---
title: "Sons of the Forest Console Commands: Full List and Setup"
description: "Type cheatstick, then press F1. The full command list, plus why the cheats do nothing on a dedicated server and what to change in dedicatedserver.cfg."
url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/sons-of-the-forest/sons-of-the-forest-console-commands/"
category: "Sons of the Forest"
category_url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/sons-of-the-forest/"
published: "2026-08-27T05:15:54.063Z"
updated: "2026-08-27T05:15:54.063Z"
source_format: "markdown"
site: "GameServerKings"
---

# Sons of the Forest Console Commands: Full List and Setup

Sons of the Forest has three separate command systems, and the command list you found somewhere else almost certainly describes only one of them. The `cheatstick` console you open with **F1** is a client-side cheat menu running on your own machine. The `stop`, `kick` and `ban` commands are typed into your server's console, not into the game. And a third group — enemy difficulty, season length, whether cheats are permitted at all — are not commands: they are fields in `dedicatedserver.cfg` that only take effect at boot.

Nearly every "nothing happens when I type cheatstick" report comes down to running the right command in the wrong one of those three places.

> [!NOTE] This is Sons of the Forest, not The Forest
> The 2018 original and its sequel have different command sets and different config files. `developermodeon` is the original's activation word and does nothing here — see [The Forest console commands](/knowledge-base/the-forest/the-forest-console-commands/) for that one.

## Enabling the console

Type `cheatstick`. That is the whole activation step, and where you type it depends on where you are playing.

**In singleplayer**, type it straight into the game. It does not go into a text box, a prompt or the chat window — just type the word while the game is running and unpaused. Nothing appears on screen when it registers.

**On a dedicated server**, open the chat window with **Enter** first, type `cheatstick`, and press **Enter** to submit it. Here you do get feedback: a confirmation appears in green.

Either way, press **F1** afterwards to open the console. You only need to do this once per session — after that, `F1` toggles the box open and closed.

| Key | Does |
|---|---|
| `F1` | Toggle the console input box |
| `F2` | Toggle the log and status overlay |
| Enter | Run the command |

> [!IMPORTANT] The console will not open on a non-US keyboard layout
> `cheatstick` is read as raw key presses rather than typed characters, so any non-US layout registers the wrong ones and the console never opens. Add the US layout in **Windows Settings** > **Time & language** > **Language** > your language > **Options** > **Add a keyboard**, then switch to it before typing. You do not have to remove your usual layout. This is the single most common cause of "cheatstick isn't working" and it produces exactly the same silence as a typo.

If you are unsure whether it worked, run `logging on` and press `F2`. The log echoes command feedback and will tell you when you have a command's syntax wrong.

## Which system does what

| | Cheat console | Server console | `dedicatedserver.cfg` |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where | In-game, `F1` | Your panel's **Console** tab | File on the server |
| Example | `godmode on` | `kick <playerID>` | `"PvP": false` |
| Runs on | Your own client | The server | Read at boot |
| Affects | Only you | Everyone | Everyone |
| Takes effect | Immediately | Immediately | Next restart |

The consequence worth internalising: **cheat commands are client-side.** `godmode on` protects you and nobody else. There is no admin command that grants another player god mode, and no chat command that spawns items into someone else's inventory.

For kicking, banning and saving on a running server, see the console commands in [Getting started with your Sons of the Forest server](/knowledge-base/sons-of-the-forest/getting-started-with-your-server/).

## Cheats on a dedicated server

By default a dedicated server does not permit the cheat console at all. The gate is a game setup setting:

```
setgamesetupsetting GameSetting.Multiplayer.Cheats true
```

A command set this way lasts until the next restart. The setting also exists as a `Cheats` field in `dedicatedserver.cfg`, which is the version that persists — set it there for a server you intend to keep, and use the command only for testing. Which block it belongs in depends on your game mode, so edit the config file and look for the existing `Cheats` entry rather than adding a new one at the top level.

> [!WARNING] Cheats are all-or-nothing, and they are not logged
> There is no per-player permission. Turning cheats on gives every connected player `additem`, `godmode` and `killradius`, and nothing records who used what. On a public server this is a griefing vector rather than a convenience — leave it off unless the server is friends-only.

