Route choices and outcomes below contain spoilers.
The attic key in Date Everything is Keith, the skeleton key in the crawlspace under the office closet. Remove your Dateviators to roll back the closet rug and open the trapdoor. Below, put the glasses on to meet Keith, then bring him to the attic door. Key location and route
Find the office closet with the water heater
Go to the office on the ground floor, then enter its small closet containing the water heater. Look at the floor for the rug. This is the entrance you need; searching the upstairs closets will take you away from the key. Siliconera identifies the office, heater and rug together, making these more useful landmarks than a room name alone. Office landmarks
Take your Dateviators off before interacting with the rug. It rolls aside and exposes a trapdoor. Open that hatch, then use its ladder to descend. Keep the sequence simple: find the correct closet, uncover the floor, open the hatch, use the ladder. If you are still looking at an ordinary rug, finish that physical interaction before searching for Keith.
If the rug or ladder will not respond
Check whether you are still wearing the glasses. ScreenRant specifically notes that the ladder into the crawlspace requires the Dateviators to be off. The glasses let you meet objects as characters; here, you first need to manipulate the house itself. Ladder troubleshooting
Approach each obstacle separately. A revealed trapdoor means you have already completed the rug step. An open hatch means your next target is the ladder. Do not restart the entire search because one interaction has not advanced: look at the object that is still blocking your movement.
ScreenRant calls this small room the furnace room off the office. Its walkthrough describes the same rug, hatch and ladder. If another guide's room name sounds different, compare those physical landmarks before heading elsewhere. You are looking for a hidden floor entrance connected to the office.
Find Keith on the crawlspace floor
Once below, look down and to the right for a key among the rubble. HardcoreGamer describes it as partly concealed behind a rock, so sweeping the floor is more useful than inspecting the walls. Put your Dateviators back on and interact with the key to meet Keith. Finish the conversation in which he accompanies you. Keith's position
The crawlspace also contains a time capsule and a mousetrap. Finding another Dateable therefore does not mean that object is the attic key. Keep searching the ground until you have spoken to Keith himself. You can investigate the other inhabitants separately; they provide useful landmarks if you need to orient yourself in the small room.
Before climbing out, check your immediate objective: have you met the skeleton key, or have you only entered the hidden room? Reaching the crawlspace and obtaining Keith's help are two distinct steps.
Bring Keith to the upstairs attic door
Keith's character page describes his first interaction as the offer to help you enter the attic. He joins you in your pocket. Return upstairs and interact with Attic Dorian, the door blocking that room, rather than choosing another door elsewhere in the house. Keith's opening interactions
During their reunion, Keith and Dorian discuss their earlier relationship and the door unlocks. The normal sequence gives you a Friends relationship with Keith. That outcome is part of the opening interaction; you do not need to finish his later romance before entering.
Afterward, Keith moves to the hallway table near the upstairs stairs. If you return to the crawlspace and cannot find him there, check the table. His relocation is expected progress, and the attic door remains unlocked. Keep that distinction in mind when you later return to speak with him: his new home is separate from the door he opened.
Already spoke to Dorian today? Return tomorrow
If you found Keith but cannot trigger the upstairs reunion, consider the day's earlier conversations. Prima Games notes that speaking to Dorian earlier that day can prevent another interaction needed for the unlock. Wait until the next in-game day, then return to the attic door with Keith. Daily conversation restriction
This matters when you first ask the attic door for a clue and immediately follow it downstairs. Finding the correct key does not reset a conversation you have already used. The next-day return is therefore a sensible first check before assuming your save is broken.
Keep a short note of where you stopped: key found, Keith conversation finished, attic conversation pending. That preserves your place while you spend the remaining day on other relationships. The beginner guide explains the wider daily routine if you are still learning how to plan interactions.
Skip optional clues and use Content Aware if needed
The wiki's dedicated attic guide explicitly says that asking Attic Dorian for the key-location hint is optional. You can go directly to the office closet. Its normal route requires meeting Keith and then speaking to Attic Dorian; it does not require Realizing either character. Direct access route
The same guide documents a Content Aware alternative for Keith. Skipping his storyline still permits attic access: Skylar prompts the unlock, followed by a shorter Keith-and-Dorian scene. Use that option if you prefer it; choosing the skip does not sacrifice the room.
If a guide sends you through another character's quest for a clue, distinguish the clue from the door-opening mechanism. Follow the direct sequence above when your only goal is entry. Realization is a separate progression system, so do not build up a character's recipe just to solve this locked door.
Explore the attic after the door opens
TheGamer confirms that the attic provides more Dateables and additional interaction points, including holiday decorations, a window and Hector's main HVAC unit. Opening the room gives you places to investigate; it does not automatically finish the stories attached to them. What the attic contains
Take one slow pass through the room and choose what to inspect next. If Hector directed you upstairs, look for the HVAC unit. If you are exploring freely, use the character directory to choose your next guide. Keep the access task separate from those later objectives: once you can walk through the attic door, you have solved the key problem.
For a stopped attempt, identify the last completed action before repeating anything: rolled rug, opened hatch, entered crawlspace, met Keith, or triggered the reunion. Resume at the next unfinished step. That is easier to diagnose than treating every locked-door message as a missing key.