Sims 4 UI Cheats

Sims 4 cheats not working

Updated 6-step diagnostic

Two causes come up far more than the rest: the cheat needed testingcheats true and did not have it, or the command was typed with a space where the game expects none. Both take seconds to rule out.

Start at the top of the list below and stop as soon as something works. The steps are ordered by how often they are the answer, not by how hard they are.

On this page
  1. Work through it in this order
  2. The console will not open
  3. The console opens but the code does nothing
  4. Commands that are commonly typed wrong
  5. Commands that were never real
  6. Outdated and conflicting mods
  7. Clear the thumbnail cache
  8. Repairing the game, as a last resort
  9. Frequently asked questions

Work through it in this order

  1. 1

    Confirm the console really opened

    A text bar has to be visible in the top-left corner before anything you type registers. On Mac, try both Ctrl + Shift + C and Command + Shift + C. On PlayStation and Xbox, hold all four shoulder buttons at once rather than pressing them in sequence.
  2. 2

    Enter testingcheats true again

    This is the single most common cause. Skill, career, trait, relationship, buff and aspiration commands, and every shift-click menu, need the master switch on. Money and Build mode commands do not, which is why motherlode can work in a save where nothing else does.
  3. 3

    Check you are in the right mode and the right place

    FreeRealEstate only works from the world map, not from inside a lot. cas.fulleditmode is entered in Live mode and prints no confirmation; you see the result only after you shift-click a Sim and choose Modify in CAS.
  4. 4

    Retype the command by hand, watching the spaces

    A space ends an argument, so an internal name copied from a guide that printed it with a space in the middle cannot work. Type Major_RocketScience, not Major_Rocket Science. Check the full names in a modifyrelationship command match the Sims exactly.
  5. 5

    Check the command exists in the unmodded game

    Several widely shared codes are from The Sims 3, are abbreviations a single site invented, or need TwistedMexi's AllCheats mod rather than the base game. The list further down names the ones that come up most.
  6. 6

    Rule out your mods, then clear the cache

    Move the Mods folder aside and test in a clean save. If the cheats work, add mods back a few at a time. After any mod change, delete localthumbcache.package from Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\ and let the game rebuild it.

The console will not open

The shortcut is Ctrl + Shift + C on Windows. On Mac, EA's own cheats FAQ gives the same combination, while SnootySims and Sims Community both give Command + Shift + C. The sources genuinely disagree, so try one and then the other.

On PlayStation the combination is R1 + R2 + L1 + L2, and on Xbox it is RB + RT + LB + LT. All four have to be held down together. Pressing them one after another does nothing.

When it opens you get a text bar in the top-left corner of the screen. If you can see that bar, the console is working and the problem is in the command. The full walkthrough is on how to enable cheats in The Sims 4.

The console opens but the code does nothing

Three causes account for most of these, in this order.

The master switch is off. Type testingcheats true and press Enter, then try the command again. Anything beginning stats., careers., traits., sims., aspirations. or modifyrelationship needs it, and so does every shift-click menu. Money and bb. commands do not, which is why they can appear to work while nothing else does.

You are in the wrong place. FreeRealEstate only takes effect from the world map. cas.fulleditmode is entered in Live mode, and it deliberately prints no confirmation, so it looks like a failure even when it worked.

The command is not quite the command. Capitalisation does not matter, but spelling and spacing do. See the two tables below.

Commands that are commonly typed wrong

Every row here is a version that circulates in published guides and cannot work as printed.

Mistyped Sims 4 cheats and the forms that work
What people typeWhat worksWhy
Major_Rocket ScienceMajor_RocketScienceA space ends the argument, so the game never sees the second word.
Major_Video GamingMajor_VideoGamingSame problem. The same goes for DJ Mixing and Rock Climbing.
Major_FitnessSkill_FitnessFitness is the one base-game skill that uses the Skill_ prefix.
major_Swordmanshipmajor_SwordsmanshipEA's own skill guide spells it with both s letters. PC Gamer drops one. Lead with EA's, and try the shorter spelling only if the console rejects it.
careers.removecareers.remove_careerThe short form is one site's abbreviation. EA documents the full name.
sims.remove_all_buffs pregnancy_in laborsims.remove_all_buffsEA's pregnancy guide prints that argument with a space inside it, which looks like a typographic error on their page. The plain command is the safe one.
stats.fill_commodities_householdEither spelling, depending on the buildEA's FAQ writes stats.fill_all_commodities_household; the community uses the shorter name. Try the short one, then EA's.

