How to make a GTA RP server in 2026: from licence to first player, step by step

Creating a GTA RP server in 2026 is easier than ever and still the point where most projects fail. Not because of the technology, which is done in an evening, but because nobody wrote down beforehand what the server is supposed to be. This guide covers both parts: first the decisions, then the technology, in the order you actually need them.

Before you install anything

Three questions you should be able to answer in one sentence: who is the server for (friends, open community, whitelist)? What kind of roleplay (hardcore with applications, casual with Discord entry)? And how much time per week do you have for maintenance, support and community? The answers determine hosting, framework and how many scripts you need. A server for 20 friends does not need 300 resources.

Step 1: Cfx.re account and licence key

FiveM belongs to Cfx.re. You need an account on forum.cfx.re and a free server key from the Keymaster (keymaster.fivem.net). The key is bound to your server's IP address, so you need hosting first, then the key. Without a key the server does not start, and with a key for a different IP it does not either.

Step 2: Choose hosting

Three routes with very different effort:

Step 3: Server artifacts and txAdmin

The server files are called artifacts and come from runtime.fivem.net, for Windows and Linux. Take the version marked "recommended", not the latest one, which is often not yet tested with every script. Unpack the archive into a folder, for example /opt/fivem, and start FXServer.exe or run.sh. On first start txAdmin opens in your browser on port 40120.

txAdmin is the management panel that ships with every FiveM server: it sets the server up, starts and stops it, shows the console, manages admins, bans and whitelist and restores backups. You sign in with your Cfx.re account, enter the licence key and choose a template. For a roleplay server you pick either a framework template or an empty server on which you place your framework yourself.

Step 4: Database

A roleplay server without a database forgets everything on restart: characters, accounts, vehicles, inventories. Install MariaDB (one command on Linux, an installer or XAMPP on Windows), create a database and a user and put the connection into server.cfg. Almost all frameworks use the free oxmysql script for this.

set mysql_connection_string "mysql://fivem:DEIN_PASSWORT@127.0.0.1:3306/fivem?charset=utf8mb4"
ensure oxmysql

Step 5: Framework

The framework is your server's operating system. It manages players, characters, jobs, money and talks to the database. The open frameworks ESX and Qbox are free and have the largest script selection, but require you to stitch together scripts from different developers yourself. A closed framework like 5MCustoms costs money and in return delivers modules that are built to fit together, with portal, updates and support. Which route fits depends on your time and whether you code yourself. The detailed comparison is in ESX, QBCore, Qbox or 5MCustoms.

Step 6: Scripts, vehicles, clothing, MLOs

Now the server gets content. The order that has proven itself (in detail in FiveM scripts every RP server needs): inventory and voice, admin menu and anti-cheat, phone and banking, garage and three jobs, police and medics, then the illegal side. Only after that vehicles, clothing and interiors, because they only decorate what already works. Every resource goes into the resources folder and gets an ensure line in server.cfg.

• Vehicles: add-on instead of replace, debadged, with all LOD levels. How to install them is in how to install FiveM cars.
• Clothing: add-on packs for factions and streetwear so nobody replaces the default GTA clothes.
• MLOs: interiors for police, hospital, mechanic shop, clubs. Every MLO costs streaming memory, so better ten good ones than thirty half-finished.

Step 7: Discord, rules, whitelist

A Discord server with rules, support tickets and a channel for applications belongs in place before the first stranger joins. txAdmin can whitelist players via Discord roles so that only people who have read the rules get in. Keep the rules short: ten points everyone reads in two minutes keep more players than a 40-page rulebook.

What a GTA RP server costs

Realistically, a serious server costs between 300 and 1,500 euros in the first year, depending on how much you build yourself. The biggest expense is not money but time: expect 50 to 100 hours before a server is ready for strangers.

Mistakes we see again and again

• Too many scripts before the first test. Every script nobody uses costs load time and server performance.
• No database backups. A nightly mysqldump via cron takes five minutes to set up and will save your server one day.
• Opening without anti-cheat. The first mod menus arrive on the first evening, not in week three.
• Never updating artifacts. FiveM evolves, and old artifacts eventually stop working with the client.
• Doing everything alone. One admin for tech, one for community, one for support: three people with clear roles last longer than one with all of them.

Justin Beil

Founder of 5MCustoms

Justin has been building FiveM servers, vehicles and scripts for years. 5MCustoms is the framework that grew out of it. What you read here comes from practice, not from a product sheet.

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