Setting expectations first: Sandustry has no cheat codes, no built-in cheat menu, and no official console commands. There is also no known money command — threads asking for a sandbox mode or money cheat have gone unanswered. What does exist is a hidden debug mode left in the shipping build, which the community found and documented on the Steam forums. Everything below is community-discovered, not developer-endorsed, and may break with any patch.
Enabling debug mode
The game is built on a browser engine, so its debug tools live behind browser developer tools:
- In-game: Options → Open Debug Console. A devtools window appears.
- Go to the Sources tab → JS folder → open bundle.js.
- Right-click the file → Override content.
- Search the file for
debug: {and changeactive: !1toactive: 1. - Save (Ctrl+S) and reload the game (Ctrl+Shift+R).
The override persists until the next game update rewrites bundle.js, after which you repeat the edit.
An easier route now exists: a Steam Workshop mod flips the same debug flag without touching files — see the mods guide. If you are comfortable with mods, that is the maintainable option.
What debug mode gives you
| Input | Effect |
|---|---|
| E + click | Place solid elements at the cursor |
| F + click | Place dynamic elements (fluids, powders) |
| R | Lock / unlock the camera |
That is material spawning, not a full cheat suite — you can conjure resources, not grant money directly.
The sharp edges
Community testing has mapped the traps, and they are worth taking seriously:
- The "empty box" element freezes the game when placed. Avoid it entirely.
- Avoid the Hide UI debug option — it can leave you without a way back.
- On Linux/Proton, the override path must be written under
Z:/. - Debug placements go straight into your save. There is no undo; a backup of the save folder before experimenting costs nothing.
About "unlocked saves"
Fully-progressed save files circulate on the same third-party download portals that repackage the demo installer — the ones behind the game's malware rumors. There is no official or community-vetted save repository. If a broken demo save is your actual problem, the community's save-repair guide on Steam covers that case; for the full game, debug mode above reaches anything a downloaded save would.