These cheat codes were found using this tool. As far as I’m aware, it’s the only working cheat code finder that’s available on the internet, so huge thanks to its author.

This post, along with the SA cheat codes timeline were featured on Vadim M’s video.

Notes

The ␣ symbol denotes spaces.

Intended cheat code is what the developers wanted you to input to activate the cheat code. For a long time, these codes remained a mystery: back in 2005, a user on GTAForums named edisoncarter as well as some other users attempted to find these intended codes. However, most of those were still missing since the dictionary attack they used was flawed: First, it used a dictionary taken from the american.gxt file of the game, as opposed to something better such as the official Scrabble dictionary. Not only that, they didn’t consider the possibility that the intended cheat codes can be longer than five words and range anywhere between 6-24 characters. Eventually, the community just gave up after failing to find a lot of them and moved on with their lives. It wasn’t until almost 10 years later that all the intended cheat codes were found, thanks to the release of the Android version of GTA SA, where a GTAForums user named Alexander Blade found a file that contains them there.

Shortest codes are the codes that contain the least amount of characters possible. This is split into two:

• The first one is the shortest code with combinations of A-Z, 0-9, and spacebar. This should work on any keyboard layout.
• The other one is the shortest code with combinations of A-Z, 0-9, spacebar, and symbols found in US QWERTY keyboards, excluding those that require holding the Shift key (because those don’t work).

With this combination, it appears that all the cheat codes except for the sandstorm weather cheat can hit 6 characters long, further improving the length, but be aware that oftentimes this only works with US QWERTY keyboards due to the placements of the keys, and while these codes might be much shorter than the other combos, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can type it faster. Some of these symbols can be difficult to reach and/or memorize.

I’ve managed to download edisoncarter’s cheat codes dumps he published on his site back then using Wayback Machine. You can find them here:

• Two-word cheats dump
• Three-word cheats dump, sorted by length
• Three-word cheats dump, sorted by cheat index number
• Four-word cheats dump, 13 letters only
• Nine-letter cheats dump

It’s highly recommended to not save the game after using cheats, as some of them, such as the riot cheat code, can’t be disabled and can cause severe glitches such as the infamous “Madd Dogg glitch”. However, some of them, such as weapon, health, wanted level, and spawn vehicle cheat codes appear to have no side effects to the save file, so those are safe to use.

Weapons, Health, Armor, Money

Effect	Commonly known cheat code	Intended code	Shortest code (A-Z, 0-9, Spacebar)	Shortest code (incl. US QWERTY keyboard symbols)	Notes
Weapon set 1/Thug's Tools	LXGIWYL	ThugsArmoury	LXGIWYL	G5S-GP
Weapon set 2/Professional's tools	PROFESSIONALSKIT KJKSZPJ	ProfessionalsKit	64MQ6Z	64MQ6Z
Weapon set 3/Nutter's tools	UZUMYMW	NuttersToys	JQJIP3	JQJIP3
Health, armor, $250k	HESOYAM	INeedSomeHelp	HESOYAM	IOCA;E
Infinite health	BAGUVIX CAINEMVHZC	NoOneCanHurtMe	TA97RV	TA97RV	I didn't know some people used CAINEMVHZC until I checked out GameFAQs. I don't really trust that site though since some people there were just trolls and put nonexistent cheat codes such as spawning Sanchez with "Dirt bikez". This particular cheat code works though.
Infinite oxygen	CVWKXAM	ManFromAtlantis	H6YBFT	H6YBFT
Adrenaline mode	MUNASEF ANOSEONGLASS	TakeAChillPill	MUNASEF	RT;[]G	ANoseOnGlass doesn't make much sense, and my suspicions were confirmed when it was supposed to be TakeAChillPill. Bad dictionary attack guesswork
Infinite ammo	FULLCLIP WANRLTW	FullClip	WANRLTW	XY',YY
Mega punch	STINGLIKEABEE IAVENJQ	StingLikeABee	IAVENJQ	0J-]'D

