Space merchant RPG

Star Freight: Trade. Decide. Survive.

Lead a disgraced pilot through a politically fractured star system. Five civilizations. One economy. Four truths that make every run a different captain life.

Get started Read the Handbook

Install

pip install -e ".[tui]"

Play

starfreight tui

Test

python -m pytest tests/ -x -q

Four Truths

The load-bearing walls. Every system transacts with every other.

Crew is Binding Law

Crew members are capabilities, access gates, and obligations. Lose one and three systems lose capability at once.

Combat is a Campaign Event

Victory writes salvage and faction heat. Retreat costs cargo and reputation. Defeat means seized goods and injured crew.

Culture is Decision Grammar

Each civilization has social logic that shapes trade, access, and conflict. Knowledge is reading the room, not reading a codex.

Plot Emerges from Life

Investigation threads surface through ordinary work. The conspiracy doesn't announce itself — you stumble into it by doing the job.

Three Captain Paths

Relief, Gray, and Honor produce genuinely different lives — different routes, trades, combat profiles, and fears.

2,200+ Tests

Comprehensive suite covering crew binding, grid combat, cultural knowledge, investigation, campaign integration, and dogfood simulation.

Quick Start

Install

# Clone and install
git clone https://github.com/mcp-tool-shop-org/star-freight.git
cd star-freight
pip install -e ".[tui]"

Play

# Launch the TUI
starfreight tui

# Controls
# D Dashboard | C Crew | R Routes
# M Market | T Station | J Journal
# F Faction | B Buy | S Sell
# G Travel | A Advance

Five Civilizations

Each shapes trade, access, and conflict differently.

Civilization	Identity	Trade Character
Terran Compact	Bureaucratic human government	Safe markets, tight margins, heavy paperwork
Keth Communion	Arthropod collective, biological calendar	Best margins if you understand seasons
Veshan Principalities	Reptilian feudal houses	Formal challenge, direct trade, the Debt Ledger
Orryn Drift	Mobile broker civilization	Neutral, profitable, charges for everything
Sable Reach	Pirate factions + salvagers	No law, highest risk and reward