Stellaris is one of the most popular sci-fi 4X games, but it doesn’t come without challenges. If you want to turn conquering other space empires into a walk in the park, console commands are the best way. These developer and debugging options can change any setting and artificially increase your empire’s prowess.
Here’s what you need to know about console commands in Stellaris.
Activating the Console in Stellaris
Just like pretty much every Paradox Interactive game, the game’s console is only allowed on non-Ironman games. This means you can’t cheat to get achievements.
The console is also only available on the PC version of the game. Sorry, console players.
To activate the console, press the “~” or “`” tilde button on the keyboard (it’s left of the “1” key above QWERTY). For non-US keyboards, you’ll have to try some alternatives (the apostrophe works for UK keyboards, and Ctrl+Alt+C usually gets the job done) or temporarily switch to a US keyboard setup on your PC.
Using Console Commands in Stellaris
There are two basic types of console commands: cheats and debugging options. The debugging options are more suitable for mod testing, but some are cheaty.
Additionally, commands can come with or without parameters.
Read: How To Get More Influence in Stellaris
For commands with parameters, they can either be amounts (usually numbers) or specific IDs associated with the modified object. Commands are non-case-sensitive, meaning it doesn’t matter whether you use capital letters.
Here’s a brief list of the most common (and simplest) commands you can use to make the game almost trivial, depending on how far you’re willing to go:
help– Shows a list of commands. If it has a parameter (for example: help add_anomaly), it shows all the information on options on the parameter.
activate_all_traditions– Activates all traditions—pretty strong stuff.
debug_yesmen– Makes all AI empires accept your proposals.ai– toggles the AI on and off. Effectively makes the enemy not think.election– Immediately starts a ruler election.intel– Gives you visibility over the entire galaxy.invincible– Stops your ships from taking any damage.
instant_build– Makes all upgrades and construction instantly finished; can be toggled on or off. It also applies to the AI, so it should be used only while Paused for the greatest effect.
max_resources– Fills your resource storage.
add_anomaly [ID]– Adds the specified anomaly to the selected planet.finish_research– Immediately finishes all active research projects.
finish_special_projects– Completes all special projects.finish_terraform– Finishes all terraforming projects.
If you want to check out all the available console commands (there are many), you can go to the community-run wiki page. You can also use the list of IDs whenever you want to input a parameter-reliant command.
Should You Use Console Commands?
We don’t recommend relying on console commands to get through a game. While it can be fun to tinker around some settings and feel (or be) invincible, it doesn’t provide nearly as much satisfaction as playing the game as intended. However, you have the power to control the console in the game, and it’s up to you how you use it.
What console commands do you use most in Stellaris? Let us know in the comment section below.
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