EU5 Console Commands and Cheats List (2026)

This EU5 console commands guide explains how to enable debug mode, open the console, use commands safely, and find the most useful cheats for testing Europa Universalis V campaigns.

Europa Universalis V has a large debug console. Some commands are simple sandbox tools such as cash, Manpower, YesMan, and InstantSiege. Others are internal debugging or modding tools that can break a save if used carelessly. Use a copied save when testing anything destructive.

This guide focuses on known and source-checked EU5 console commands that are useful for players, guide writers, modders, and sandbox testing. It does not promise that every internal developer command works in every patch. EU5 commands can change after updates.

How to open the console in EU5

EU5 console commands require debug mode. On Steam, open Europa Universalis V in your library, choose Properties, and add -debug_mode to the launch options before starting the game. On a standalone Windows install, create a shortcut to eu5.exe from the game binaries folder and add -debug_mode at the end of the shortcut Target field.

After launching in debug mode, open a non-Ironman game. The console key depends on keyboard layout. On many QWERTY keyboards, the backtick or tilde key is the first key to try. The Paradox Wiki also lists Shift + 2, Alt + 2 + 1, Shift + 3, Alt + C, and Shift + Alt + C as fallback options for some layouts.

How to use EU5 console commands

Once the console is open, type a command and press Enter. Commands with brackets need a valid value: a country tag, character ID, location key, area key, region key, number, or file name depending on the command. Do not type the square brackets themselves unless the command specifically expects script text.

• Use help to print all commands or check one command description, such as help cash.
• Use helplog to write the command list to game.log.
• Use Tab autocomplete after typing the start of a command to see matching command names where supported.
• Use IDs carefully. Character, unit, location, and country values must match the current game state.
• Use copied saves. Commands such as conquest, bankruptcy, unit killing, and script effects can permanently alter a campaign.

EU5 console commands list

The tables below group the most useful known EU5 console commands by purpose. For an exhaustive raw dump in your own installation, use helplog after enabling debug mode.

Economy and resources

Command	Effect	Example	Notes
cash	Adds cash to the current country.	cash	No amount parameter is listed on the source table.
Manpower	Adds manpower.	Manpower	Useful for army testing and recovery scenarios.
Sailors	Adds sailors.	Sailors	Useful for naval testing.
Stability	Adds stability.	Stability	Use on a copied save when testing unrest or recovery.
WarExhaustion	Adds war exhaustion.	WarExhaustion	Useful for stress-testing long wars.
Inflation	Changes inflation.	Inflation	Use carefully when testing economy pressure.
Prestige	Adds prestige.	Prestige	Useful for diplomacy and status testing.
ArmyTradition	Adds army tradition.	ArmyTradition	Useful for military scaling checks.
NavyTradition	Adds navy tradition.	NavyTradition	Useful for admiral and fleet testing.
GovernmentPower	Adds government power.	GovernmentPower	Useful for reform and state-management testing.
Karma	Adds karma.	Karma	Religion-specific or mechanic-specific resource.
ReligiousInfluence	Adds religious influence.	ReligiousInfluence	Use only when the mechanic exists in the tested country.
Harmony	Adds harmony.	Harmony	Useful for mechanic-specific tests.
SelfControl	Adds self control.	SelfControl	Useful for mechanic-specific tests.

Cheat toggles and fast testing

Command	Effect	Example	Notes
YesMan	Toggles a mode where AI accepts offers.	YesMan	Best for diplomacy, peace, alliance, and subject tests.
NoMan	Toggles the opposite diplomacy behavior.	NoMan	Useful when checking refusal logic.
FastDiplo	Toggles faster diplomatic behavior.	FastDiplo	Good for testing deal flow.
DelayDiploReply	Toggles delayed diplomatic replies.	DelayDiploReply	Use for debugging diplomacy timing.
InstantWar	Toggles instant war behavior.	InstantWar	Use in test saves only.
InstantMove	Toggles instant movement.	InstantMove	Useful for war and pathing tests.
InstantSiege	Toggles instant sieges.	InstantSiege	One of the fastest war-testing commands.
NoRandom	Toggles no-random behavior.	NoRandom	Useful for repeatable testing.
InstantConstruction	Toggles instant construction.	InstantConstruction	Good for economy and building tests.
InstantCasusBelli	Toggles instant casus belli behavior.	InstantCasusBelli	Useful for war-goal and diplomacy tests.
InstantExploration	Toggles instant exploration.	InstantExploration	Useful for exploration and map tests.
RemoveFogOfWar	Toggles fog of war removal.	RemoveFogOfWar	Useful for checking world state and AI behavior.

