Each raccoon can hold one item at a time, and the carry animation slows movement speed by roughly 25% according to community testing. Pressing Throw (Left Mouse Button) while carrying launches the item in the camera direction. A charged throw — hold the button for a half-second — adds about double the distance, which matters when you're loading a wagon parked one curb away.
Throwing Items, Depositing Loot, and the Deposit Bin
The Throw Key (Left Mouse Button) does more than launch trash across the map. A quick tap drops the held item at your feet, a short hold flings it forward, and a long hold adds the charged arc. The Deposit Bin at the wagon's rear reads the same key, so when you walk up with a bin and press the Interact Key (Space), the bin is what gets tossed in — not the held item.
This distinction is the entire reason Trash Day how to throw is one of the most-searched questions from new players. The deposit bin is the only path to scoring, and the trash tier list shows which items maximize wagon value per throw. A raccoon who learns to alternate between Grab (E), Throw (LMB), and Interact (Space) at the deposit bin will clear a shift in nearly half the time of a raccoon who fumbles the prompt.
| Throw Type | Input | Range | Best Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Drop | Tap LMB | At feet | Drop without throwing |
| Standard Throw | Short hold LMB | ~3 m | Load wagon from curb |
| Charged Throw | Long hold LMB | ~7 m | Skip a long carry |
| Bin Toss | Space near bin | Drops into wagon | Final deposit |
| Co-op Toss | Aim at teammate, tap LMB | ~5 m | Pass items fast |
The Trash Day interact key (Space) has a quiet second function. While standing near a deposit bin, Space tosses the bin into the wagon and triggers the scoring calculation. Without that toss, the bin sits in your hands and no points register, which is the most common source of "I deposited but the score didn't change" complaints in the community Discord.
Scoring Per Toss and the Money Cap
Each deposit adds a flat value plus a bin-size bonus, and the High Value Target achievement triggers at the $75 per-shift cap. According to community testing, raccoons who learn charged throws average 10-15 extra points per shift because they spend less time walking back to the wagon. Holding the throw button for the full charge does cost a small stamina tick, but the time saved is worth it for any item above the Common tier.
Combat Keys, Bear Traps, and the Attack Binding
Combat in Trash Day is short, scrappy, and tied to the same verb cluster as everything else. The Attack Key (F) triggers a three-hit melee combo that staggers enemies and pops open bear traps. Cooldowns are short, and the Sprint Key (Left Shift) lets you disengage when a fight goes wrong. New raccoons searching for the Trash Day how to attack flow should know that F is a directional swing — you must face the enemy for the hit to connect.
| Combat Action | Input | Stamina | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Attack | F | Low | Three-hit combo |
| Charged Attack | Hold F | High | Single heavy swing |
| Dodge | Shift + Direction | Medium | I-frames mid-roll |
| Counter | F just before hit | Low | Stuns enemy |
| Disarm Trap | F near trap | None | Pops trap in one hit |
| Call Help | Q (emote) | None | Pings crew in co-op |
The Attack (F) key is also the bind for disarming bear traps, which makes it the most overloaded verb in the game. Community data from the Off By One Games subreddit reports that raccoons who map a separate mouse button to attack (via the in-game remap menu) clear bear-trap-heavy areas like the Junkyard roughly 20% faster. The official store page describes the bear traps as the single biggest threat in every zone, so investing in your combat muscle memory is worth the early practice.
Co-op Combat Roles and Sync
In a six-player crew, the Attack (F) role often splits between front-line fighters and support raccoons. The front liners hold the Sprint Key for chase-downs while the support raccoons stay near the wagon, using the Interact Key (Space) to repair wheels and panels. The Trash Day starter guide walks new crews through this role split, but on a pure keybind level, the rule of thumb is: fighter on F + Shift, supporter on E + Space, and a third on Q for callouts.
