To use Stellaris console commands on PC, start a game with Ironman turned off and press the key just left of 1 on your keyboard (the backtick/tilde key on a US QWERTY layout, ^ or § on many European ones). If nothing opens, try Shift + Alt + C. Type a command such as cash 5000 or research_all_technologies and press Enter. Any console command turns off achievements, so keep cheats to saves you don’t care about.
Commands below match the official Stellaris Wiki command list for the PC version, checked against patch 4.5.2 (the current version as of October 2026, per the Stellaris Wiki main page).
Console won’t open? What players say works
Almost every “console commands not working” complaint is a keyboard layout problem, not a broken game. Here’s what Steam players found when the usual key did nothing.
“I’m on QWERTZ and nothing happens”
In a Steam thread about opening the console on a QWERTZ keyboard, the poster had tried 0, § and Alt+2,1 with no luck. What finally fixed it was switching the Windows input language to English, which put the console on the expected key. Later replies in the same thread confirmed Alt + Shift + C worked on a Hungarian QWERTZ layout, which lines up with the wiki’s own fallback.
“Is it Ironman?”
Check this first. The wiki is clear that the console only works in games without Ironman. If the save you loaded is an Ironman one, no key will open the console in it; start or load a non-Ironman game instead.
“The key works in other games but not here”
Stellaris accepts a whole list of keys depending on layout: Shift+2, Alt+2+1, Shift+3, §, ~, ^, °, ² or the backtick. Work through them before assuming anything’s wrong. Players in the Steam thread also suggested the Windows on-screen keyboard to find where your tilde key actually sits.
Most-used Stellaris console commands
These are the cheats people reach for most. Where a command takes an amount and you leave it out, the default is usually 5,000.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| cash 5000 | Adds Energy Credits |
| minerals 5000 | Adds Minerals |
| food 5000 | Adds Food |
| alloys 5000 | Adds Alloys |
| influence 500 | Adds Influence |
| unity 500 | Adds Unity (default 500) |
| resource consumer_goods 1000 | Adds any named resource, here Consumer Goods |
| physics 5000 / society 5000 / engineering 5000 | Adds research points to one field |
| finish_research | Completes all current research and special projects |
| instant_build | Toggles instant construction and unlimited resource storage |
| survey | Surveys every celestial body (needs at least one science ship) |
| intel | Shows the whole galaxy |
| contact | Starts first contact with every empire |
| invincible | Your ships stop taking damage |
| unlock_edicts | Makes every edict available |
One trap with instant_build: the wiki warns it applies to AI empires as well, so the galaxy builds faster around you too. Type it again to switch it off.
Research and technology commands
research_all_technologies instantly gives you every non-repeatable tech. It accepts two optional numbers. A 1 in the first slot adds space creature and crisis techs, and the second number adds levels of repeatable techs, so research_all_technologies 1 5 is the “everything” version.
For one specific tech, use research_technology followed by its ID, for example research_technology tech_automated_exploration. Tech IDs always start with tech_, and the wiki’s technology pages list them.
Traditions, ascension perks and edicts
- activate_tradition tr_prosperity_sct adopts a single tradition by ID.
- activate_all_traditions grabs the lot. DLC traditions get added too, but the wiki notes most do nothing without the matching DLC.
- activate_ascension_perk ap_mind_over_matter gives one ascension perk.
- effect remove_ascension_perk = ap_mind_over_matter takes it away again, handy if you picked the wrong one.
- effect unlock_council_slots = 1 opens an extra council seat.
Ships, fleets and combat
add_ship spawns one ship by design name, as in add_ship Avatar. Pressing Tab after typing it shows the built-in NPC ship names. A long-running Steam thread on add_ship shows the usual mistake: adding a ship class plus a number returns “ship does not exist”, because the command takes a design name and spawns a single ship. Players there suggested instant_build when you want lots of ships quickly.
- create_navy 1 builds a fleet from your latest designs; 1 means 100% of your naval capacity.
- damage 1000 deals hull damage to every ship in the selected fleet.
- own takes control of whatever fleet, starbase or planet you have selected.
The wiki also notes that a juggernaut spawned with add_ship can’t build, upgrade or repair ships, so it’s a warship and nothing more.
Planets and pops
Several planet commands act on whatever you have selected, so click the planet first.
- planet_class pc_arid changes the selected planet’s type. Careful: with nothing selected, the wiki says it terraforms everything in the galaxy.
- planet_size followed by a number resizes the selected planet.
- add_pops with a species ID and an amount adds pops. Type it without an ID and it lists species IDs for you.
- effect add_building = building_fe_dome shows how the effect prefix drops a building onto a planet.
Skip populate. The wiki warns it hangs the game, and has done since version 3.2.
Leaders, wars and diplomacy
For leaders, kill_leader with a leader ID removes one and kill_ruler removes your current ruler. Want a favourite leader to stick around? In a Steam thread about immortal leaders, players suggested selecting the leader’s portrait and running effect set_immortal = yes, or adding the intemporal trait with an effect command. That’s community advice rather than a wiki entry, so save first.
For wars:
- war 2 4 wg_independence starts a war between empire IDs 2 and 4 with the chosen war goal.
- surrender 5 lists empire 5’s wars and their IDs; add the war ID to force a surrender.
- peace_on_player 3 makes empire 3 offer you peace.
- debug_yesmen makes AI empires accept every proposal, and debug_nomen makes them refuse.
Finding IDs: debugtooltip, observe and play
Most powerful commands need an ID, and debugtooltip is how you get them. Turn it on and hovering over pops, planets, leaders, species and empires shows their IDs in the tooltips. Run it again to turn it off.
observe puts you in observer mode. The wiki warns that if you unpause while observing, the AI takes over your empire. Use play with an empire ID (for example play 2) to take control of an empire again. If you forget how any command works, help followed by the command name explains it, and the up and down arrows cycle through commands you’ve already typed.
Spawning crises with events
The event command fires game events by ID. In a Steam thread about running every crisis at once, a player listed these starting events: event crisis.199 (Prethoryn), event crisis.10001 (Unbidden), event crisis.2000 (Contingency) and event crisis.8005 (Cetana). Two catches from that thread: they only worked when the crisis setting was “all” at game start, and the first events are hidden, so nothing visible happens for a while. Back up your save before trying this one.
Frequently asked questions
Do Stellaris console commands disable achievements?
Yes. The Stellaris Wiki says using any console command disables achievements, and Ironman games, where achievements count, don’t allow the console at all.
Can I use console commands in Ironman mode?
No. The Stellaris Wiki says the console only opens in non-Ironman games, so cheats need a regular save.
Are there console commands in Stellaris Console Edition on PlayStation or Xbox?
The official wiki’s command list covers the PC version only, and nothing on it applies to Stellaris: Console Edition.
How do I give myself strategic resources?
Use the resource command with the resource’s ID and an amount, in the same pattern as resource consumer_goods 1000.
How do I turn instant_build off?
Type instant_build again. It’s a toggle, and while it’s on the AI empires also build instantly.
What’s the Stellaris command to win a war?
Use surrender with the enemy’s empire ID to list their war IDs, then run it again with the war ID added to force that empire to surrender.
Sources
- Stellaris Wiki: Console commands
- Stellaris Wiki: main page (current patch)
- Steam Community: Can’t open Console (QWERTZ)
- Steam Community: Console Commands (add_ship)
- Steam Community: commands for giving immortality to characters?
- Steam Community: spawning all crises at once
Featured image: Paradox Development Studio / Paradox Interactive