Countries, map, diplomacy, and construction

Command	Effect	Example	Notes
tag [CountryTag]	Switches player control to a country tag.	tag FRA	Requires a valid country tag.
t [CountryNamePrefix]	Switches player control by unique country name prefix.	t France	Useful when the country tag is unknown.
ai [CountryTag]	Creates or disables AI for a tag.	ai FRA	Debug command for AI behavior.
braindeadai [CountryTag]	Toggles brain-dead AI for a country.	braindeadai FRA	Useful for controlled tests.
clear_ai_objectives [CountryTag]	Clears AI military and diplomatic objectives.	clear_ai_objectives FRA	Useful after AI behavior gets stuck.
ai_recalc_strategy	Recalculates AI strategy for all countries.	ai_recalc_strategy	Useful after large test changes.
form_union [junior partner]	Forms a union with another country.	form_union FRA	Requires a valid target.
change_government [Government Type]	Changes your country government.	change_government monarchy	Exact government type must be valid.
opinion [CountryTag] [amount]	Adds opinion for a target country toward the player.	opinion FRA 50	Use valid tags and a numeric amount.
start_annex [country-tag]	Starts annexation of a target country.	start_annex FRA	Use only in copied saves.
bankrupt [CountryTag]	Bankrupts a nation.	bankrupt FRA	Can heavily damage a campaign state.
remove_bankruptcy [CountryTag]	Removes the bankruptcy modifier.	remove_bankruptcy FRA	Useful for undoing a test bankruptcy.
discover [location key / all]	Discovers one location or all locations.	discover all	Alias listed as ti.
discover_area [area key / all]	Discovers one area or all areas.	discover_area all	Alias listed as da.
change_devastation [location] [amount]	Changes devastation in a location.	change_devastation 123 0.5	Source notes expected range between 0.0 and 1.0.
change_control [location] [amount]	Changes control in a location.	change_control 123 0.8	Source notes expected range between 0.0 and 1.0.
change_winter [location] [amount]	Changes winter level in a location.	change_winter 123 2	Source notes expected level from 0 to 3.
weather [location] [front/cyclone/tornado]	Creates weather in a target location.	weather 123 front	Use valid location and weather type.
population [location]	Changes a location population.	population 123	Exact behavior can depend on current build.
finish_constructions [location]	Finishes all constructions in a location.	finish_constructions 123	Useful for building tests.
build_everything [target]	Builds everything possible in a location, country, region, or all.	build_everything all	Alias listed as be.
conquer [location_tag]	Conquers a location.	conquer location_key	Use a valid location key.
conquer_country [countrytag]	Conquers a country.	conquer_country FRA	Major campaign-altering command.
conquer_province [province_definition]	Conquers a province definition.	conquer_province province_key	Requires valid province definition.
conquer_area [area]	Conquers an area.	conquer_area area_key	Requires a valid area.
conquer_region [region]	Conquers a region.	conquer_region region_key	Requires a valid region.

War, units, characters, events, and scripts

Command	Effect	Example	Notes
kill_all_units [CountryTag]	Kills all units for a target country.	kill_all_units FRA	Destructive; use only in test saves.
kill_unit [UnitID]	Kills a specific unit; selected unit if no ID is supplied.	kill_unit 123	Requires a valid unit ID unless a unit is selected.
resupply_all_units [CountryTag]	Maxes food for all units in a target country.	resupply_all_units FRA	Useful for attrition and logistics tests.
damage_all_units [CountryTag]	Damages all units in a target country.	damage_all_units FRA	Destructive test command.
world_levies	Raises all levies in the world.	world_levies	Can massively change the world state.
create_character [male/female] [lowborn/random/new]	Creates a character.	create_character male random	Useful for character-system testing.
kill_character [id]	Kills a character by ID.	kill_character 12345	Requires debug-visible or known character ID.
event [eventid] [target]	Triggers an event.	event event_id target	Requires a valid event ID and target.
effect [{effect script}]	Executes effect script.	effect { add_cash = 100 }	Advanced command for testing scripts.
run [{effect file}]	Executes an effect file from the run folder.	run test_effect.txt	Advanced modding/debug workflow.

