How to enable cheats in The Sims 4
Updated PC, Mac, Xbox, PlayStation
Open the cheat console with Ctrl + Shift + C on Windows, the same shortcut or Command + Shift + C on Mac, or by holding all four shoulder buttons on PlayStation and Xbox. Then type testingcheats true and press Enter.
That one command is what stands between you and almost every cheat in the game. Money and Build mode cheats work without it. Everything else, including every shift-click menu, does not.
Open the cheat console
The shortcut is the only part that changes between platforms.
| Platform | Shortcut | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Windows PC | Ctrl + Shift + C | A text bar appears in the top-left corner. |
| Mac | Ctrl + Shift + C, or Command + Shift + C | EA's FAQ gives Ctrl for both platforms; other guides give Command. Try both. |
| PlayStation | R1 + R2 + L1 + L2 | Hold all four at the same time. The same combination closes it again. |
| Xbox | RB + RT + LB + LT | Hold all four at the same time. The same combination closes it again. |
To close the console again, press Esc, or on PlayStation and Xbox press the same four shoulder buttons a second time.
Switch cheats on, step by step
- 1
Open the cheat console
On Windows press Ctrl + Shift + C. On Mac try Ctrl + Shift + C first and Command + Shift + C if that does nothing. On PlayStation hold R1, R2, L1 and L2 together; on Xbox hold RB, RT, LB and LT. A text bar appears in the top-left corner of the screen. - 2
Type testingcheats true and press Enter
The word "on" works in place of "true". This is the master switch, and almost every cheat outside money and Build mode depends on it. - 3
Check it took, by shift-clicking a Sim
Hold Shift and click one of your Sims. A cheat menu should appear with entries such as Cheat need and Modify in CAS. If no menu appears, cheats are not on yet. - 4
Enter the cheats you actually came for
The console stays open between commands, so you can type one after another. Case does not matter, but spelling and spacing do. - 5
Turn cheats off again when you are done
Type testingcheats false, or testingcheats off. Close the console with Esc, or by pressing the same four shoulder buttons again on console.
What testingcheats turns on
testingcheats true is the gate in front of the following. None of it responds until the switch is on.
- Every shift-click cheat menu: on a Sim, on an object, on the ground, on the mailbox.
cas.fulleditmodeand the Modify in CAS option that unlocks the whole of Create a Sim.- The skill, career, trait, relationship, buff and stat commands. In practice that means anything beginning
stats.,careers.,traits.,sims.,aspirations.ormodifyrelationship.
The switch is a toggle, not a permanent setting: testingcheats false puts it back.
The master switch
Type one of these into the cheat console and press Enter. The setting applies to the save you are playing.
| Command | What it does | Notes | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
Commandtestingcheats true | What it doesTurns on every cheat that is not available by default, including all of the shift-click menus. | NotesPC, Mac, Xbox, PlayStation. | |
Commandtestingcheats on | What it doesDoes exactly the same thing. The game accepts either word. | None | |
Commandtestingcheats false | What it doesTurns those cheats back off again. | None | |
Commandtestingcheats off | What it doesThe same as testingcheats false. | None |
Cheats that work without the master switch
Money and Build mode are the exceptions. EA lists both as available whether or not testingcheats is on.
| Command | What it does | Notes | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
Commandmotherlode | What it doesAdds 50,000 Simoleons to the active household. | Noteskaching and rosebud add 1,000 each. | |
Commandmoney <amount> | What it doesSets household funds to exactly that number rather than adding to them. | NotesEA gives the example money 145897, which leaves the household with 145,897. | |
CommandFreeRealEstate on | What it doesMakes every residential lot in the world cost nothing. | NotesEnter it from the world map, not from inside a lot. FreeRealEstate off reverses it. | |
Commandbb.moveobjects | What it doesRemoves placement restrictions so objects can overlap and sit off the grid. | NotesEA calls the Build mode cheats fair game on console because they do not disable achievements. |
Shift-clicking, and how to do it on console
A large share of the game's cheats are not typed at all. With cheats on, hold Shift and click something, and a cheat menu opens on it. Shift-click a Sim for Cheat need, Reset object, Add to family and Modify in CAS. Shift-click the ground to teleport the selected Sim there. Shift-click the mailbox for household-wide and world-wide need changes.
