Signal → what to do
- Landing 99, a figure facing a door, and a finger pointing at the fire alarm—that's your cue. Pull the lever.
- You can hear a flute-like tune from the room. Cobbler sometimes plays when you enter.
- A hooded silhouette floats somewhere on the stairs and vanishes as soon as you notice it. That's Cobbler, so you don't need to run.
- A silhouette lunged at you from around a corner and disappeared? That's also Cobbler. It's a rare jump scare that deals no damage.
What to do at Cobbler's
Cobbler is the only passive entity in The Stairwell. There's nothing to fear, but the order of things matters.
1. Turn on the fire alarm. Cobbler won't talk to you without it. It also burns down the rest of The Stairwell, so Creak stops chasing you. 2. Talk to Cobbler to earn the Hello Walker badge. 3. Trade Scrap for Gold. 4. Buy what you need from the shelf: Starlight Jug, NVCS-3000, or Peach Cobbler. 5. Leave through the door to Cobbler's right. It leads back to The Mines.
I turn on the alarm before looking around. After that, Cobbler starts wandering around the room and changes spots while you're looking away—that's normal. He's not hunting you.
Where he lives
Cobbler only appears in The Stairwell. His home is Cobbler's Chamber at the very end of the stairs. That's where you'll find him, the fire door lever, and the exit to The Mines. He sits on landing 99 and, according to him, lives there too.
The door to his right takes you back to The Mines about 10–15 doors past door 152. At the top of the stairs, behind the door to his room, there's an Archives-style room with half a printer.
Common mistakes
- Trying to talk to him before turning on the alarm. It won't work.
- Running from the silhouette on the stairs. It disappears on its own as soon as you notice it.
- Visiting Cobbler without any Scrap. The Gold for his shelf comes from trading junk.
- Thinking he's bugged because he moved. After the alarm, he walks around the room when you look away.
What he says about himself
Cobbler says he carved notches into the walls on the landings to help a new traveler. Gold gives him energy, and he calls it "specie". He can't leave The Stairwell and can't see the Starlight exit door.
He doesn't like the entities in the stairs, except for Stem. He'd even like to keep one Stem as a pet. He once smashed Noise's TV, too. My favorite bit: he praises his drawing in The Journal and looks for a fridge with magnets to hang it up.
Shop: Scrap, Gold, and the shelf
Trading with Cobbler takes two steps. First, trade Scrap for Gold. After the Access Granted update, Depot Grinders replaced Depot. They turn the junk you find into Scrap, and Cobbler buys it for 10 gold each.
Next, shop from the shelf. Starlight Jug, NVCS-3000, and Peach Cobbler sit next to Cobbler, and they all cost Gold. Starlight Jug costs 750, NVCS-3000 costs 500, and Peach Cobbler costs 250. You can also get Gold from Honey Pot or by recycling items at Depot.
What you should buy depends on your run. I grab Starlight Jug if I have a long stretch of The Mines ahead. Extra health is most useful there.
Cobblish and NVCS-3000
Cobbler speaks a mysterious language. It's called Cobblish, a name you can see in the developer console in the Lobby. Even the letter "I" on his face is written in Cobblish, and the second version has it mirrored.
If you want to understand him, grab NVCS-3000. Its translator module deciphers Cobbler's lines at the end of The Stairwell.
When you buy NVCS-3000, Cobbler reaches out and offers you a choice of two modules at no extra cost. You take one, and he keeps the other. There are three modules in total: a translator, a flashlight, and a threat detector that warns you about nearby Dupe and Figure. I take the translator the first time just to hear the lines. After that, I pick the detector. He calls you "Walker" and talks about himself in the third person.
Give Stem to Cobbler
Cobbler has a dream: to keep one Stem as a pet. You can make it happen. Hold Stem in your hands and talk to Cobbler in his room. Stem will stay with him in your future runs, and you can swap it for another later.
You'll earn the Friend Ball achievement for this. I think it's the kindest badge in The Stairwell. Everything else wants to eat you, and here you get to make someone happy.
Badges
- Hello Walker — meet the strange hooded creature in The Stairwell, which means talking to Cobbler. The badge describes him as a strange hooded creature. It's a hidden, rare badge, with the description "Oh. It's you.".
- Paperclip Challenge — get some Gold at Depot. It's also rare, with the description "Think I can buy a house with this?".
Fun facts
- Cobbler was added on August 28, 2026.
- He looks like a dark, translucent hooded creature with glowing white eyes and a flute on his left hip.
- Unlike Creak and Noise, Cobbler wasn't shown in advance at all—not in a teaser or an Archives trailer.
- His name is one of the few that wasn't made up by players.
- According to the filenames, Cobbler sometimes throws empty Gween Soda cans and sticks, and pushes carts near players.
- One theory is that he composed The Stairwell's music himself unconfirmed.
- Rumor has it that Cobbler collects shiny liquid from a pipe to fill an empty Starlight Jug unconfirmed.
Where it appears
all locationsRelated badges
all badges
Frequently asked questions
Where can you find the cobbler in DOORS?
Is Cobbler dangerous?
Why won't Cobbler talk to me?
What can you buy from Cobbler?
Could you always buy a Starlight Jug from the cobbler?
What language does the cobbler speak in DOORS?
How much do Cobbler's items cost?
See also
What’s Still Unconfirmed (2)
This information comes from announcements and rumors, or is outdated. The label will disappear once it’s confirmed.
Discussion
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