Balatro took the gaming world by storm when it was released in early 2024, selling over 3.5 million copies and clinching three out of five awards at the 2024 Game Awards. Its inventive gameplay and near-infinite replayability have kept it a favorite among players. However, as enthusiasts master its mechanics, the desire to refresh the experience becomes apparent. While mods can achieve this, some players might prefer to dive into the game's built-in developer debug menu, accessible through a few simple steps. Balatro cheats enable players to craft their ideal Joker combinations without the hassle of searching for perfect seeds, and the best part? Achievements remain unlocked, making these cheats perfect for those who wish to steer clear of mods.
Quick Links
How to Enable Cheats in Balatro
To unlock the Balatro debug menu and utilize the game's built-in cheats, players will need the free open-source software 7-Zip. Assuming you have it installed, navigate to the Balatro installation directory, typically found at C:Program Files (x86)SteamsteamappscommonBalatro. If it's not there, locate Balatro in your Steam library, right-click, and select "Manage" followed by "Browse Local Files".
Once in the correct folder, right-click on Balatro.exe and choose to open the archive with 7-Zip. Depending on your operating system and 7-Zip settings, this option might be under "Show More Options". After opening the archive, locate the file named conf.lua and open it with a basic text editor like Notepad.
To enable the debug menu, change _RELEASE_MODE = true
to _RELEASE_MODE = false
and save the file. If you can't save directly, extract conf.lua to your desktop, make the change, and replace the original file with your modified copy. If done correctly, you can access the debug menu by holding the tab button in-game.
To disable the debug menu, simply revert _RELEASE_MODE
back to true
in the conf.lua file.
How to Use the Debug Menu in Balatro
Using the Balatro cheats menu is straightforward, with intuitive functions. Unlock every item in your collection by hovering over them and pressing 1 while the debug menu is open. Add any Balatro joker to your current game by hovering over them and pressing 3. Although limited to five jokers initially, you can transform a joker into a negative by hovering over the one in your hand and pressing Q four times, effectively allowing you to have as many jokers as you desire during a run.
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 |