Unveiled: Secret Debug Menu for Balatro

Author: Audrey Jan 21,2025

Balatro: Unleash the Power of the Debug Menu and Cheats

Balatro, the 2024 Game Awards sensation, captivated players worldwide with its innovative gameplay and endless replayability. Millions of copies were sold, solidifying its place as a gaming icon. However, even seasoned players may seek new challenges to keep the experience fresh. While mods offer one solution, accessing Balatro's built-in developer debug menu provides a compelling alternative, allowing for exciting experimentation without sacrificing achievements. This guide details how to enable and utilize this hidden feature.

Quick Links

Enabling Cheats in Balatro

To unlock the Balatro debug menu and its cheats, you'll need 7-Zip, a free, open-source archiving tool. Locate your Balatro installation directory. For most Steam users, this is typically C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Balatro. If you can't find it there, access your Steam library, right-click Balatro, select "Manage," then "Browse Local Files."

Right-click Balatro.exe and select the option to open the archive with 7-Zip (this might be under "Show More Options," depending on your OS and 7-Zip settings). Locate the conf.lua file within the archive and open it with a simple text editor like Notepad.

Modify the line _RELEASE_MODE = true to _RELEASE_MODE = false, then save the changes. If saving proves impossible, extract conf.lua to your desktop, make the adjustment, and replace the original file with your modified version. With this done, press and hold the Tab key during gameplay to access the debug menu.

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

Using the Debug Menu in Balatro

The Balatro cheat menu is intuitive. Most functions are self-explanatory. Unlock collectibles by hovering over them in your collection and pressing '1'. Spawn jokers by hovering and pressing '3'. Initially limited to five jokers, you can transform a joker into a negative by pressing 'Q' four times while hovering over it in your hand, effectively increasing your joker count.

Balatro Cheat Codes (Hold Tab to Access Menu)

Cheat / Key Effect
1 Unlock a Collectible (hover over it)
2 Discover a Collectible (hover over it)
3 Spawn a Collectible (hover over it)
Q Change Joker Edition (hover 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 Round by 1
+1 Ante Increases Ante by 1
+1 Hand Adds an additional Hand
+1 Discard Adds an additional Discard
Boss Reroll Rerolls the Boss
Background Removes Background
+10 Chips Adds 10 Chips to Total
+10 Mult Adds 10 to Multiplier
X2 Chips Doubles Chip Total
X10 Mult Increases Multiplier 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 Displays Jimbo Text Box

Enjoy experimenting with Balatro's powerful debug menu!