Police, stats, gangs

Effect	Commonly known cheat code	Intended code	Shortest code (A-Z, 0-9, Spacebar)	Shortest code (incl. US QWERTY keyboard symbols)	Notes
Raise wanted level by 2 stars	TURNUPTHEHEAT OSRBLHH	TurnUpTheHeat	OSRBLHH	TN1]]6
Clear wanted level	TURNDOWNTHEHEAT ASNAEB	TurnDownTheHeat	ASNAEB	ASNAEB
Never wanted	AEZAKMI TESTEDUCATIONALSKILLS IFIRSTDOZ	IDoAsIPlease	AEZAKMI	JFUIH\	TESTEDUCATIONALSKILLS sounds like another wrong guess at the intended cheat code I didn't know some people used IFIRSTDOZ until I checked out GameFAQs
6-star wanted level	BRINGITON LJSPQK	BringItOn	LJSPQK	LJSPQK
Max fat	BTCDBCB	WhoAteAllThePies	ZFDV1U	ZFDV1U
Max muscle	BUFFMEUP JYSDSOD	BuffMeUp	LWRHUSH	WJ1WD-	I don't think anyone uses LWRHUSH, but this one's neat because of that "HUSH" at the end
Skinny	KVGYZQK	LeanAndMean	KVGYZQK	0`WX5U
Max respect	WORSHIPME OGXSDAG	WorshipMe	PQNCSOD	MB,PD-
Max sex appeal	HELLOLADIES EHIBXQS	HelloLadies	MCR40H	MCR40H
Max stamina	VKYPQCF	ICanGoAllNight	YYZ0C2	YYZ0C2
Hitman in all weapon stats	PROFESSIONALKILLER QUEWSOD	ProfessionalKiller	QUEWSOD	A\JJX,
Max all vehicle skill stats	NATURALTALENT VQIMAHA	NaturalTalent	VQIMAHA	K,02E2
Never get hungry	AEDUWNV	IAmNeverHungry	AEDUWNV	I␣DO,O

Spawns

Effect	Commonly known cheat code	Intended code	Shortest code (A-Z, 0-9, Spacebar)	Shortest code (incl. US QWERTY keyboard symbols)	Notes
Spawn Rhino	AIWPRTON	TimeToKickAss	GS␣DMAX	LZERI,
Spawn Bloodring Banger	OLDSPEEDDEMON CQZIJMB	OldSpeedDemon	CQZIJMB	\3.RYK [C][9[	I prefer \3.RYK as it's faster, but [C][9[ deserves an honorable mention for being more easily memorized with those brackets
Spawn Rancher	JQNTDMH	N/A (NULLed hash)	K5E65Q	K5E65Q	Spawns the "rnchlure" variant that's not moddable in Transfender
Spawn Hotring Racer A	VROCKPOKEY PDNEJOH	NotForPublicRoads	PDNEJOH	8KZ=CF	Another bad dictionary attack guesswork
Spawn Hotring Racer B	VPJTQWV	JustTryAndStopMe	YE9GJF	YE9GJF
Spawn Romero	WHERESTHEFUNERAL AQTBCODX	WheresTheFuneral	XX3S99D	,␣NZVN
Spawn Stretch	CELEBRITYSTATUS KRIJEBR	CelebrityStatus	KRIJEBR	␣UIL'C
Spawn Trashmaster	TRUEGRIME UBHYZHQ	TrueGrime	H8AUWR	H8AUWR	A jab on Activision's True Crime series, which is a GTA clone
Spawn Caddy	RZHSUEW	18Holes	18HOLES	MQWW\;	Intended cheat code was never found probably because Edisoncarter didn't think numbers would work as well
Spawn Hydra	JUMPJET	JumpJet	JHDDT5	JHDDT5	JumpJet can be typed faster, so technically it's faster than JHDDT5 despite being a character longer
Spawn Vortex	KGGGDKP	IWantToHover	KGGGDKP	ASQU;.
Give parachute	AIYPWZQP	LetsGoBASEJumping	BQ␣PSML	''X'[A
Give jetpack	ROCKETMAN YECGAA	Rocketman	YECGAA	YECGAA
Spawn Hunter	OHDUDE	OhDude	OHDUDE	OHDUDE	The only cheat code in which the intended one is 6 characters long, the fastest way of activating the cheat, AND has been known since the game's early days
Spawn Quad	FOURWHEELFUN AKJJYGLC	FourWheelFun	SHMC49	SHMC49
Spawn Tanker	AMOMHRER	HitTheRoadJack	S␣YMBCV	KJCLG`
Spawn Dozer	ITSALLBULL EEGCYXT	ItsAllBull	EEGCYXT	O2PP;9
Spawn Stunt Plane	FLYINGTOSTUNT URKQSRK	FlyingToStunt	URKQSRK	4M6\`D
Spawn Monster	MONSTERMASH AGBDLCID	MonsterMash	M3TOA5	M3TOA5 .2URE1

