# Material\_tags meaning

**URL:** <https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/material-tags-meaning/28078>\
**Category:** Modding\
**Created:** [January 21, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/material-tags-meaning/28078 "2017-01-21T20:45:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![MelOzone](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/melozone/32/50318_2.png) [@MelOzone](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/MelOzone)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/material-tags-meaning/28078/1 "2017-01-21T20:45:59Z")

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Okay, so I understand material\_tags in ghost files are used for stockpile filtering. How exactly are they working in vanilla, and how are they working in Better Stockpiles?  
For example, I assigned the following tags for my iron brazier:

```auto
"material_tags": "light_source crafted iron"

```

However I’ve found out that other similar objects use more tags, like “light” (firepit) or “stockpile\_decoration” (wooden lantern). Are they crucial? What do they mean? What is the logic behind filtering? Are all tags used at once or not?  
@Shinsaka @yshan

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**Author:** ![Shinsaka](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/shinsaka/32/50869_2.png) [@Shinsaka](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Shinsaka)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 3:37am UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/material-tags-meaning/28078/2 "2017-01-22T03:37:03Z")

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It’s pretty easy in fact. Vanilla and BS stockpiles work the same way. Each time a Hearthling wants to pick up an item, he or she will look at it’s tags, and then will search for the closest stockpile with a filter corresponding to one or several tags.

Let’s pick up an item, a lump of coal, with the following tags:

`"material_tags" : "stockpile_ore coal ore resource"`

In the vanilla game, the “Ore” stockpile has the following filter:

`"filter" : "stockpile_ore"`

So this is where we can put our item! Because it’s tags contains the word “stockpile\_ore”.

In BS, there are several “Ore” stockpiles:

```
"filter" : "stockpile_ore coal"
"filter" : "stockpile_ore copper"
"filter" : "stockpile_ore iron"

```

In this case our item will be put in the stockpile “Coal”. There is no more “stockpile\_ore” filter, and the only matching filter is “stockpile\_ore coal”.

Let’s take another item, with the following tags:

`"material_tags" : "cloth armor light_armor stockpile_equipment"`

Imagine we have two stockpiles with these filters:

```
"filter" : "stockpile_equipment cloth"
"filter" : "stockpile_equipment armor"

```

The item can goes in the two stockpiles, because their filters both match the tags. It’s a situation I try to avoid with BS!

Finally, let’s take your item with it’s tags:

```
"material_tags": "light_source crafted iron"`

```

I’m sorry, but your item will stay on the ground. Hearthlings can’t store it, because there is no stockpile in vanilla or BS that match these tags. You must add the word “stockpile\_decoration”, and it will be stored along with the other light sources and decorations.

Hope this will help. English is not my native language, sorry if my explication is not clear enough.

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**Author:** ![MelOzone](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/melozone/32/50318_2.png) [@MelOzone](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/MelOzone)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 9:58am UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/material-tags-meaning/28078/3 "2017-01-22T09:58:34Z")

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That’s interesting because prior to A18 my items were stored just fine. Supposedly Radiant have changed the way the game stores things. Anyway, thanks for your insight! It’s very helpful.

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**Author:** ![Shinsaka](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/shinsaka/32/50869_2.png) [@Shinsaka](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Shinsaka)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/material-tags-meaning/28078/4 "2017-01-22T16:18:34Z")

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> [@MelOzone](#):
>
> That’s interesting because prior to A18 my items were stored just fine. Supposedly Radiant have changed the way the game stores things. Anyway, thanks for your insight! It’s very helpful.

Exact, they added the “stockpile\_thingy” tags for easier filtering.

I forgot to speak about the “All” filter. When you tick the “All” box in a stockpile, it will accept every item, without checking the tags. When you tick the “None” box, the stockpile will refuse any item whatever their tags are. If you tick every filter, the “All” box will automatically tick, but it will not accept all items, just every items that match at least one of the filters.

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**Author:** ![Wouter\_Sikkema](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/wouter_sikkema/32/61482_2.png) [@Wouter\_Sikkema](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Wouter_Sikkema)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 4:07pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/material-tags-meaning/28078/5 "2018-09-04T16:07:45Z")

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massive necro but this was a hugely usefull post to me

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**Author:** ![BrunoSupremo](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/brunosupremo/32/54819_2.png) [@BrunoSupremo](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/BrunoSupremo)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 5:01pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/material-tags-meaning/28078/6 "2018-09-04T17:01:36Z")

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Or you could simple check the same thing and more here: [The catalog](https://stonehearth.github.io/modding_guide/modding_guide/basic/catalog/index.html)

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**Author:** ![Wouter\_Sikkema](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/user_avatar/discourse.stonehearth.net/wouter_sikkema/32/61482_2.png) [@Wouter\_Sikkema](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/u/Wouter_Sikkema)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2018, 8:40pm UTC](https://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/material-tags-meaning/28078/7 "2018-09-04T20:40:11Z")

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gotta say the post was a lot more clear in a lot less words XD