Intelligence Folder: What Does It Mean in Tarkov?

The Intelligence folder (often just called intel) is a valuable info item in Escape from Tarkov: a folder of documents described in game as useful and valuable to third parties. Players need it to build the Intelligence Center in the hideout, to craft Labs keycards and to complete several barter trades, which is why it is one of the most sought-after small items in the game.

How It Works

The folder takes a 2x1 slot and weighs 0.23 kg. It has no use in raid; its value comes from what you can do with it back at your hideout and at traders. The main uses are:

• Hideout: one folder is required for Intelligence Center level 1 and three more for Intelligence Center level 2. The Intelligence Center unlocks important crafts, shortens the Scav cooldown and boosts quest money rewards, so most players need at least four folders early in a wipe.
• Crafting: at Intelligence Center level 2, a UHF RFID Reader plus one folder produces three TerraGroup Labs access keycards. Other crafts use folders to make TerraGroup Blue Folders materials (level 2) and the Green, Red and Violet Labs keycards (level 3).
• Barters: Prapor and Peacekeeper at loyalty level 3 offer underbarrel grenade launchers (GP-25 and M203) in exchange for a folder plus other items, once the related tasks are started.
• Scav Case: the folder can be used as payment in the hideout Scav case module.

You can also obtain folders without finding them: Peacekeeper offers one in a barter for diaries and topographic survey maps, the Intelligence Center level 3 can craft one from printer paper and military flash drives, and the tasks Key Partner, Counteraction and The Huntsman Path - Crooked Cop give folders as rewards.

Where You'll See It

Folders appear in drawers, safes, jackets, plastic suitcases, weapon boxes, ground caches and on dead Scavs, plus a number of fixed spots. Well-known spawns include:

• Customs: the office in the red warehouse (needs the Tarcone Director's office key), Dorm room 110, the second floor of the medical building and offices in the industrial plant.
• Reserve: on the desk inside the RB-PKPTS room, plus several other spots marked on community maps.
• Shoreline: the HEP station storage room in the power station.
• Interchange: the tent in the BEAR camp, Station 14-4 KORD and boxes in the garage under Goshan where Tagilla spawns.
• Lighthouse: the chalets, the tennis court tent, the hidden drug lab and the radar station guard post.
• The Lab: Kruglov's office and its safe, the Violet and Red keycard rooms, the Manager's office and the Administrative office.

Tips

• Keep the folder in your secure container as soon as you pick it up. It is small, light and valuable, exactly the item you do not want to lose on death.
• Plan a key run around folder spawns: offices with keys (Dorm 110, the Customs red warehouse office, HEP storage on Shoreline) are reliable stops.
• Do not sell your first folders. Building the Intelligence Center early pays back through crafts and cheaper access to Labs keycards.
• Folders found in high-risk areas such as Labs offices are worth more to you than the fight around them; extract once your container is full of high-value items.
• Spawn points can change between patches and after the 1.0 release, so check the current map on the official wiki before a dedicated run.

FAQ

How many Intelligence folders do I need for the hideout?

Four in total: one for Intelligence Center level 1 and three for level 2.

Can I craft an Intelligence folder?

Yes. Once the Intelligence Center reaches level 3, you can craft one from printer paper and two military flash drives. The craft is long, so most players still loot folders in raid.

What is the fastest way to find intel?

Combine several fixed spawns on one map with the keys to reach them, and loot every drawer and jacket along the route. Customs and Reserve offices are popular starting points.