Difficulty, season and enemy settings are also exposed as `setgamesetupsetting` commands, but on a dedicated server the config file is authoritative and re-reads at boot, so anything you set by command is reverted on the next restart. Use the `Custom` block in `dedicatedserver.cfg` for anything you want to persist.

On a [hosted Sons of the Forest server](/games/sons-of-the-forest/) that file sits at the server root and is edited from the panel, and the change only applies on the next restart. If you set something by command and it is gone after a restart, the config never had it — the command changed the running session only.

## Player commands

| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
| `godmode on` / `off` | Immune to all damage |
| `energyhack on` / `off` | Energy, rest and stamina stop draining |
| `invisible on` / `off` | Enemies cannot see you |
| `speedyrun on` / `off` | Greatly increased run speed — pair with `godmode` to survive the landings |
| `superjump on` / `off` | Jump considerably higher |
| `setstat health 100` | Set health, 0 to 100 |
| `setstat stamina 100` | Set stamina |
| `setstat fullness 100` | Set fullness |
| `setstat hydration 100` | Set hydration |
| `setstat rest 100` | Set rest |
| `setstat temperature 36` | Set body temperature |
| `buffstats 1` | Top up energy, fullness and thirst together |
| `setstrengthlevel 100` | Raise strength, which increases health pool and melee damage |
| `knockdownlocalplayer` | Knock yourself down without taking damage |
| `showhud on` / `off` | Hide the HUD — there is no menu option for this, unlike The Forest |
| `freecamera on` / `off` | Detach the camera from the player |

## Items

| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
| `additem <name or id>` | Add an item to your inventory, e.g. `additem log` or `additem 78` |
| `spawnitem <name or id>` | Spawn an item in the world rather than the inventory |
| `removeitem <name or id>` | Remove a specific item |
| `addallitems` | Add every item in the game |
| `removeallitems` | Empty the inventory, except starting tools |
| `setinventorypercent 50` | Scale every stackable item to a percentage of what you hold |
| `loghack on` / `off` | Infinite logs |
| `stonehack on` / `off` | Infinite stones |
| `buildermode` | Max quantity of nearly every item |
| `instantbookbuild` | Blueprints placed from the book complete instantly and free |

`spawnitem` will not produce most weapons, tools and outfits once you have already collected them. `additem` is the more reliable of the two for one-off items.

Items accept a numeric ID or an internal name. A few carry an ID but no usable name — the Survival Guide is `589`, for instance, and does not respond to a name.

## Time and season

| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
| `settimeofday 15` | Set the clock, 24-hour |
| `locktimeofday on` / `off` | Freeze the clock where it stands |
| `setcurrentday 40` | Jump to a specific day |
| `jumptimeofday 10` | Advance by a number of days |
| `setgametimespeed 10` | Speed up the day/night cycle only |
| `timescale 3` | Speed up the entire simulation, physics included |
| `season summer` / `autumn` / `winter` / `spring` | Change season — takes a few moments to visibly apply |

`timescale` and `setgametimespeed` are not interchangeable. `setgametimespeed` moves the clock; `timescale` accelerates everything, which is what you want for watching logs settle or a structure finish, and what you do not want above about `10` unless you are relaxed about your CPU temperature. `timescale 0` pauses outright.

Advancing days changes which enemies spawn, and can unlock achievements.

## World and environment

| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
| `cavelight on` / `off` | Attach a bright light to the player |
| `createlight` | Place a static light where you stand |
| `forcerain 0` – `5` | 0 is clear, 5 is heavy rain; `forcerain off` returns control to the game |
| `cloudshadowsenable on` / `off` | Turn off cloud shadows |
| `gravity 1` | Change gravity; `gravity off` restores normal |
| `clearbushradius 10` | Clear bushes around you — start small, large values can crash the game |
| `breakobjects 50` | Destroy structures and trees in a radius; 50 is already a lot |
| `forceremovetrees 100` | Remove a number of trees; stay under 1000 |
| `killradius 50` | Kill everything nearby — **including Kelvin and Virginia** |
| `removeliving` | Remove all living AI |
| `removedead` | Remove all corpses |
| `creepyvillage` | Spawn mutants into cannibal villages and let them fight |
| `togglego CrestOcean` | Remove ocean visuals and physics, allowing building out to sea |

## Spawning characters

`addcharacter <name>` covers companions, cannibals, mutants, bosses and animals.