Sprint, Stamina, and Movement Tricks
The Sprint Key (Left Shift) is the single most-pressed key in a typical shift. It drains stamina, and stamina regenerates only when you're standing still or walking. The cap is high enough that you can sprint through an entire zone if you pace yourself, but raccoons who hold the button down for the whole shift run out of stamina at the worst moment. The keybind is the same on gamepad, so raccoons who switch between keyboard and DualSense layouts never lose the muscle pattern.
| Movement State | Input | Stamina Drain | Speed Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walk | Release Shift | 0 | 1.0x |
| Sprint | Hold Shift | Slow | 1.5x |
| Dodge Roll | Shift + Direction | Burst | 2.0x for 0.3 s |
| Crouch Scurry | Ctrl | 0 | 0.6x |
| Stealth Scurry | Ctrl + Shift | Medium | 0.9x |
| Stuck Recovery | Tap Shift twice | Small | Unstuck from geometry |
The Trash Day sprint key doubles as the dodge-roll trigger when combined with a direction key. Tap Shift twice while holding A or D to roll sideways, which is the cleanest way to escape a raccoon-ai patrol that has spotted you. The roll has invincibility frames, but only for the first third of the animation, so timing matters more than distance.
Stamina Management Tips for Long Shifts
Players who learn to release the Sprint Key while crossing safe stretches of road save enough stamina to handle the final push to Raccoon Paradise. According to community data, a paced sprint-to-walk ratio of 3:1 (three seconds sprint, one second walk) keeps stamina topped up without sacrificing speed. The deposit bin is the best place to walk-recover, because you'll be standing still long enough to fully regenerate.
Remapping, Profiles, and PC-Specific Tweaks
The Trash Day options menu exposes every keybind in a clean remap screen, and most keys accept mouse buttons, gamepad inputs, or a second key. Raccoons who struggle with E + Space overlap can swap Push to a mouse side button, which frees the left hand for combat. The Trash Day controller support dialog also lives in this same menu, so a player who plugs in a DualSense mid-shift can hot-swap without leaving the lobby.
| Remap Goal | Suggested Key | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Move Attack to mouse | Mouse Button 4 or 5 | Faster bear trap disarms |
| Move Interact to thumb key | Thumb button on MMO mouse | Less pinky strain |
| Swap Sprint and Dodge | Shift on toggle, Space on roll | One-hand driving |
| Split Push and Grab | Mouse side button for push | Keep E for grab only |
| Invert Mouse Y | Off by default | Personal preference |
| Reduce Look Sensitivity | 30-50% range | Easier precise throws |
The Trash Day beginner guide recommends leaving the default layout for the first ten hours so the muscle memory for the standard keybinds is fully baked. After that, small swaps like moving Interact (Space) to a thumb key or moving Attack (F) to a mouse side button are safe. The official options screen also exposes a one-button "reset to default" in case a remap experiment breaks a critical verb.
Saving Profiles for Solo and Co-op
The remap screen supports multiple profiles, which is helpful for raccoons who alternate between solo shifts and crew nights. Save a "Solo" profile that leans hard on mouse buttons, and a "Co-op" profile that keeps the default keyboard cluster so the crew can call out verbs without confusion. Each profile remembers keybind, sensitivity, and the chat ping wheel, so switching is a one-key operation in the lobby.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the default grab key in Trash Day?
The default Grab Key is E. Pressing E near a dumpster, item, or co-op teammate triggers a pickup. The same key is context-sensitive, so it also becomes Push when you stand next to the wagon, Load when you stand at the wagon bed, and Deposit at the deposit bin. Learning this single verb is the fastest path to a clean shift.
What key do I press to throw items?
The Throw Key is the Left Mouse Button (LMB). A quick tap drops the held item at your feet, a short hold flings it a few meters, and a long hold adds the charged arc for the longest distance. The deposit bin uses the Interact Key (Space) instead, which is a separate verb and the most common point of confusion for new raccoons.
What is the sprint key, and how do I dodge?
The Sprint Key is Left Shift. Holding it runs at a 1.5x speed multiplier and drains stamina slowly. To dodge, press Shift twice in quick succession while holding a direction key (A or D), which triggers a roll with a short invincibility window. The roll costs a burst of stamina, so use it only when an enemy is mid-swing.
Does Trash Day have controller support on PC?
Yes. Trash Day controller support is built in for Xbox, PlayStation, and most generic gamepads. The game detects a gamepad automatically and switches the input layer without rebooting. The keybind layout mirrors the keyboard closely — left trigger for sprint, right trigger for throw, and face buttons for the verbs — so muscle memory transfers with about an hour of practice.
What is the attack key and can I remap it?
The default Attack Key is F, and the in-game remap screen lets you move it to any mouse button, gamepad input, or secondary key. Many raccoons move Attack to a mouse side button for faster bear-trap disarms in the Junkyard. The remap screen also has a one-button reset to default, so you can experiment without worrying about breaking a critical verb.