Debug and utility commands

Command	Effect	Example	Notes
help [command name]	Prints all commands or a specific command description.	help cash	Use this to confirm syntax in your current build.
helplog	Prints all console commands to game.log.	helplog	Best way to audit commands locally.
version	Prints game version to console and game log.	version	Useful when reporting whether a command works.
debug_mode	Toggles debug mode.	debug_mode	Wiki notes debug mode has launch-option limits.
tick_day [number of days]	Ticks the game forward by a number of days.	tick_day 30	Useful for checking delayed effects.
save [file name]	Saves the current gamestate.	save test_save	Use before destructive testing.
load [file name]	Loads a gamestate from disk.	load test_save	Useful for repeated tests.
observe	Starts observing the game.	observe	Alias listed as ob.
clear	Clears the console.	clear	Alias listed as clr.
screenshot	Takes a screenshot.	screenshot	Useful for documentation and reports.
settings	Opens a settings GUI.	settings	Can accept an optional starting category.
time	Prints the current time.	time	Simple debug utility.

Most useful EU5 console commands

If you only need a quick sandbox toolkit, start with these commands. They cover money, manpower, diplomacy, war testing, construction, visibility, and syntax discovery.

• cash for quick economy tests.
• Manpower for army recovery and war pacing tests.
• Stability for unrest and recovery scenarios.
• YesMan for testing diplomacy, alliances, peace deals, and subjects.
• InstantSiege for quick war and occupation testing.
• InstantConstruction for economy and building tests.
• RemoveFogOfWar for observing AI and world state.
• help and helplog for checking commands in your exact build.

EU5 debug mode and troubleshooting

If the console does not open, confirm that EU5 was launched with debug mode enabled. If you removed -debug_mode, restart the game with the launch option again. Some keyboard layouts need a different console shortcut, so try the fallback keys listed above.

If a command does not work, check capitalization, required parameters, and whether the command exists in your current game version. EU4 veterans may search for commands such as winwars, but old Europa Universalis IV commands should not be assumed to exist in EU5 under the same name. Use help, helplog, or autocomplete first.

FAQ

Are EU5 console commands official?

EU5 has a debug mode and console command system. This guide is source-checked against public command references, but some command data is flagged by the wiki as needing updated verification. Treat edge-case commands as build-dependent.

What key opens the EU5 console?

On many QWERTY keyboards, try the backtick or tilde key first. If that does not work, try Shift + 2, Alt + 2 + 1, Shift + 3, Alt + C, or Shift + Alt + C. The correct key depends on keyboard layout.

Do EU5 console commands work in Ironman?

The Paradox Wiki describes the console as available in non-Ironman games while debug mode is enabled. Use a normal test save, not an Ironman or achievement run.

Do console commands disable achievements?

Use debug mode and commands as if they are incompatible with clean achievement play. If achievements matter, remove debug mode, disable active mods, restart the game, and use a clean checksum and save.

Why does an EU5 command not work?

The most common causes are debug mode not being enabled, the wrong keyboard shortcut, missing parameters, an invalid ID or tag, capitalization differences, or a command changing between patches.

How do I find all commands in my current EU5 build?

Use help in the console to print commands or helplog to write the command list to game.log. This is better than relying only on a web list after patches.

Is winwars an EU5 command?

This guide did not find winwars in the source-checked EU5 command list. Use EU5-specific war and testing commands such as InstantSiege, YesMan, conquer_country, or tick_day instead.

Can I use EU4 console commands in EU5?

Do not assume EU4 commands work in EU5. Some names may be similar, but EU5 has its own command list, parameters, and debug behavior.