Vehicles

Effect	Commonly known cheat code	Intended code	Shortest code (A-Z, 0-9, Spacebar)	Shortest code (incl. US QWERTY keyboard symbols)	Notes
Blow up all cars	CPKTNWT	AllCarsGoBoom	CPKTNWT	D=1I07
Invisible car	WHEELSONLYPLEASE XICWMD	WheelsOnlyPlease	XICWMD	XICWMD
Perfect/insane handling	STICKLIKEGLUE PGGOMOY	StickLikeGlue	VIFCKSU	KPNN[M
All green lights	ZEIIVG	DontTryAndStopMe	ZEIIVG	ZEIIVG
Aggressive drivers (breaks save games)	YLTEICZ	AllDriversAreCriminals	YLTEICZ	]MKTHO
Pink traffic	LLQPFBN	PinkIsTheNewCool	RPWN3H	RPWN3H
Black traffic	IOWDLAC	SoLongAsItsBlack	LYQO19	LYQO19
Boats fly	FLYINGFISH AFSNMSMW	FlyingFish	VS62E1	KZ-FEC
Traffic is Cheap Cars	EVERYONEISPOOR BGKGTJH	EveryoneIsPoor	KKZRPKW	'R21AB
Traffic is Fast Cars	EVERYONEISRICH GUSNHDE	EveryoneIsRich	GB0DQH	GB0DQH
Cars Fly	CHITTYCHITTYBANGBANG RIPAZHA	ChittyChittyBangBang	RIPAZHA	B.D0B3
Smash n' Boom	JCNRUAD	TouchMyCarYouDie	JY75BQ	JY75BQ
All Cars Have Nitro	SPEEDFREAK COXEFGU	SpeedFreak	COXEFGU	SL=FJX
Cars Float Away When Hit	BUBBLECARS BSXSGGC	BubbleCars	BSXSGGC	3'Z6BX
Free Aim While Driving	OUIQDMW	IWannaDriveBy	OUIQDMW	[Q2D`P
Reduced Traffic	GHOSTTOWN THGLOJ	GhostTown	THGLOJ	THGLOJ
Country Vehicles and Peds, Get Born 2 Truck Outfit	FVTMNBZ	Hicksville	FVTMNBZ	BWK\ON

Gameplay

Effect	Commonly known cheat code	Intended code	Shortest code (A-Z, 0-9, Spacebar)	Shortest code (incl. US QWERTY keyboard symbols)	Notes
Faster Gameplay	SPEEDITUP PPGWJHT	SpeedItUp	PMNCT8	PMNCT8
Slower Gameplay	SLOWITDOWN LIYOAAY	SlowItDown	LIYOAAY	JK'[5`
Peds Attack Each Other, Get Golf Club (can't be disabled, breaks save games)	AJLOJYQY	RoughNeighbourhood	UYKJA␣M	7RZY'␣
Have a bounty on your head	BAGOWPG	StopPickingOnMe	PWE6KO	PWE6KO
Everyone is armed	FOOOXFT	SurroundedByNutters	FOOOXFT	[[]/FD FRF[F6
Suicide	GOODBYECRUELWORLD SZCMAWO	GoodbyeCruelWorld	SZCMAWO	J;,7ZQ
Elvis is Everywhere	BLUESUEDESHOES ASBHGRB	BlueSuedeShoes	YAEZ4D	YAEZ4D
Peds Attack You With Weapons	BGLUAWML	AttackOfTheVillagePeople	WDKR␣␣␣	U5]UN4
Beach party	LIFESABEACH CIKGCGX	LifesABeach	CIKGCGX	R9F,'H
Gang members everywhere	ONLYHOMIESALLOWED MROEMZH	OnlyHomiesAllowed	MROEMZH	5N-GX␣
Gangs control the streets	BIFBUZZ	BetterStayIndoors	FHYSTV	FHYSTV
Ninja theme	NINJATOWN AFPHULTL	NinjaTown	URNUHO␣	]IFUZJ
Slut magnet	BEKKNQV	LoveConquersAll	BEKKNQV	J␣KQ5P
Huge bunny hop	CJPHONEHOME JHJOECW	CJPhoneHome	6BTVH9	6BTVH9
Mega jump	KANGAROO LFGMHAL	Kangaroo	LFGMHAL	3IWG␣/
Riot/chaos mode (can't be disabled, breaks save games)	STATEOFEMERGENCY IOJUFZN	StateOfEmergency	WSLK3P	WSLK3P
Funhouse theme	CRAZYTOWN PRIEBJ	CrazyTown	PRIEBJ	PRIEBJ
Recruit anyone (9mm)	SJMAHPE	WannaBeInMyGang	SJMAHPE	=FBXIY
Recruit anyone (rocket launcher)	ROCKETMAYHEM ZSOXFSQ	RocketMayhem	MCXS7X	MCXS7X
Recruit anyone (AK-47)	BMTPWHR	NoOneCanStopUs	JKUK1M	JKUK1M

