Stellaris Cheats & Console Commands: The Complete Reference

To open the console in Stellaris, press the tilde key (`) on QWERTY keyboards. If that doesn’t work, try Shift + Alt + C, Shift + 2, or Alt + 2 + 1 depending on your keyboard layout. Once open, type your command and press Enter. Console commands are PC-only — no console access exists on PlayStation or Xbox versions. Most commands work in both single-player and observer mode, though some require targeting a specific planet, leader, or empire ID first.

Below is the full breakdown organized by category, with activation details, ID-finding methods, and notes on commands that have prerequisites or quirks worth knowing before you use them.

Opening the Console Across Different Keyboard Layouts

The tilde key is the standard trigger, but Stellaris has a history of the console being stubborn on non-US keyboard layouts. Here’s what actually works depending on your setup:

• US/UK QWERTY: ` (tilde, top-left under Escape)
• Alternative universal shortcut: Shift + Alt + C
• German / Nordic layouts: Shift + 2 or Shift + 3
• French AZERTY: Alt + 2 + 1

Once the console window opens at the bottom of your screen, type commands directly. Tab autocomplete works — extremely useful for commands that require specific IDs like building names or technology keys. Hit Tab after typing a partial command to see matching options.

One thing to set up immediately: type debugtooltip and press Enter. This enables ID overlays when you hover over planets, leaders, pops, and empires — you’ll need those IDs for roughly half the commands in this list. Without it, you’re guessing at empire IDs and pop IDs, which wastes time.

Resource Commands Worth Knowing

These are the most-used commands in Stellaris. All resource commands accept an optional number argument — without one, most default to 5,000 units. Negative values work for removal.

The resource command is the flexible catch-all. For example: resource sr_dark_matter 500 adds 500 Dark Matter directly. This is the command to use for strategic resources and rare deposits that don’t have dedicated shortcuts. Type resource followed by Tab to see the full list of valid resource keys.

max_resources fills everything to cap simultaneously — fast for testing purposes, though it won’t help if your storage cap is low. Combine it with upgrades or instant_build to actually hold what you’re adding.

Building and Construction Cheats

These commands operate at the planet level, which means you need to have the target planet selected (or know its ID) before firing them.

effect add_building = building_key — Adds a building to the currently selected planet. Unique buildings (one-per-empire structures like the Galactic Stock Exchange or the Imperial Palace) will be automatically removed after one in-game month if you don’t meet their requirements. This is an important edge case: the building appears, then disappears. Don’t assume the command failed — check whether your empire qualifies to hold it permanently.

effect add_district = district_key — Adds a district. Common keys include district_city, district_farming, district_mining, district_generator, and district_nexus. Ecumenopolis and Habitats use different district keys — Tab autocomplete will show valid options for whatever planet type you have selected.

instant_build — Toggles instant construction. Run it once to enable, once more to disable. This affects all queued buildings, ships, and megastructures for your empire and, importantly, for all AI empires too. If you’re mid-game and don’t want the AI to benefit, toggle it off once your queue clears.

create_megastructure [megastructure_id] — Spawns the specified megastructure. Requires the Utopia DLC for most megastructures. The Colossus and Juggernaut have their own separate IDs. Combine with instant_build for immediate completion.

planet_size [size] — Changes the selected planet’s size (number of available districts). Valid range is 1–25. Going above 25 can cause display issues in some versions.

finish_terraform — Completes any active terraforming project on the selected planet instantly.

Fleet and Ship Commands

Ship commands in Stellaris are more nuanced than a simple “spawn this unit” approach. A few things to understand upfront.

add_ship [ship_name] creates a full fleet of one ship type and spawns it at your currently selected planet or capital. The catch with Juggernauts: they spawn correctly but cannot issue build, upgrade, or repair orders when added this way. They function purely as combat platforms. If you need a functional Juggernaut, build it properly — use instant_build and alloys instead.

create_navy [percentage] generates a complete fleet up to the specified naval capacity percentage. Running create_navy 1 builds a fleet at 100% of your current naval capacity using your latest ship designs. This is the fastest way to get a competent fleet without hand-crafting it — useful for stress-testing defenses or catching up after a war.

damage [amount] deals the specified damage to your selected fleet. Useful if you want to test ship resilience or simulate battle damage without actual combat.

invincible — Toggles invincibility for your ships. Stacks with other combat modifiers; doesn’t affect ground armies.

survey — Instantly surveys all systems your ships can reach. Removes the need to send science ships out one by one. Probably the single most time-saving non-resource command in the game.

Empire-Level Effects and Government Commands

This category covers the commands that reshape your empire’s identity — ethics, civics, traditions, and political mechanics. Most of these are effect subcommands, which means the syntax includes the equals sign and a value in curly braces or directly appended.

Ethics manipulation:

• effect country_add_ethic = ethic_militarist — adds the Militarist ethic
• effect country_remove_ethic = ethic_pacifist — removes Pacifist
• effect shift_ethic = ethic_fanatic_authoritarian — shifts toward an ethic (respects the two-ethic limit for regular empires)

Civics:

• effect force_add_civic = civic_key — adds a civic without checking prerequisites. Note: adding incompatible civics can produce strange tooltip behavior, though gameplay usually continues normally.
• effect force_remove_civic = civic_key — removes it

Traditions and Ascension:

• activate_tradition = tr_tradition_key — unlocks a specific tradition. Use Tab to browse valid keys.
• activate_all_traditions — unlocks every tradition tree at once. This includes trees locked behind DLC — if you don’t own the DLC, the effects may be inconsistent.
• activate_ascension_perk = ap_perk_key — unlocks a specific Ascension Perk slot. Tab reveals all available perk IDs.

