Stellaris is Paradox’s space grand strategy game, where an empire can fail for several different reasons at once: a shortage of alloys, an overextended fleet, unhappy planets, weak research, or a crisis that arrives before the economy is ready. The console is useful when it helps isolate one of those problems on a working save. Your main empire should remain clean.
Open the Stellaris console
The key depends on the keyboard layout. On a US or UK QWERTY keyboard, try ~.
On a German QWERTZ layout, try §. French AZERTY players should try ².
If neither works, test Shift + Alt + C before assuming the console is unavailable.
⚠️ Steam achievements disabled the moment you use the console. ⚠️ No console in Ironman or multiplayer.
Essential Stellaris console commands
Resources and economy
| Goal | Command |
|---|---|
| Add energy | cash [amount] |
| Add minerals | minerals [amount] |
| Add alloys | alloys [amount] |
| Add food | food [amount] |
| Add consumer goods | consumer_goods [amount] |
| Add influence | influence [amount] |
| Add unity | unity [amount] |
| Add dark matter | dark_matter [amount] |
Research and tech
| Goal | Command |
|---|---|
| Finish all research | research_technologies |
| Include rare techs | research_all_technologies |
| Add specific tech | research_technology [tech_id] |
| Gain +10 years of tech | add_tech [amount] |
Construction and fleets
| Goal | Command |
|---|---|
| Instant build | instant_build (toggle) |
| Add ship | add_ship [name] (e.g. add_ship Titan, add_ship Colossus) |
| Spawn system | spawn_system [star] |
| Reveal whole map | debugtooltip → observe to see everything |
Empires and diplomacy
| Goal | Command |
|---|---|
| Switch player empire | play [empire_ID] |
| Galactic observer mode | observe |
| Force empire surrender | surrender [target TAG] |
| AI accepts everything | yesmen |
| Add rival | add_rival [TAG] |
Planets and populations
| Goal | Command |
|---|---|
| Acquire planet | own [planet_id] |
| Add pop | add_pop [species_id] |
| Kill pop | kill_pop [pop_id] |
| Add anomaly | add_anomaly [category] |
| Instant terraform | finish_terraform |
Crises and events
| Goal | Command |
|---|---|
| Trigger End-Game Crisis | event crisis.10 |
| Trigger the Scourge (Prethoryn) | event crisis.1000 |
| Trigger the Extradimensionals | event crisis.2000 |
| Trigger the Contingency | event crisis.3000 |
| Trigger Fallen Empire awakening | event fallen_empire.100 |
| Trigger any event | event [id] |
Utilities and debug
| Goal | Command |
|---|---|
| List commands | help |
| Help for command | help [name] |
| Show IDs on hover | debugtooltip |
| Reload interface | reloadinterface |
| Clear console | clear |
Three Stellaris tests that help a real empire
Is the economy short of resources or short of structure?
Copy a save where the economy is stalling. Add a limited alloys 500 or minerals 500, let one or two in-game months pass, and watch the stockpile, jobs and construction queue. If that small buffer clears the problem, your empire may only need a better production rhythm. If it disappears immediately, the issue is more likely districts, upkeep, trade, population or too many simultaneous projects.
Is the fleet weak, or is the war badly timed?
Use a working save and test one research or one ship addition rather than an entire armada. Inspect the enemy empire with play [empire_ID] or observe, then return to your own empire. Compare fleet power, starbase position, allies and travel routes. The useful answer may be that the war should wait for a defensive pact, a chokepoint or an alloy reserve, not that every ship needs to appear instantly.
Can the crisis plan actually hold?
An end-game crisis test is most useful when it is scoped. Trigger one event on a disposable save, pause, check fleet capacity, gateways, fortress worlds and supply routes, then run the scenario. If the empire collapses, change one preparation element and try again. Three simultaneous crises create spectacle; one controlled crisis reveals whether your defence plan has a gap.
Treat the console as an empire workshop
Before entering a command, duplicate the save and name it clearly, for example United-Nations-alloy-test. Define one question: does this planet lack consumer goods, does this fleet need a technology, or does the crisis frontier lack a fortified chokepoint? Then modify one variable. A small amount of energy, minerals or alloys, one technology, or a brief switch to another empire can be enough to reveal the answer.
Note the date, fleet power and monthly alloy balance before the test. Those three values make the outcome comparable after reloading the clean save.
Start with help, then use help plus a command name if you are unsure about syntax. The Stellaris console reference is safer than a guessed event ID or an old video. Mods can alter technologies, ships, empires and events, so repeat any test in the exact Steam Workshop playset used by the campaign.
Resources, research and construction
cash, minerals, alloys, consumer_goods and instant_build are most useful when they test a bottleneck. Add a limited resource, observe the empire, and reload the clean save. If the command makes a meaningful difference, turn that observation into a normal decision: change a district, reduce upkeep, postpone a megastructure, or alter the fleet timetable.
research_technology and research_technologies can clarify what a missing technology actually unlocks. Use them to compare a specific ship component, building or doctrine on the copied save. Do not mistake a late-game tech tree for a solution to an empire that cannot support the fleet it already owns.
Empires, planets and crises
play [empire_ID] and observe are magnifying glasses. Use them briefly to read another empire’s fleets, planets, diplomacy and borders, then return to your own country. own, add_pop and crisis events are stronger interventions. They belong in explicit what-if scenarios, not in a save you still want to judge as a normal campaign.
The real question is always what you will do after reloading. What matters is not whether the console can create a stronger empire, but whether it exposes the one missing decision: build a gateway, reinforce one system, sign an alliance, rebalance an economy, or delay a war. The console has done its job when it makes that decision clearer without replacing it.
Mods to extend Stellaris cheats
- Cheat Menu — GUI for all commands (Steam Workshop).
- Instant Colonization — Colonize a planet instantly.
- Fast Exploration — Ultra-fast science ships.
Conclusion
Stellaris console commands are at their best when they turn a confusing empire problem into a testable one. Keep resource, research, fleet and crisis commands on a working save, then return to the clean empire to make the real decision. That preserves the uncertainty and consequences that make a galactic story worth finishing.
For Paradox’s official list: Stellaris wiki.