Skyrim cheats and console commands to Godmode your way across Tamriel

(Image credit: Bethesda)

The best Skyrim cheats can tailor your experience in Tamriel to your liking. Skyrim console commands can also help you in all manner of ways and change up your experience, from spawning items to levelling up skills and much more. While it takes some doing to discover all Skyrim has to offer over, we've had plenty of time to get lost in the adventures of the Dragonborn over the last decade. Happily, Skyrim cheats are also a great way of breathing renewed life into the game in fun ways.

No matter whether you're playing an older version of the game or the more recent Skyrim Anniversary Edition, you can only use Skyrim cheats via PC console commands. So, if you're on Switch, Xbox, or PlayStation, you won't be able to use them. But, if you're looking to shake things up a bit on other platforms, it can be worth checking out our roundup of the best Skyrim mods.

Read on below to find a breakdown of all of the best Skyrim cheats and console commands, along with instructions on how you can use them.

How to use Skyrim console commands

As with most PC games, you can enter a Skyrim console command by pressing the tilde (~). That will open up the developer console, where you can type in the various command codes we've got below, then hit tilde once again to close the console and return to the game to see what you've got. And, unless otherwise stated, entering the same code a second time should turn it off again.

You can enter multiple codes at a time and stack up various effects, just be wary of breaking things - using some of these codes (especially in combination) can cause glitches, mess up ongoing storylines or saves, or crash your game entirely, so make sure you create a back up save and keep it separate before you start playing around - otherwise you may find you've permanently broken your progress, and nobody wants to deal with that in a game the size of Skyrim. Achievements will also be disabled as soon as you start entering these codes, so unfortunately you won't be able to cheat your way to completing any challenges.

Skyrim console commands to level up skills

tgm - God mode: Full invincibility, infinite stamina and magicka.
tim - Immortal mode: Similar to God mode, you can take damage but can't be killed.
tcl - No-clip mode: Walk through walls, fly.
showracemenu - Access the character creator to change appearance (this will reset your level and skill progress).
player.resethealth - Immediately refills your health.
psb - Learn every magic spell.
player.advlevel - Increase player level by one, though you won't get a perk point.
player.setlevel # - Replace # with the level to set your player to.
player.setscale # - Replace # with the height for your character, between 0.1 and 10.
advskill SkillID # - Replace SkillID with the skill you're modifying and # with the .amount you are modifying it by. A list of SkillIDs is here.
addshout ShoutID - Replace ShoutID with the shout you want to add. A list of ShoutIDs is here.
player.addperk PerkID - Replace PerkID with the perk you want to add. A list of PerkIDs is here.
player.additem ItemID # - Replace ItemID with the item you want to add to your inventory, and # with the amount of that item to add. A list of ItemIDs is here.
unlock - Point at a door or chest then use this code to unlock it.

World Skyrim console commands and cheats

tm - Turns off all GUI display.
tmm # - Toggle map markers, replace # with 0 to disable all or 1 to enable all.
tfc - Free camera mode, add 1 to pause the game.
sucsm # - Replace # to change the speed of the free camera i.e. 0.5 for half speed or 2. for double speed.
tfow - Remove fog from the world map.
tg - Turn off grass.
ts - Turn off skybox and fog.
tt - Turn off trees.
tws - Turn off water (when not underwater).
set timescale to # - Replace # to set the rate time passes at, 1 is realtime and 20 is default.
sgtm # - Replace # to set the game speed i.e. 0.5 for half speed or 2 for double speed.
fw WeatherID - Replace WeatherID with the type of weather you want to instantly activate. A list of WeatherIDs is here.
sw WeatherID - Replace WeatherID with the type of weather you want to gradually activate.

Skyrim quest cheats and console commands

Skyrim fishing — (Image credit: Bethesda)

caqs - Completes all primary quest stages (may cause crashes)
saq - Starts all quests (may cause crashes)
sqo - Shows all objectives for ongoing quests
sqt - Shows all targets for ongoing quests
showquesttargets - Displays the QuestID for all current quests
player.sqs QuestID - Shows all stages for the entered QuestID
movetoqt QuestID - Move to the target of the entered QuestID
completequest QuestID - Completes quest with the entered QuestID
resetquest QuestID - Resets quest with the entered QuestID

NPC Skyrim console commands

tdetect - Turn off AI detection while stealing, doesn't work for pickpocketing
tai Turns off non-combat AI for NPCs
tcai Turns off combat AI for NPCs
sexchange Changes gender of targeted NPC (or yourself if not targeting)
tc Allows you to take control of the targeted NPC
kill Kill the targeted NPC
killall Kills all non-essential NPCs in the area
resurrect Bring a dead targeted NPC back to life, add 1 to keep their current items intact
player.placeatme NPCID Places the stated NPC next to you. A list of NPCIDs is here

With all those Skyrim cheats and console commands you should have plenty to new things to experiment with, or completely new ways to experience things. Maybe you just want to get through parts of the game you might have played multiple times before. Whatever you want to do there's a command here somewhere to do it. If you have any trouble with any of these cheats, or just want to see what else you can do, just type help in the console command screen and follow the instructions.

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