| Command | Spawns |
|---|---|
| `addcharacter robby` | Kelvin — affinity starts at 0 |
| `addcharacter virginia` | Virginia — affinity starts at 100 |
| `addcharacter cannibal` | A random cannibal |
| `addcharacter male` / `female` | A random male or female cannibal |
| `addcharacter heavy` | Cannibal leader |
| `addcharacter armsy` / `legsy` / `holey` / `twins` / `fingers` | Named mutants |
| `addcharacter demon` | Demon |
| `addcharacter demonboss` | Demon boss |
| `addcharacter mutantboss` | The final boss |
| `addcharacter mrpuffton` / `mrspuffton` | The mutated Pufftons |
| `addcharacter baby` | Mutant baby |
| `addprefab golfcart` | A golf cart |

Animals — `shark`, `killerwhale`, `turtle`, `rabbit`, `squirrel`, `seagull` — spawn where you are standing rather than in water, so aquatic ones hang in the air.

## AI debugging

Mostly useful when you are working out why companions behave oddly.

| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
| `aishownavgraph on` / `off` | Draw the navmesh — the quickest way to see where Kelvin can actually walk |
| `aishowhealth on` / `off` | Health bars above AI |
| `aishowthoughts on` / `off` | Show what AI are currently thinking |
| `airadar on` / `off` | Show AI distance from the player |
| `aidisable on` / `off` | Remove all AI, companions included |
| `aidummy on` / `off` | AI stop reacting to you |
| `aigodmode on` / `off` | AI become invincible |
| `animalsenabled on` / `off` | Toggle animal spawning |
| `aianimspeed 0.5` | Slow AI animation to half speed |

## Commands people expect that do not exist

Lists for this game get copied between sites without testing, and a few common assumptions are simply wrong.

- **There is no admin password and no `/` chat command set.** Sons of the Forest has no in-game admin command system at all. Ownership is handled outside the game, and moderation happens from the server console.
- **`developermodeon` is The Forest.** It does nothing in the sequel.
- **Kick and ban are not in-game commands.** They run from the server console in your panel, against a player ID.
- **Cheat commands cannot be applied to another player.** They run on the client of whoever typed them.
- **Config values are not commands.** `PvP`, `MaxPlayers` and `Password` live in `dedicatedserver.cfg` and cannot be changed from the F1 console.
- Many entries circulating under "debugging" — `audiodebug`, `footstepdebug`, `radiodebug` and similar — are untested stubs that produce no visible result.

## FAQ

### Why does nothing happen when I type cheatstick?

In order of likelihood: your keyboard is not on a US layout, the game is paused, or you typed it into a text box in singleplayer when it needs to go straight into the game. On a dedicated server the opposite applies — there it must go into the chat window. Singleplayer gives no confirmation at all, so silence is not proof of failure. Press `F1` and see whether the box appears.

### Do console commands work in multiplayer?

Only if the server has cheats enabled via `GameSetting.Multiplayer.Cheats`. When it is off, the console still opens and commands simply do nothing. When it is on, every player has them, and effects are client-side.

### How do I become an admin on a Sons of the Forest server?

There is no in-game admin role to be granted. Server ownership is configured on the server itself, and the moderation commands run from the panel console rather than in-game. See [Getting started with your Sons of the Forest server](/knowledge-base/sons-of-the-forest/getting-started-with-your-server/).

### Can I spawn items for another player?

No. `additem` and `spawnitem` act on whoever runs them. To equip someone else, enable cheats server-side and let them run the command themselves.

### Will console commands disable achievements?

There is no deliberate achievement lock — players report earning them normally with the console in use — but glitched achievements and corrupted saves are a known risk, so back up your save first if you care about them. Note also that `setcurrentday` and `jumptimeofday` can unlock achievements unintentionally by skipping you past the day counts that trigger them.

### Do these commands work on Xbox?

No. The `cheatstick` console is a PC feature. Console builds have the difficulty and game-mode options in the menus, but not the F1 command set.

### How do I turn cheats back off?

Switch individual cheats off with their `off` argument — `godmode off`, `speedyrun off` — which works for nearly every toggle. `F1` closes the console box. On a server, set `Cheats` back to `false` in the config and restart, which removes access for everyone.

---

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