Complete List of ARK: Survival Evolved Commands

Updated guide with all admin commands, items, resources, dinosaurs, and performance optimization

ARK: Survival Evolved is one of those games that can engulf you for hundreds of hours, and one of the reasons it remains so popular is precisely the amount of control it offers through its console commands. Whether you’re managing a server with friends, testing mechanics solo, or just want to skip the most tedious grind, ARK commands are your best allies.

In this guide, we have collected and organized all ARK Survival Evolved commands by category: from basic administration to specific ones for items, resources, summoning dinosaurs, and optimizing performance. All with real examples so you don’t have to guess the syntax.

If you are looking for where to host your own game to test these commands with friends, take a look at our cheap ARK servers, optimized for the best performance.

How to Open the Command Console in ARK

Before getting into the details, the first thing is to know how to access the console. On PC, simply press Tab and you’re done. On consoles, the process is a bit more laborious: you have to pause the game and press a specific button combination depending on your platform.

In single-player games, cheats work directly. In multiplayer servers, you need to authenticate as an administrator first with:

enablecheats YourAdminPassword

Once inside, all commands you see in this guide must be preceded by cheat (or admincheat, which is the same). The game is not case-sensitive, so you can write them however you want.

Basic ARK Survival Evolved Commands

These are the commands you will interact with most often. The essentials that every player should know, from god mode to invulnerability or creative mode.

💡 Creative Mode (givecreativemode) is especially useful in building sessions: it unlocks all engrams, allows instant crafting, and removes the inventory weight limit.

Server Administration Commands

If you manage your own server, this block of commands will be your daily bread. From kicking players to forcing saves, broadcasting messages, or managing the whitelist.

Player Management

Communication and Server

ARK Commands to Get Items

Getting items via commands is one of the most used functions, both for testing and to avoid farming for hours. In ARK there are three main methods to summon items, and each has its peculiarities.

GiveItemNum uses the numeric ID of the item. GFI uses the simplified name (much more comfortable). GiveItem uses the full blueprint path (the most precise but most cumbersome method). The general syntax is:

cheat GFI [ItemName] [Quantity] [Quality] [0=Item / 1=Blueprint]

The quality parameter goes from 0 (Primitive) to 100 (Ascendant). The last parameter decides if you receive the item directly (0) or the schematic to craft it (1).

Most Used Weapons

Armor

Consumables and Utilities

⚠️ Item IDs may change with updates. If a GFI command doesn’t work, try GiveItemNum or consult the official ARK wiki for the exact blueprint path.

ARK Commands to Get Resources

Resource farming is probably the most tedious part of ARK, especially when testing builds or constructing a large base. With these commands, you can skip hours of grind and focus on what really interests you.

The fastest command to get basic resources all at once is:

cheat giveresources

This gives you 50 units of each basic game resource at once. Useful when starting out and needing a boost, although for larger quantities it is better to use GFI directly.

💡 You can adjust the quantity by changing the number after the resource name. 1000 is usually a good starting point for building materials, while for rare resources like obsidian or polymer, 300-500 is plenty for large projects.

ARK Commands to Summon Dinosaurs

Summoning creatures in ARK is one of the most fun commands and also one of the most complex, because there are several methods with important differences between them. The choice depends on whether you want the wild dino, already tamed, or with a specific level.

Summon summons the wild dino (you will have to tame it). SummonTamed summons it already tamed but with a random level. GMSummon is the most complete: tamed and with the level you choose.

cheat GMSummon "Rex_Character_BP_C" 150

In this example, you summon a T-Rex already tamed at level 150. The indicated level is the base; after the taming process, the dino levels up a bit more.

Popular Dinosaur IDs

Dino Control Commands

⚠️ ForceTame works on the creature you have in your crosshairs. To use it on dinos that are far away or difficult to aim at, use ForceTameAOE with a generous radius.

Optimization and Performance Commands in ARK

ARK: Survival Evolved is famous for being one of the most demanding games of its generation. If your PC isn’t a monster or you just want more fluidity without sacrificing too much visual quality, console commands can make a real difference in FPS.

To access these commands you don’t need to be an admin: just open the console (Tab) and type them directly. Most apply their changes instantly.

Graphics Commands to Improve Performance

Launch Parameters (Steam → Properties → Launch Options)

💡 To apply several console commands at once, you can chain them with | between them: r.Fog 0 | r.ShadowQuality 0 | r.VolumetricCloud 0. You can also save them permanently in the Engine.ini file of the game configuration folder.

If you want to monitor performance in real-time while adjusting commands, activate the FPS counter with stat fps and the full diagnostic with stat unit, which will show you if the bottleneck is in the CPU, GPU, or the game itself.

Commands for the Character and Player

Beyond god mode, there are plenty of useful commands to tune your character’s stats, change their appearance, or solve situations where you’ve gotten stuck in some way.

Commands to Control Environment and Weather

ARK allows you to control the weather, literally. These commands are very useful for in-game photography sessions, to create special events on the server, or simply to not have to wait for the sun to rise when you’ve been trying to find the base for ten minutes.

Final Tips for Using Commands in ARK

Before finishing, a few practical notes that will save you more than one headache. ARK commands are case-insensitive, so you don’t have to worry about writing them perfectly well in that sense. However, the exact syntax does matter: an extra space or a misplaced parameter and the command won’t work.

For GFI commands, if the item name doesn’t work, try searching for the full blueprint on the official ARK wiki (ark.wiki.gg) which is usually well updated. You can also use GiveItemNum with the numeric ID number as an alternative when the simplified name gives problems.

On multiplayer servers, remember that some commands affect all players simultaneously, such as DestroyWildDinos or weather changes. It is good practice to warn before executing something that might surprise others. A quick Broadcast is always appreciated.

Finally, if you have made too many changes and want to return to the original graphic settings, the game options include a Reset Graphics button that restores all values to default, without needing to remember which commands you had executed.

Missing a command you use regularly? The ARK console has literally hundreds of functions, so this guide covers the most useful and sought after, but the official wiki is always the definitive reference for very specific cases.