Weather

Effect	Commonly known cheat code	Intended code	Shortest code (A-Z, 0-9, Spacebar)	Shortest code (incl. US QWERTY keyboard symbols)	Notes
Sunny Weather	PLEASANTLYWARM AFZLLQLL	PleasantlyWarm	AZTR1M	AZTR1M
Very Sunny Weather	TOODAMNHOT ICIKPYH	TooDamnHot	OW1␣AU	OW1␣AU
Overcast Weather	ALNSFMZO	DullDullDay	UGFXKY␣	]\NXY\
Rainy Weather	AUIFRVQS	StayInAndWatchTV	RF␣YSER	]0RKUP
Foggy Weather	CFVFGMJ	CantSeeWhereImGoing	4RNCWV	4RNCWV
Faster Clock	YSOHNUL	TimeJustFliesBy	YSOHNUL	B--VB/
Always midnight	NIGHTPROWLER XJVSNAJ	NightProwler	XJVSNAJ	\L91F-
Orange sky, lock time at 21:00	OFVIAC	DontBringOnTheNight	OFVIAC	OFVIAC
Thunderstorm	SCOTTISHSUMMER MGHXYRM	ScottishSummer	MGHXYRM	F'FQGG LMXV;V
Sandstorm	CWJXUOC	SandInMyEars	CWJXUOC	CWJXUOC	Interestingly, this is the only cheat code in which there are no 6-character combos even with the US QWERTY symbols thrown into the mix

PS2 (and possibly Xbox) alternative cheat codes

I also found out that the cheat code finder also works for PS2 cheat codes. It uses the exact same hashing method as the PC version, and the PS2 buttons are simulated using 1234-UDLR-TSCX, in which 1234 is L1, L2, R1, R2; UDLR is up, down, left, right; and TSCX is triangle, square, circle, X. It does cause a bit of a headache though trying to turn those button icons into text forms, so mistakes can be quite common.

How many possible combinations are there in the PS2 version? Well, in 2019, using Tuxxor’s cheat code finder, I was able to compile the entire list containing exactly 205,586 button combos, with an average of 2,259 combinations per cheat. The PS2 version only stores up to the last 12 button presses in the memory, so cheat codes that are 13 or more presses long won’t count, which greatly limits the number of possible combinations. It seems that during the last 7 years, I seem to have forgotten to link this here, so it was buried in my GitHub repo for the longest time (this site uses GitHub pages, so the files have been public all along). You can find it here, or check out the last commit date here if you don’t believe that I originally released this in 2019.

Finding the intended cheat codes in the PS2 version is much harder because they only consist of button patterns that sometimes aren’t that meaningful.

If you want to enter these codes in the the Xbox and Xbox 360 version, just replace:- triangle, square, circle, X with Y, X, B, A

• L1, L2, R1, R2 with L Trigger, White, R Trigger, Black (for the OG Xbox version)
• L1, L2, R1, R2 with LB, LT, RB, RT (for the X360 version)

While I haven’t tested this myself (I don’t have a console, only tested out the PS2 version in PCSX2), it probably should work the same as the PS2 version due to the exact same hashing method.

