Unlock Secret Debugging Tools: Access Balatro's Hidden Cheats

Balatro, the 2024 breakout hit selling over 3.5 million copies and winning multiple Game Awards, maintains immense popularity. However, mastering its mechanics might leave players seeking fresh challenges. While mods offer one solution, accessing Balatro's built-in developer debug menu provides an alternative, allowing for cheat usage without impacting achievements.

How to Enable Cheats in Balatro

To activate Balatro's debug menu and utilize built-in cheats, you'll need 7-Zip (free, open-source software). Locate your Balatro installation directory (typically C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Balatro). If unavailable, find Balatro in your Steam library, right-click, select "Manage," then "Browse Local Files."

Right-click Balatro.exe and choose to open the archive with 7-Zip (may be under "Show More Options"). Locate conf.lua, open it with a text editor (like Notepad).

Modify _RELEASE_MODE = true to _RELEASE_MODE = false, save the file. If saving fails, extract conf.lua to your desktop, make the change, and replace the original. The debug menu will now activate by holding the Tab key in-game.

To disable the debug menu, revert _RELEASE_MODE to true in conf.lua.

How to Use the Debug Menu in Balatro

Balatro's cheat menu is user-friendly. Unlock collectibles by hovering and pressing '1'; spawn jokers by hovering and pressing '3'. Initially limited to five jokers, pressing 'Q' four times on a joker in hand negates it, effectively allowing unlimited jokers.

All Balatro Cheats (Hold Tab to Open Menu)

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