The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim is arguably still Bethesda's greatest project, having remained a timeless classic since its release. However, for many players, the world of Skyrim can be difficult to get into. Even more than a decade and several re-releases later, the game is still prone to that classic Bethesda jank, where a bug can ruin an entire playthrough.
In such situations, there is an ideal answer: console commands. Accessed through a simple press of the tilde key, console commands place the power of a god in the hands of the player, and with the right commands, players can change anything about the world around them.
What Are The Most Useful Console Commands In Skyrim?
There is a massive bevy of console commands available to players in Skyrim, but while many of them have complex, in-depth uses the developers at Bethesda used to test the limits of their game, some of them have clear uses for the average player. From console commands like tgm, which activates god mode, and tcl, which toggles clipping, to commands that allow a player to level their Dragonborn in the blink of an eye or cure a dangerous disease, there are a variety of commands available for every possible need a player may have.
To access one's console, a player must simply hit the tilde key (~) on their keyboard, which will activate the console. The game pauses while the console is open, and if a player wishes to execute a command interacting with an item, they can select said item by simply clicking on it with their cursor while the console is active. The console can be activated in any menu, and even in conversations, as well as in active combat.
Command | What It Does |
tgm | tgm is a go-to command, allowing players to toggle god mode, granting invincibility, infinite magicka, and infinite stamina. |
tcl | tcl is another go-to command, allowing players to toggle clipping, letting them freely travel through walls and meshes anywhere in the game. |
tcai / tai | tcai allows players to toggle combat AI, with the initial trigger disabling it, thus rendering everyone into Skyrim into supreme pacifists. The same command will re-enable combat AI if typed a second time. tai works much the same way, but disabling all AI activity rather than just combat. |
tdetect | tdetect allows players to toggle detection, rendering themselves invisible to any kind of AI detection, thus allowing a player to thief and lockpick at their pleasure. Pickpocketing can still trigger detection, however. The same command typed again will re-enable detection. |
unlock | unlock, when paired with an item ID or when an item is clicked on. |
player.additem (item id) (quantity) | player.additem allows players to spawn any item and add it to their inventory, ranging from the rarest items in the game to coins and lockpicks (0000000F and 0000000a item IDs, respectively). Simply type player.additem followed by the id and quantity to add it to inventory. UESP.com has an extensive list of all item IDs in the game. |
incpcs (skill) | incpcs allows players to level up their skills at will. Simply type incpcs followed by the name of the skill you wish to level up, all of which can be found in the Skill menu. Note that Speech has to be typed in the console as Speechcraft, and Archery has to be typed in the console as Marksman. |
player.setcrime gold (quantity) | player.setcrime allows players to change their bounty quantities. A quantity higher than zero will set a player's bounty to that value, while 0 will wipe their bounty entirely. |
showracemenu | showracemenu allows players to modify the appearance of their character at will, putting them back in the race and character selection menu from the start of the game. Note however that if you change your race, your skills and abilities will be reset. |
coc (cell ID) | coc allows players to teleport to any cell within Skyrim, with Riverrun for Riverrun, qassmoke for the secret all-items room, etc. UESP.com has an extensive list of all Cell IDs. |
setstage (Quest ID) (Stage #) | setstage allows players to modify their quest progression, changing which stage of a quest they are on. As with Item and Cell IDs, Quest IDs can be found on UESP.com |
Commands For More Advanced Uses
While the above commands allow players the ability to face any possible challenge within Skyrim, there are many more complex commands that allow players to manipulate the world around them. While tcl lets a player clip through walls, tfc instead detaches the camera and can even pause time, allowing one to gather beautiful and cinematic screenshots. tcai disables all ai, but maybe a player wants to disable the AI on one specific npc through the disable command.
Command | What It Does |
tfc | tfc detaches the player camera from the character, allowing one to freely explore the world. If typed as tfc 1, it also pauses time when enabled, allowing optimal screenshot settings. |
tm | tm can be used to provide a more cinematic feel to the game, as it disables all UI and menu elements. This includes the console, meaning you will have to type it back in without actually being able to see the console. |
enable/disable | enable and disable work hand in hand, disabling or enabling an NPC. When disabled, the NPC turns invisible, turns off collision for the NPC, and it cannot be interacted with. |
player.modav carryweight (#) | player.modav carryweight allows a player to modify their carry weight value, with the quantity at the end being the carry weight. |
kill / resurrect | Kill can kill any NPC, while resurrect will bring any NPC back from the dead. |
setessential (NPC ID) (0/1) | Essential status for an NPC essentially decides if they're killable or not. With an essential setting of 0, any NPC can be killed. |