Cheat codes officially published by Rockstar are those that were carried over from the previous installments (e.g. weapon or health cheats) or disclosed to the media, such as IGN or the Tips and Tricks magazine. This is because Rockstar didn’t release all of them, and some had to be figured out via brute-force by the community, and it also means that these brute-forced cheat codes are unlikely to be the intended ones.

In 2005, edisoncarter managed to find a good amount of cheat codes not disclosed by Rockstar by wiring up a controller into a PC’s parallel port with optocouplers and brute-forcing the hashes with it. A few months later, Skiller and CMX found some of the last undiscovered PS2 cheat codes using a cheat code finder that no longer exists today. However, you can still see the output file here. Dubbed the “L1 combinations”, these are all the possible combinations you can do that end with L1. However, they didn’t seem to brute-force cheat codes that end with other button presses, likely due to hardware limitations at the time.

Effect	Commonly known cheat code	Officially published by Rockstar?	Shortest/fastest/intended code	Notes
Weapon set 1/Thug's Tools		Yes		Pairs well with the health cheat code below
Weapon set 2/Professional's tools		Yes	OR
Weapon set 3/Nutter's tools		Yes		I prefer the original one because it's easier to memorize
Health, armor, $250k		Yes		Interestingly, it's almost similar to the weapon set 1 cheat code despite having a completely different hash. Probably just coincidence though.
Infinite health		No	OR	I highly suspect the first one could've been the intended cheat code because it has a very specific and regular pattern not found in most other codes (note the face buttons and the shoulder buttons' patterns). This is just an educated guess though.
Infinite oxygen		No
Adrenaline mode		No	OR
Infinite ammo		No		An improvement to the cheat code's length
Mega punch		No

Police, stats, gangs

Effect	Commonly known cheat code	Officially published by Rockstar?	Shortest/fastest/intended code	Notes
Raise wanted level by 2 stars		Yes
Clear wanted level		Yes	OR OR	There's quite a lot of these easily memorized cheats for this one, but I only picked the better ones
Never wanted		No		While Rockstar never published the intended cheat code for this one and the 6-star wanted level cheat code, this appears to be the intended one since the combination pairs with the latter.
6-star wanted level		No		Ditto
Max fat		Yes	OR	The only shortest one is the one published by Rockstar itself
Max muscle		Yes		Ditto
Skinny		Yes		Ditto
Max respect		No
Max sex appeal		No
Hitman in all weapon stats		No		While the 8-button code might be very fancy, the slightly longer 9-button one is more easily memorized
Max all vehicle skill stats		No
Never get hungry		Yes	(intended) OR	I didn't know Rockstar actually released the intended cheat code for this one until I found a thread by a user on GTAForums that mentioned it, and that user is the only person who have ever posted it online. It's never been published anywhere else.

Spawns

Effect	Commonly known cheat code	Officially published by Rockstar?	Shortest/fastest/intended code	Notes
Spawn Rhino		Yes		Major improvement to the original one. Not only it's shorter, it's also quite easily memorized
Spawn Bloodring Banger		Yes
Spawn Rancher		Yes
Spawn Hotring Racer A		Yes
Spawn Hotring Racer B		Yes
Spawn Romero		Yes
Spawn Stretch		Yes	OR
Spawn Trashmaster		Yes
Spawn Caddy		Yes
Spawn Hydra		Yes	OR
Spawn Vortex		Yes
Give parachute		Yes
Give jetpack		Yes		At only 7 buttons, it's a MAJOR improvement if you can memorize it
Spawn Hunter		No	OR	Interestingly, Rockstar seems to have reused this exact cheat code in GTA V for spawning Sanchez, instead of using whatever intended cheat code it was (highly doubt this is the intended one due to this being part of L1 cheat code discovery). Perhaps it's because they wanted to give some kind of homage to this game, and had they used the intended one, no one would get it except if one were to compare the hashes, which isn't something anyone would do except out of boredom.
Spawn Quad		Yes
Spawn Tanker		No
Spawn Dozer		No
Spawn Stunt Plane		Yes
Spawn Monster		Yes

