Stellaris is making enough waves among both the grand strategy and 4X communities to have even casual strategy gamers take notice, and that’s really saying something considering the complexity of the game.
Those who haven’t tinkered with Stellaris may be unaware of its hefty console command function, which gives players the ability to tinker with most aspects of the game somewhat freely. Visual and gameplay adjustments are both very possible, but delving into the vast majority of what you can do with the console command function is not a task for the unsavvy. It gets complicated, and fast.
While a good portion of the game’s commands are either complex or still being figured out by the game’s community, there is still a sizable list of gameplay-affecting commands any Stellaris player can easily make use of. These easy-to-use commands function much like cheats and can make your time with the game easier if that’s what you’re looking for.
To access the command console, press the tilda (~) key while in a campaign.
The commands below are the game’s most simple and primarily function as cheats. Commands with their examples listed as “N/A” in the “Example” column are simply the command itself with no other inputs but the trusty Enter key.
Stellaris Console Commands
| Command | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ai | Toggles the game’s AI on or off. Useful if you’re having trouble and want to go the cheating route or simply just don’t want the AI to do anything. | N/A |
| cash | Gives you the amount of energy credits specified. If no number amount is specified, the command will give you 5,000. | cash 1,500 |
| contact | Enables or disables contact with all other empires. | N/A |
| damage | Selected ship will take the amount of specified damage. You must select a ship before you can use this command. | damage 35 |
| democratic_election | Immediately start a democratic election. | N/A |
| deposits | Toggles deposit stat visibility. | deposits |
| engineering | Gives you the amount of engineering research specified. If no number amount is specified, the command will give you 5,000. | engineering 300 |
| finish_research | Completes all of your active research. | N/A |
| free_government | Toggles the ability to change your government without having to wait for the change to take effect. | N/A |
| free_policies | Toggles the ability to change your policies without having to wait for the change to take effect. | N/A |
| ftl | Toggles unlimited faster-than-light travel. | N/A |
| human_ai | Toggles AI for human empires. | N/A |
| influence | Gives you the amount of influence specified. If no number amount is specified, the command will give you 5,000. | influence 1,000 |
| instant_build | Toggle for buildings, upgrades, and ships to be completed immediately. | N/A |
| instant_colony | Toggle for colony ships to settle immediately. | N/A |
| instant_move | Toggle for ships to teleport to their click destinations instead of manually travel. | N/A |
| invincible | Makes your ships invincible. | N/A |
| minerals | Gives you the amount of minerals specified. If no number amount is specified, the command will give you 5,000. | minerals 2,000 |
| nogui | Toggle to remove and bring back the game’s GUI. | N/A |
| physics | Gives you the amount of physics research specified. If no number amount is specified, the command will give you 5,000. | physics 450 |
| planet_happiness | Applies a happiness buff to the selected planet. The amount the buff increases that planet’s happiness must be specified. You must select a planet before using this command. | planet_happiness 70 |
| planet_resource | Adds the specified resource (and amount) to random tiles of a planet. You must select a planet before using this command and specify the resource. See below for specific resource codes to use with this command. | planet_resource sr_teldar 50 |
| planet_size | Increases a planet’s size in both function and visually. The default maximum is 25. The game can crash at higher sizes. You must select a planet before using this command. | planet_size 15 |
| populate | Populates all of a planet’s free population slots. You must select a planet before using this command. | N/A |
| research_technologies | Immediately researches all in-progress technologies. | N/A |
| resource | Gives you the amount of resource you specify. If no number amount is specified, the command will give you 5,000. Works the same as the individual resource commands. | resource cash 2,000 |
| society | Gives you the amount of society specified. If no number amount is specified, the command will give you 5,000. | society 1,700 |
| survey | Surveys all planets. | N/A |
Resource codes to be used with planet_resource
- Alien Pets – sr_alien_pets
- Betharian Stone – sr_betharian
- Dark Matter – sr_dark_matter
- Energy – energy
- Engineering Research – engineering_research
- Engos Vapor – sr_engos
- Food – food
- Garanthium Ore – sr_garanthium
- Influence – influence
- Living Metal – sr_living_metal
- Lythuric Gas – sr_lythuric
- Minerals – minerals
- Neutronium Ore – sr_neutronium
- Orillium Ore – sr_orillium
- Physics Research – physics_research
- Pitharan Dust – sr_pitharan
- Satramene Gas – sr_satramene
- Society Research – society_research
- Teldar Crystals – sr_teldar
- Terraforming Gases – sr_terraform_gases
- Terraforming Liquids – sr_terraform_liquids
- Zro Distillation – sr_zro
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That wraps it up for this guide to Stellaris console commands. Are there any Stellaris tips or cheats you’d like to share? Let us know about them in the comments, and be sure to stick with GameSkinny for more Stellaris guides and information!
