Where to find every toolbox in The Last of Us Part 1

The Last of Us tool locations
(Image credit: Naughty Dog)

The Last of Us Part 1 tool locations are easy to miss if you're not paying attention. With so many infected to look out for and with Ellie in tow, it's hardly surprising that you may have trouble spotting them. The toolboxes are vital, though, and will let you upgrade your weapons so you stand more of a chance of making it through your journey.

Speaking of upgrading your weapons, you'll get quite a few parts by locating The Last of Us safe codes and collecting the goodies inside. As for the toolboxes, there are five to find, and they're spread throughout the game. If you're ready to get started, here's every The Last of Us tool location. 

The Last of Us Part 1 tool locations 

The five toolboxes to find, each in a different section of the game. I'll list the general location of each toolbox below and go into more detail about where to find them in their own sections further down. As you might expect, these tools are bright red but they're quite small so they can be hard to spot in dimly lit areas or if you're being hounded by infected.

Here's every The Last of Us toolbox location:

  • Bill's Town: In the church basement
  • Pittsburgh: Inside a garage
  • The Suburbs: Inside a room in the sewers
  • The University: Lecture Room 205 
  • Bus Depot: Triage tent on the highway

Bill's Town tool location

(Image credit: Naughty Dog)

Once you meet Bill, you'll go with him to the basement of the church. You'll know you're in the right place because it's here that you unlock the recipe for the nail bomb by interacting with the object on the table in the middle of the room. In the corner at the back of one of the alcoves here, you'll find the red toolbox sat on some low, wooden shelves. 

Pittsburgh tool location

(Image credit: Naughty Dog)

You'll find this toolbox early on in the Pittsburgh chapter. It's located on metal shelving to the left of the door inside a garage after you escape an attack. You'll need Ellie's help to get the heavy sliding door open to access it. You'll also find a safe further on in this chapter, so it's good to have all the help you can get when dealing with the infected in the area. 

The Suburbs tool location

(Image credit: Naughty Dog)

Once you reach the sewer, and you have Ellie use a palette to reach the other side of the water to power a moveable platform, you'll a long winding tunnel with a shallow channel of water running through the center of it. Follow this tunnel around the first bend and look for a door on your left. You'll find the toolbox on the floor inside the room. 

The University tool location

(Image credit: Naughty Dog)

This tool is found quite far into the chapter. Once you reach the science building in the University section and climb through the window to access it, keep left and follow the corridor until you reach the Lecture room, Room 205. Open the door with a shiv and you'll find the toolbox on a bench ahead. 

Bus Depot tool location

(Image credit: Naughty Dog)

The last toolbox is found inside a triage tent at the Highway Exit section. After you've petted the giraffe, you'll go down some stairs, and Joel will start talking about a previous experience that the area reminds him of when you get to the bottom. Look for the large tent straight ahead, and you'll find the tools on the long wooden table just inside the entrance, to the right. 

Sarah James
Senior Guides Writer

Sarah started as a freelance writer in 2018, writing for PCGamesN, TechRadar, GamingBible, Red Bull Gaming and more. In 2021, she was offered a full-time position on the PC Gamer team where she takes every possible opportunity to talk about World of Warcraft and Elden Ring. When not writing guides, most of her spare time is spent in Azeroth—though she's quite partial to JRPGs too. One of her fondest hopes is to one day play through the ending of Final Fantasy X without breaking down into a sobbing heap. She probably has more wolves in Valheim than you.

Read more
black ops 6 safe codes
All Black Ops 6 safe code locations and solutions in the campaign
KCD 2 lockpicks - Henry picking a chest
How to get lockpicks in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Stalker 2 unique weapons - Shotgun
All Stalker 2 unique weapons and where to find each
Atomfall hidden cache locations - Interchange
7 things to find first in Atomfall
kingdom come: deliverance 2
12 things to grab first in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
KCD 2 treasure map - Henry reading a map in front of a ruin
All treasure map locations in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Latest in Action
A shock trap transformed into a Lego brick in Monster Hunter Wilds.
A modder keeps turning Monster Hunter traps into Lego bricks so that the monsters will know true pain, and they've just done it again
Nova, a hero from Marvel Comics, smolders at the camera while surrounded by flames.
The team behind Shredder's Revenge has a Marvel beat 'em up on the way with a whopping 15 characters and unsurprisingly gorgeous pixel art
The First Berserker: Khazan tips - Khazan
10 The First Berserker: Khazan tips to smash your foes
Crysis hero Prophet running down a beach while under fire
Crysis Remastered Trilogy activates maximum value mode as upgraded version of the legendary, hardware-crushing FPS series is currently 60% off
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The First Berserker: Khazan review - Blade Phantom
How to claim The First Berserker: Khazan pre-order bonus and deluxe edition DLC
Latest in Features
Dancing Green in Final Fantasy 14.
Final Fantasy 14's latest raids have me fully convinced that Square Enix can still cook, even as job design lags behind
Razer Blade 16 (2025) gaming laptop
Nvidia RTX 5090 mobile tested: The needle hasn't moved on performance but this is the first time I'd consider ditching my desktop for a gaming laptop
kingdom come deliverance 2 thunderstone quest
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's masterful quest design can be summed up by one wonderfully weird search for a magic stone
Blue Protocol players dancing minutes before the game closes forever
What will we do at the end of the world? If MMOs are any indication: mostly what we already do, plus a lot of dancing
Sphene applauds in Final Fantasy 14's patch 7.2 story.
I'm not yelling 'we're so back!' yet, but Final Fantasy 14's patch 7.2 story could be the first sign the MMO is returning to what made it so critically-acclaimed
Several tight-wearing superheroes surge towards the camera in a heroic fashion in City of Heroes.
One year later, City of Heroes' officially recognized fan server has me praying it's the future of dead MMOs