One more that is not a typo: the modifyrelationship command takes four name arguments, so both Sims' first and last names have to match what the game has for them.

Commands that were never real

These circulate widely. None of them is a base-game console command.

  • sims.Set_Age. No source checked here documents it working in the current game. Use cas.fulleditmode and Modify in CAS, or the shift-click Age Up option, both covered on the age and death cheats page.
  • aging.toggle, aging on and aging off. These are Sims 3 commands. Aging in The Sims 4 is a Game Options setting under Gameplay, not a console command.
  • careers.promote Degree. Not documented by any source in this set. Career branches have no separate internal names either: once a Sim picks a branch, you keep promoting with the original career name.
  • Milestone and sentiment cheats for the Royalty & Legacy content. Sims Community states that these need TwistedMexi's AllCheats mod, not the base game.

If a command is not on one of our category pages, it is because it could not be confirmed against two independent sources. Publishing a broken command wastes more of your time than leaving it out does.

Outdated and conflicting mods

Script mods are tied to the game build they were written for. weerbesu's own diagnosis for the UI Cheats Extension is blunt about it: interface problems from that mod are always a mismatch between your game version and your mod version. The same logic applies to any script mod that touches the interface.

To test it, move the whole Mods folder out to the desktop, start the game, and try the cheat in a fresh save. If it works, put the mods back a few at a time until the problem returns. Two copies of the same mod, including renamed backups, count as a conflict in their own right.

If the UI Cheats Extension specifically is what stopped working, it has its own diagnostic: fixing UI Cheats when it stops working.

Clear the thumbnail cache

After you add, update or remove a mod, delete localthumbcache.package from Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\ and start the game again. The file rebuilds itself. This is community guidance rather than an EA instruction, but it is harmless and it clears up stale interface states after an update.

Windows players with the Documents folder synced to OneDrive have a second problem: the sync can restore old mod files after you delete them. Keep The Sims 4 folder out of OneDrive, or move it back to a local drive.

Repairing the game, as a last resort

Some troubleshooting guides finish with a repair of the game files through the launcher. No source used for this page documents a repair fixing a cheat code, so treat it as the last thing you try rather than the first, and only after the steps above have all failed.

Reinstalling the whole game is not warranted for a cheat that will not run. Nothing in the research behind this site supports it, and it costs hours.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my skill cheat do nothing?

Usually a space in the internal name. Several popular guides print Major_Rocket Science, Major_Video Gaming, Major_DJ Mixing and Major_Rock Climbing with a space, and a space ends the argument. Use the closed-up forms. Fitness is a second trap: it is Skill_Fitness, not Major_Fitness.

Do I need testingcheats true for every cheat?

No. The money cheats (motherlode, kaching, rosebud, money and FreeRealEstate) and the bb. Build mode cheats run without it. Everything else does need it, including every shift-click menu.

Why does the money command not add anything?

Because it does not add. EA documents money as setting household funds to exactly the number you type, so money 145897 leaves the household with 145,897 Simoleons, which can be less than they had. Use motherlode, kaching or rosebud to add.

Why does FreeRealEstate do nothing?

It has to be entered from the world or neighbourhood map, not from inside a lot. Back out to the map, open the console there, then type FreeRealEstate on.

Are the milestone and sentiment cheats broken?

They are not base-game cheats. Sims Community states that the large milestone and sentiment tables circulating for the Royalty & Legacy content require TwistedMexi's AllCheats mod. Without that mod installed, the console has nothing to run.

I typed cas.fulleditmode and nothing happened. Is it broken?

Probably not. That cheat prints no confirmation message. Enter it in Live mode, then shift-click a Sim and choose Modify in CAS. If every field in Create a Sim is editable, it worked.

Could a mod be blocking my cheats?

It can. A script mod built for an older patch is the usual suspect: weerbesu says outright that interface problems from the UI Cheats Extension are always a mismatch between the game version and the mod version. Test with the Mods folder moved aside, then update or remove whatever broke.

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