How to Use Cheats in Balatro (Debug Menu Guide)

Balatro, the breakout hit of early 2024, captivated gamers worldwide, selling over 3.5 million copies and earning three prestigious awards at the 2024 Game Awards. Its innovative gameplay and endless replayability ensure its continued popularity. However, even seasoned players might seek ways to refresh their experience.

While mods offer one solution, many prefer utilizing Balatro's built-in developer debug menu. Accessing this menu requires a few simple steps, offering a cheat-enabled experience that preserves achievements—a boon for players who want to experiment without sacrificing progress.

Quick Links

• How to Enable Cheats in Balatro

• How to Use the Debug Menu in Balatro

How to Enable Cheats in Balatro

To unlock Balatro's debug menu and access its cheats, you'll need 7-Zip, a free, open-source archiving tool. Navigate to your Balatro installation directory—typically `C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Balatro`. If you can't find it there, locate Balatro in your Steam library, right-click, select "Manage," then "Browse Local Files." Right-click `Balatro.exe` and open the archive using 7-Zip (you might find this option under "Show More Options"). Locate the `conf.lua` file and open it with a simple text editor like Notepad. Change `_RELEASE_MODE = true` to `_RELEASE_MODE = false`, then save the file. If saving proves difficult, extract `conf.lua` to your desktop, make the change, and replace the original file. Once done, press and hold the Tab key in-game to open the debug menu.

To disable the debug menu, simply revert the `_RELEASE_MODE` parameter in `conf.lua` back to `true`.

How to Use the Debug Menu in Balatro

Balatro's cheat menu is user-friendly. Unlock collectibles by hovering over them and pressing '1'. Add jokers to your game by hovering and pressing '3'. While initially limited to five jokers, pressing 'Q' four times on a joker in your hand transforms it into a negative, effectively allowing for unlimited jokers.

All Balatro Cheats (Hold Tab to Open Menu)

Cheat / Key	Effect
1	Unlock a Collectible (while hovering over it in the collection)
2	Discover a Collectible (while hovering over it in the collection)
3	Spawn a Collectible (while hovering over it in the collection)
Q	Change Joker Edition (while hovering over it in hand)
H	Isolate Background
J	Play Splash Animation
8	Toggle Cursor
9	Toggle All Tooltips
$10	Adds $10 to Total
+1 Round	Increases the Round by 1
+1 Ante	Increases the Ante by 1
+1 Hand	Adds one additional Hand
+1 Discard	Adds one additional Discard
Boss Reroll	Rerolls the Boss
Background	Removes the Background
+10 Chips	Adds 10 Chips to Total
+10 Mult	Adds 10 Mult to Total
X2 Chips	Doubles Chip Total
X10 Mult	Increases the Mult by 10
Win this Run	Completes the Current Run
Lose this Run	Ends the Current Run
Reset	Resets the Current Run
Jimbo	Makes Jimbo Appear
Jimbo Talk	Makes a Text Box Appear by Jimbo