How fxmanifests Work with FiveM

An fxmanifest.lua is the backbone of any FiveM resource. It tells the server which files to load, what they do, and how they should be handled—whether that's on the client, server, or both.

__resource.lua

In older resources, you might come across a file named __resource.lua. Before fxmanifest.lua existed, this was used to define how a resource behaves. It serves the same purpose but is now outdated and replaced by the fxmanifest system.

How to Start an fxmanifest

When setting up an fxmanifest.lua, make sure the file is named exactly that—fxmanifest.lua—and is located in your resource folder. Here’s a quick look at what that should look like:

At a minimum, you need to define two things:

• fx_version
• game

fx_version options:

• cerulean – Newest and most secure (recommended)
• bodacious – Older
• adamant – Legacy version

game options:

• gta5 – For FiveM (use this for Qbox)
• gta4 – For LibertyM (rarely used)
• rdr3 – For RedM
• common – Works across games, but lacks access to game-specific natives (not recommended)

Here’s a basic example:

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Specifics of the Manifest

Defining Client and Server Scripts

The fxmanifest.lua lets you define which scripts run on the client (the player’s game) and which run on the server (the host environment).

Client Script Example:

client_script 'client.lua'

If your script is inside a folder:

client_script 'foldername/client.lua'

Server Script Example:

server_script 'server.lua'

Defining Multiple Scripts

If you want to load multiple files:

client_scripts {
    'client.lua',
    'client2.lua'
}

Or use a wildcard to include everything in a folder:

client_scripts {
    'clientfolder/*.lua'
}

info

• The * wildcard includes all .lua files in a folder.
• You can use wildcards with folders too.
• More details in the Resource Manifest documentation

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Shared Scripts

Shared scripts are loaded by both the client and the server. These are typically used for configs or utility files.

shared_script 'config.lua'

-- Or multiple files:
shared_scripts {
    'config.lua',
    'shared_utils.lua'
}

---

Dependencies

Hard Dependencies

Hard dependencies ensure a resource won't start unless certain conditions or resources are met.

dependencies {
    '/server:4500',                 -- Requires server build 4500 or higher
    '/policy:subdir_file_mapping', -- Requires server key permission
    '/onesync',                    -- Requires OneSync
    '/gameBuild:h4',               -- Requires game build 2189 or higher
    '/native:0xE27C97A0',          -- Requires support for this native
    'ox_lib'                       -- Requires ox_lib to be started
}

info

If any of these are missing, the resource will not start.

Soft Dependencies

Soft dependencies are optional—if the resource is missing, your script might throw an error, but it will still run.

Defined like this:

shared_script '@ox_lib/init.lua'

---

Files

Use the files section to include additional files like JSON, images, or configs:

files {
    'data/main.json',
    'config.ts'
}

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Vehicles in a Manifest

To define vehicle-related files, just tell the manifest what each file does:

fx_version 'cerulean'
game 'gta5'

data_file 'HANDLING_FILE' 'data/**/handling.meta'
data_file 'VEHICLE_METADATA_FILE' 'data/**/vehicles.meta'
data_file 'CARCOLS_FILE' 'data/**/carcols.meta'
data_file 'VEHICLE_VARIATION_FILE' 'data/**/carvariations.meta'

files {
    'data/**/*.meta'
}

Wildcards like ** allow you to include files across subdirectories.

---

Other Options

You can also define extra metadata for documentation or internal use:

author 'John Doe <j.doe@example.com>'
description 'Example resource'
version '1.0.0'

-- Scripts to run
client_scripts {
    'client.lua',
    'client_two.lua'
}
server_script 'server.lua'

-- Custom metadata
my_data 'one' { two = 42 }
my_data 'three' { four = 69 }

-- Alternate syntax
my_data('nine')({ ninety = "nein" })

-- Arbitrary metadata keys are allowed
pizza_topping 'pineapple'

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