Vehicles

Effect	Commonly known cheat code	Officially published by Rockstar?	Shortest/fastest/intended code	Notes
Blow up all cars		Yes	OR
Invisible cars		Yes
Perfect/insane handling		Yes
All green lights		Yes
Aggressive drivers (breaks save games)		Yes
Pink traffic		Yes	OR
Black traffic		Yes
Boats fly		Yes
Traffic is Country Vehicles		No	OR
Traffic is cheap cars		No
Traffic is Fast Cars		No	OR
Country vehicles and peds, get Born 2 Truck outfit	Unknown? (?)	No
Cars Fly	OR	No	OR OR	The last one is slightly longer at 10 buttons, but is highly easily memorized
Smash n' Boom		Yes	OR
All Cars Have Nitro		No	OR
Cars Float Away When Hit		No	OR	Similar to the infinite health cheat, I highly suspect the latter could've been the intended cheat code because it has a very specific and regular pattern not found in most other codes. This is just an educated guess though.
Free Aim While Driving		No	OR
Reduced Traffic		No	OR
Cars float on water		Yes
All taxis have nitrous (can't be turned off)	OR	Yes		The former is the intended cheat code, since that one was published by Tips n' Tricks Magazine and it was confirmed to be straight from Rockstar. However, edisoncarter managed to find a shorter one that is the latter 3 months earlier.

Gameplay

Effect	Commonly known cheat code	Officially published by Rockstar?	Shortest/fastest/intended code	Notes
Faster Gameplay		Yes
Slower Gameplay		Yes
Peds Attack Each Other, Get Golf Club (breaks save games)		Yes	OR
Have a bounty on your head		Yes
Everyone is armed		Yes
Suicide		Yes
Elvis is Everywhere		Yes	OR
Peds Attack You With Weapons		No	OR
Beach party		Yes
Gang members everywhere		No	OR
Gangs control the streets		No	OR
Ninja theme		No	OR	Although the latter is slightly longer, it's more easily memorized
Slut magnet		No	OR
Huge bunny hop		Yes
Mega jump		Yes
Riot mode (can't be disabled, breaks save games)		No	OR	Again, I highly suspect that the last one might've been the intended cheat code due to its very specific and regular patterns.
Funhouse theme		No
Recruit anyone (9mm)		No
Recruit anyone (rocket launcher)		No
Hookers pay you		No	OR	Has a NULLed hash, meaning this cheat code was meant to be scrapped. Because of this hash similarity, inputting JQNTDMH in the cheat code finder will actually give you this one too.

Weather

Effect	Commonly known cheat code	Officially published by Rockstar?	Shortest/fastest/intended code	Notes
Sunny Weather		Yes
Very Sunny Weather		Yes
Overcast Weather		Yes
Rainy Weather		Yes
Foggy Weather		Yes
Faster Clock		Yes	OR
Always midnight		No		I strongly believe the latter could have been the intended cheat code due to its specific and regular pattern AND because the pattern pairs with the orange sky code below, not to mention both cheat codes are related.
Orange sky, lock time at 21:00		No		I strongly believe the latter could have been the intended cheat code due to its specific and regular pattern AND because the pattern pairs well with the always midnight code, not to mention both cheat codes are related. It's highly unlikely that these similarities were just coincidence.
Thunderstorm	Unknown? (?)	No
Sandstorm		No

Misc.

Effect	Commonly known cheat code	Officially published by Rockstar?	Shortest/fastest/intended code	Notes
Do nothing (unused "spawn Predator" cheat)		No	(intended) OR	This cheat code does absolutely nothing, other than lowering your criminal ranking. Often mistaken as the "improve suspension" cheat code for some reason. Intended cheat code found by Vadim M, mentioned in his "GTA SA Removed Content" video.

Credits

• Tuxxor for the cheat code finder
• edisoncarter for his initial cheat code discoveries
• Skiller and CMX for their discovery of the last few PS2 cheat codes
• Alexander Blade for the discovery of all the intended cheat codes for the PC version
• Vadim M for featuring my posts on his video and bringing the intended cheat codes to a wider audience