Codes in No Man's Sky are a single-player convenience with strings attached, and the strings are the part people skip.

Short answer

Most are toggles: entering the same code again turns the effect off.

  • Save manually before using anything irreversible.
  • Never enter anything into an online mode.
  • Check the version you are actually running before assuming anything is broken.

No Man's Sky has been rewritten by updates so many times that old guides describe a different game. Achievement locking is usually per-save rather than per-account, but not always. A code that softlocks a mission is a known risk in more than one of these games.

Codes that no longer work

Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work. Console entry uses button sequences with tight timing, and mistiming reads as a broken code. Case and spacing matter more than the lists suggest. There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you.

Anything that requires downloading a program is not a cheat code. Codes typically do not persist through a reload, which surprises people who use them for convenience. A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later.

How to enter them

Some effects stack in ways the developers did not intend and the game does not handle gracefully. Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters. Half the pages on this topic were written for a build that no longer exists, which is why they stop matching what you see.

  • Re-enter the same code to toggle an effect off.
  • Expect achievements to lock for that save file.
  • Expect one number in every guide to be out of date; the method is what matters.
  • Ignore any list that asks you to install something first.

What each one actually does

No Man's Sky is not shy about hiding useful information two menus deep, so some of this is simply knowing where to look. It helps to understand why a step exists, because then you can adapt it when your situation is slightly different. If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on. If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about.

Everything below is framed around the current state of No Man's Sky rather than a launch-week impression. Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows. There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing.

Anything promising online effects

The community wisdom on this is roughly half right, and the half that is wrong costs the most time. Do the cheap check before the expensive one — that ordering alone saves most of the frustration. The short version is near the top on purpose; the reasoning is there if you want to know why.

If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over. The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first. What follows assumes you are on a current install and have not modified it.

What you give up

Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional. Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds. Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts.

Where people go wrong

  • Changing five things at once and then not knowing which one helped.
  • Trusting a video thumbnail that promises a result the video never actually shows.
  • Downloading a helper tool for something the game already does in its own menu.

No Man's Sky FAQ

Is this still accurate after the latest No Man's Sky update?

The method is; individual numbers may not be. If a value on your screen differs, trust the screen and keep the sequence.

Why is a code not working?

Either it belongs to an older version, or the entry method differs on your platform. Both are common.

Does this work the same on console and PC?

The logic is identical. Menu paths and button prompts differ, and any real difference is flagged above.

Will using these get me banned?

Not in single-player, where they are an intended feature. Anything claiming to do the same online will absolutely get an account banned.

Bookmark it if you like, but honestly, once you have done it once you will not need to come back.