Political mechanics:

• free_government — removes the 10-year government reform cooldown
• free_policies — removes policy change cooldowns
• election — triggers an immediate election cycle
• force_senate_vote — forces a Galactic Community vote
• skip_galactic_community_cooldowns — clears resolution voting cooldowns
• unlock_edicts — makes all edicts available regardless of requirements
• federation_add_experience [amount] — adds Federation XP
• federation_add_cohesion [amount] — adds Federation Cohesion

add_opinion [empire_id] [amount] — raises the target empire’s opinion of yours by the specified amount, defaulting to 40. Useful for forcing alliances or federation invitations without warfare. The empire ID comes from debugtooltip.

force_integrate [empire_id] — forcibly integrates a subject empire. Requires the target to already be your vassal or protectorate.

Research and Technology Codes

research_all_technologies [tier] [repeatable] — This is the broadest tech command. Without arguments, it unlocks all non-repeatable technologies in all three trees instantly. Adding a tier number limits it to that tier. Adding 1 as a second argument also includes repeatable techs — though running repeatables in bulk can break certain UI counters, so be cautious with that flag.

research_technology = tech_key — Unlocks one specific technology. Tab completion is essential here because Stellaris has hundreds of tech keys (things like tech_destroyers, tech_synthetic_workers, tech_gateway_activation). The format uses the effect prefix in some versions: effect research_technology = tech_key.

The three dedicated research resource commands:

• physics [amount] — adds Physics research points
• engineering [amount] — adds Engineering research points
• society [amount] — adds Society research points

finish_research — Completes all active research projects immediately. Faster than using the individual resource commands when you just need the current queue done.

techupdate — Refreshes available technology choices. Handy if you want a fresh selection without waiting for the next research cycle.

Miscellaneous Commands Worth Keeping Handy

play [empire_id] — Switches player control to the specified empire. Useful for checking AI empire situations or managing multiple factions in a test game.

observe — Drops you into observer mode (no empire control). The AI takes over your empire. Type play 0 to return to your original empire.

ai — Toggles AI processing on or off globally. Disabling AI pauses all empire decision-making, which can help when testing specific scenarios without interference.

debug_yesmen — Makes all AI empires accept any diplomatic offer. Invaluable for setting up custom scenarios or forcing federations together.

debug_nomen — Opposite of yesmen: all AI empires reject every offer.

communications — Instantly establishes communications with all empires in the galaxy.

colonize [pop_id] — Starts colonization of the selected uninhabited planet using a pop of the specified ID. The pop ID comes from debugtooltip when hovering over existing pops.

build_pops [amount] — Adds robot pops to the selected planet. Only works if your empire has reached the relevant robotics tech tier. Without Synthetic Evolution or equivalent research, this command silently fails.

grow_pops [amount] — Forces pop growth on the selected planet, bypassing normal growth timers.

planet_happiness [amount] — Sets stability and happiness modifiers on the selected planet.

add_relic [relic_key] — Adds the specified relic to your collection. Requires the Ancient Relics DLC for most relic keys. Tab shows available relics.

add_trait_species = [trait_key] / remove_trait_species = [trait_key] — Modifies species traits directly. Changes apply to all pops of that species.

add_trait_leader = [trait_key] / remove_trait_leader = [trait_key] — Modifies the selected leader’s trait list.

skills [amount] — Adds skill levels to the selected leader.

achievement_status — Enables achievements even in modded or console-command games. Use this carefully — achievements are normally locked once you open the console.

When the Console Isn’t Cooperating

A few common issues and what actually fixes them.

Console opens but commands do nothing. Check whether you’re in ironman mode — ironman completely disables the console. There’s no workaround; start a new non-ironman save. Also confirm you’re not using a version mismatch between your game and a saved file from a previous patch.

Commands typed but nothing happens. Some commands require a planet or fleet to be selected first. add_building, planet_size, grow_pops, and others act on whatever is currently selected in the map. Click your target planet before running the command.

effect commands return errors. The syntax for effect subcommands is case-sensitive and space-sensitive. effect add_building = building_research_lab_1 needs exactly that spacing around the equals sign. Missing the space breaks the parse.

Tilde key doesn’t open anything. This is almost always a keyboard layout issue. Try Shift + Alt + C as a universal fallback — this works regardless of regional layout and is the most reliable backup. If you’re on a laptop without a dedicated tilde, this is your main option.

Console commands disabled after DLC purchase. Some DLC-specific commands require the DLC to be active in the current save. If you added a DLC mid-playthrough, start a new game to access commands tied to that expansion’s content.

FAQ: Console Commands in Stellaris

Do Stellaris console commands disable achievements?

Yes, by default. Opening the console and using any command locks achievements for that save. The achievement_status command can re-enable them, but this workaround may not function in all game versions — verify it works before relying on it for a serious playthrough.

Do these commands work in multiplayer?

Console commands are host-only in multiplayer. Only the hosting player can use them, and they affect the full shared game state. Commands like debug_yesmen and ai will impact all players’ diplomatic interactions.

Are Stellaris console commands available on PS4 or Xbox?

No. Console commands are PC-exclusive. The console version of Stellaris has no cheat system of any kind.

How do I find building or technology IDs for commands?

Tab autocomplete in the console is the fastest method — type the start of a command and Tab through matches. For a complete offline reference, the Stellaris Wiki maintains a searchable database of all IDs, updated per patch.

What’s the difference between research_technology and research_all_technologies?

research_technology unlocks one specific tech by key. research_all_technologies mass-unlocks everything. Use the single-tech version when you want specific items without disrupting your tech progression or triggering AI changes from suddenly having all technologies.

Can I use the resource command for DLC resources like Zro or Living Metal?

Yes. resource sr_zro 500, resource sr_living_metal 500, and resource sr_dark_matter 500 all work as of the current version. These DLC resources use the sr_ prefix in their keys.