On PlayStation, hold Circle and press X. On Xbox, hold B and press A. The menus are the same.
Two of those menu entries do things no console command in our list does: Cheat need > Disable need decay freezes a Sim's needs wherever they currently sit, and Cheat need > Make happy fills every motive and sets the mood to Happy. Both are covered on the needs cheats page.
Cheats that work without testingcheats
Money and Build mode are outside the gate, on every platform.
motherlode, kaching, rosebud, the money command and FreeRealEstate all run on a save where cheats were never switched on. So do the bb. Build mode cheats, which EA explicitly describes as fair game on console because they do not disable achievements.
Full lists are on the money cheats page and the Build mode cheats page.
Achievements and trophies
EA documents this rule for PlayStation and Xbox. The sources behind this page do not describe an equivalent penalty for PC or Mac, so nothing is claimed here either way.
Doing this without typing, on PC and Mac
The UI Cheats Extension, a free script mod by weerbesu, replaces most of the typing with clicks on the game's own panels. Right-click the household funds counter to set an exact figure, click a needs bar to set that need, right-click a skill bar and choose a level.
It does not replace the console outright. Build mode, pregnancy and resetting or killing a Sim are not among its features, and it is PC and Mac only, because consoles do not load script mods. See every UI Cheats feature, click by click for the full list, or how to install UI Cheats if you want it running first.
If the console will not open
On a Mac, the most common cause is simply the other shortcut: try both Ctrl + Shift + C and Command + Shift + C. On console, all four shoulder buttons have to be held together rather than pressed in sequence.
If the console opens but your commands do nothing, the problem is the command rather than the console. Work through the fixes for Sims 4 cheats not working, which covers syntax, the commands that need a specific game mode, and the ones that were never real.
Frequently asked questions
Is it Ctrl + Shift + C or Command + Shift + C on a Mac?
Sources disagree. EA's own cheats FAQ says Ctrl + Shift + C "on your PC or Mac", while SnootySims and Sims Community both give Command + Shift + C. Try Ctrl first, then Command. One of the two opens the console on most Mac keyboards.
Do money cheats need testingcheats true?
No. motherlode, kaching, rosebud, money and FreeRealEstate all work without it, and so do the bb. Build mode cheats. Everything else, including every shift-click menu, needs the master switch on first.
Does enabling cheats disable achievements?
On PlayStation and Xbox, yes: any cheat that requires testingcheats true disables Achievements and Trophies for that save. Other saves are unaffected, and Build mode cheats do not trigger the penalty. EA documents this for console only, and the sources checked here do not describe an equivalent penalty on PC or Mac.
How do I shift-click on a console?
Hold Circle and press X on PlayStation, or hold B and press A on Xbox. That opens the same cheat menu a shift-click opens on PC and Mac, and it needs testingcheats true in the same way.
I typed cas.fulleditmode and nothing happened. Did it work?
Probably. The console prints no confirmation for that one. Enter it in Live mode, then shift-click a Sim and choose Modify in CAS; if every field in Create a Sim is editable, the cheat is active.
Can I avoid typing cheats altogether?
On PC and Mac you can, for most of them. The UI Cheats Extension is a free script mod that makes the game's own panels clickable, so you set money, needs, skills, careers and relationships by clicking them instead. Consoles cannot load script mods, so typed commands are the only option there.
Keep going
- All Sims 4 cheatsThe full code list, grouped by what each command changes.
- Cheats not workingConsole silent, codes ignored, or a command that never existed.
- Money cheatsThe commands that work before you switch anything on.
- Needs cheatsFill motives, freeze decay and use the shift-click need menu.
- Every UI Cheats featureWhat the mod lets you click instead of typing, panel by panel.