To use a cheat code in GTA SA on PC you simply type the code during normal gameplay — there is no console, no text box and no prompt, so the letters you press are read directly by the game and a confirmation message appears when a code registers. The most famous one is HESOYAM, which restores full health and armour and adds $250,000. Cheats never save to your file, and several of them can permanently break statistics or mission states, so keep a separate save.
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San Andreas has the largest cheat list in Grand Theft Auto history, and the PC version is the best place to use it because typing a word is far quicker than a ten-button controller combination. This guide covers how entry works on PC, the codes worth knowing organised by category, and the handful of cheats you should genuinely avoid on a save file you care about.
Quick answer: Our top pick in 2026 is the GTA: San Andreas — our #1 rated choice. See the full ranked comparison, alternatives and buying advice below.
Classic PC Open-World Games Worth Installing
| Game | Platform | Genre | Why It’s Great | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTA: San Andreas | PC, Definitive Edition, PS2, Xbox, mobile | Open-world action | Three cities, RPG stats, gang warfare and the series’ deepest cheat list | 9.5/10 |
| GTA: Vice City | PC, Definitive Edition, PS2, Xbox | Open-world action | 1980s Miami pastiche with an all-time great licensed soundtrack | 9.3/10 |
| GTA III | PC, Definitive Edition, PS2, Xbox | Open-world action | The first 3D GTA and the blueprint every open-world game followed | 9.0/10 |
| Mafia: Definitive Edition | PC, PS4, Xbox One | Narrative action | Full remake of the 1930s crime classic with superb period cars | 8.5/10 |
| Saints Row 2 | PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Open-world action | The most GTA-like Saints Row, with deep character customisation | 8.4/10 |
| Just Cause 2 | PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Action sandbox | Grappling-hook physics on a vast tropical island nation | 8.3/10 |
| Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition | PC, PS4, Xbox One | Open-world action | Hong Kong crime drama with unmatched hand-to-hand combat | 8.6/10 |
| Grand Theft Auto IV | PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Open-world action | The heaviest, most grounded driving model in the series | 9.0/10 |
How to Enter a Cheat Code in GTA SA on PC
Just Type It
Start the game, load your save, and type the cheat while you are playing. Nothing appears on screen as you type — the game listens for the letter sequence in the background — and a short message such as “Cheat activated” confirms it worked. Codes are not case sensitive. If a code fails, you almost certainly mistyped a letter or had a text-entry field open, so try again from a standing position with no menus up.
One important difference: this is the classic PC behaviour and it applies to the original 2005 PC release and its Steam and Rockstar Games Launcher versions. The Definitive Edition remaster also accepts typed codes, though a small number of cheats were altered or removed in the remake, so if a code does nothing on the Definitive Edition it may simply not exist there.
Cheats Do Not Save and Some Cannot Be Undone
Nothing about a cheat is written to your save file, so every code has to be re-entered after you reload or restart. However, the effects of some cheats persist for the rest of the session and cannot be switched off without reloading — pedestrian riot mode is the classic example. A few cheats also permanently modify your stats page or can leave mission triggers in a strange state, which is why the community’s universal advice is to keep one clean file for story progression and a separate sandbox file for experimenting.
The Best Cheat Code in GTA SA for PC by Category
Health, Money and Survival
HESOYAM is the single most-used code in the game: full health, full armour and $250,000 added to your wallet. BAGUVIX grants near-infinite health, which makes you immune to most damage but not to explosions and drowning in every situation. CVWKXAM gives infinite lung capacity for the underwater sections. FULLCLIP provides unlimited ammunition with no reloading, which is genuinely transformative in the harder shootouts.
Weapons and Combat
LXGIWYL gives weapon set one, PROFESSIONALSKIT gives the stronger weapon set two, and UZUMYMW gives weapon set three with the heaviest hardware. AEZAKMI stops police pursuing you entirely by locking your wanted level, ASNAEB immediately clears any wanted level you already have, and BRINGITON jumps you straight to a six-star wanted level if you want a fight.
Vehicle and Jetpack Spawns
ROCKETMAN spawns a jetpack, which is the most useful traversal cheat in the game and effectively removes travel time across all three cities. JUMPJET spawns a Hydra jet, OHDUDE spawns a Hunter attack helicopter, and AIWPRTON spawns a Rhino tank right next to you. Give yourself space before using the vehicle spawns, because the game drops them on top of your position without checking for walls.
Character Stats and Skills
This category is unique to San Andreas because CJ has RPG-style attributes. BUFFMEUP maxes your muscle, VKYPQCF fills your stamina bar, NATURALTALENT maxes every vehicle skill including flying and cycling, WORSHIPME maxes your respect so you can recruit a full gang, and HELLOLADIES maxes your sex appeal. Together these skip dozens of hours of gym visits, driving school and flight lessons.
World, Weather and Physics
ICIKPYH makes the weather very sunny, ALNSFMZO brings overcast skies, AUIFRVQS sets rain and CFVFGMJ produces heavy fog, which is worth trying purely for how eerie San Fierro looks. SPEEDITUP accelerates the whole game and SLOWITDOWN slows it to a crawl, which makes chases either impossible or trivially easy. STATEOFEMERGENCY triggers a citywide riot and CRAZYTOWN turns the game into a funhouse theme — both are fun and both are effectively permanent until you reload.
Cheats to Avoid on Your Main Save
Riot mode, pedestrian-behaviour cheats and the funhouse theme cannot be switched off in-session, and having them active can make story missions unwinnable because scripted characters get killed by the chaos. The stat-maxing cheats are safe mechanically but permanently mark your statistics page, which matters if you care about a genuine 100 percent completion record. Save before experimenting, always.
Running San Andreas Well on Modern PC Hardware
The original 2005 release is old enough to have quirks on modern Windows: frame-rate-linked physics, capped resolutions and audio issues without community patches. It runs on almost anything, but the Definitive Edition needs a real GPU — our best graphics card buying guide covers what is worth buying at each tier, and our gaming PC build guide walks through a full build. San Andreas was designed around a gamepad, and driving in particular is far better with analogue sticks, so read our game controller buying guide. For the widescreen upgrade the classic version never had, see our gaming monitor buying guide. Typing cheats constantly is a lot of keyboard work, which our mechanical keyboard buying guide addresses, and our gaming SSD buying guide covers the storage that removes the game’s long loading screens.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I enter a cheat code in GTA SA on PC?
Type the code directly during gameplay with no menu open. There is no console window and no text field, so nothing appears as you type — the game reads the keystrokes in the background and displays a confirmation message when a valid sequence is recognised. Codes are not case sensitive, and a failed code almost always means a typo.
What is the money cheat code in GTA San Andreas for PC?
HESOYAM. It adds $250,000 to your wallet and simultaneously refills your health and armour, and it can be entered repeatedly to stack the money. If you are in a vehicle when you use it, the car is also fully repaired, which makes it doubly useful during difficult chase missions.
Do San Andreas cheats disable achievements on PC?
The original 2005 PC release has no achievements, so there is nothing to lose there. The Definitive Edition on modern storefronts does have achievements, and using cheats blocks them for that session in the same way GTA V does. Keep a clean save file if you want both the cheats and the completion record.
Can San Andreas cheats break my save file?
Cheats are never written into the save itself, but their effects can cause real problems. Riot mode and pedestrian-behaviour cheats cannot be turned off without reloading and can get mission-critical characters killed, while stat-maxing codes permanently alter your statistics page. Always save before experimenting and use a dedicated sandbox file.
Ready to decide? Our #1 pick for 2026 is the GTA: San Andreas.
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