fxmanifest.lua: the file that names your resource

What fxmanifest.lua is

fxmanifest.lua is a single required file that sits at the top, or root, of every resource folder. Root just means it is the first file inside the folder, not buried in a subfolder. FiveM looks for that exact file name. If the folder does not have one, FiveM treats the folder as if it were not there at all. No error, no warning, just silence. The folder is invisible.

So the rule is short: no fxmanifest.lua, no resource. The name must be spelled exactly, all lowercase, with no spaces. Not manifest.lua, not fxmanifest.txt, and not the old name __resource.lua you might still see in ancient tutorials.

Why it exists

Think about what FiveM faces when your server boots. It scans a folder that may hold a hundred different resources. Each one is a pile of files. FiveM has no way to guess which files are code, which are images, which should run, or where each one belongs. It cannot just run everything, because some files are meant for the server and some are meant for each player's computer, and mixing those up would break things instantly.

So FiveM does not guess. It reads a manifest first. The manifest is your resource answering three questions before any code runs:

• Which files in this folder should I load?
• Which of those run on the server, and which run on each player?
• Does anything else need to be running before me?

A complete manifest, line by line

Here is a full, realistic fxmanifest.lua. Read it once top to bottom, then we break down every single line underneath.

fx_version 'cerulean'
game 'gta5'
 
author 'you'
description 'My first resource'
version '1.0.0'
 
shared_script 'config.lua'
client_script 'client.lua'
server_script 'server.lua'
 
dependency 'oxmysql'

fx_version 'cerulean'

This is the format version of the manifest itself. FiveM has changed how manifests are read over the years, and cerulean is the current format. You always start a manifest with this line. The word cerulean is just a code name, like how software releases get names. You do not need to understand why it is called that. You only need to type it. Without this line, FiveM does not know how to read the rest of the file and refuses to load the resource.

game 'gta5'

This says which game your resource is built for. FiveM is Grand Theft Auto V multiplayer, so the value is gta5. You will see rdr3 in Red Dead resources, but for everything you build here it is always gta5. These first two lines, fx_version and game, are the only truly required lines. Everything below them is you adding files and details.

author, description, version (optional metadata)

author 'you'
description 'My first resource'
version '1.0.0'

These three lines are metadata, which means information about your resource rather than instructions that change how it runs. author is who made it. description is one short sentence saying what it does. version is a number you bump up each time you release a change, so people can tell which copy they have. None of these are required and FiveM ignores them when deciding how to run your code. They exist for humans, and for the txAdmin panel and resource lists that display them. Fill them in anyway. It is a good habit and it makes your work look finished.

shared_script, client_script, server_script

This is the heart of the manifest. Each of these directives points at a file and tells FiveM where that file should run.

shared_script 'config.lua'
client_script 'client.lua'
server_script 'server.lua'

• server_script 'server.lua' loads a file that runs once, on the server machine. The server is the central computer everyone connects to. Server scripts handle anything players must not control directly: money, saving to a database, deciding who is allowed to do what.
• client_script 'client.lua' loads a file that runs on each player's own PC, once for every connected player. Client scripts handle what a player sees and does locally: drawing things on screen, reading their key presses, the menus in front of them.
• shared_script 'config.lua' loads a file that runs on both sides, server and every client. You use shared scripts for plain settings and constants that both sides need to agree on, like a config table. Keep real logic out of shared files.

The file name inside the quotes is a path relative to the resource folder. 'server.lua' means a file named server.lua sitting right next to fxmanifest.lua. If you put your code in subfolders, you write the path, like 'server/main.lua'. The next lesson goes deep on why this client and server split matters. For now, just know the directive picks the file and the side.

dependency

dependency 'oxmysql'

A dependency is another resource that must already be running before yours starts. Here it says, do not start me until oxmysql is running. You only add this when your resource genuinely needs another one to work, like needing a database tool before your code can save anything. If you need to require several at once, there is a plural form, dependencies { 'ox_lib', 'oxmysql' }, that takes a list. A brand-new practice resource usually needs no dependencies at all, so you can leave this line out entirely.

Write your own

You already have the practice resource qu_hello from the last lesson. Now you will write its manifest by hand so you feel every line do its job.

fx_version 'cerulean'
game 'gta5'

fx_version 'cerulean'
game 'gta5'
 
server_script 'server.lua'

ensure qu_hello

Common beginner mistakes

These are the manifest errors almost everyone hits at least once. Read them now so you recognise them later.

Try it yourself

What you can do now

• Explain that fxmanifest.lua is the required file that turns a folder into a resource FiveM will load.
• Write the two required lines, fx_version 'cerulean' and game 'gta5', from memory.
• Read a manifest and say what each line does, including the optional metadata lines.
• Choose server_script, client_script, or shared_script for a file on purpose.
• Know never to add a lua54 line, because Lua 5.4 is the only runtime and the setting is ignored.

You can now turn any folder into a resource and tell FiveM exactly which files to load. The one thing we kept brushing past is the deepest idea in FiveM: the difference between the server and the client, and why a shared file is special. That split decides where every line of your code is allowed to run. Next up: "Client, server, and shared files."

REFERENCES

FiveM docs: resource manifest ↗