Fallout 4 containers and storage

In Fallout 4, containers are world objects that have their own inventory and that can be interacted with.

Characteristics
The player character can transfer items from the container's inventory to their own inventory and vice versa. When a container is locked its inventory cannot be accessed before the player character unlocks it. When a container is marked as owned, taking items from such container is considered as theft and might turn nearby characters hostile. Items placed in a container will disappear over time. Containers in settlements that are controlled by the player character are not affected.

If the player wants to store an item in a container, the "Transfer" option must be selected by pressing the corresponding button. From there, the player can choose what items to store and take. However, the player can view the container's contents and loot the container without having to open it by scrolling up and down and selecting the "Take" option. This is different from Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas where the player must actually open the container before any looting or transferring can be done.

Unlike Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, empty containers are not marked or tagged as "Empty" on the screen; the "Take" option is simply darkened to represent unavailable.