How to Add Custom Vehicles to Your FiveM Server (2026)

Addon vs Replace Vehicles

There are two approaches to adding custom vehicles to your FiveM server:

• Addon vehicles — Added alongside the existing GTA V vehicle roster. They have unique spawn names and don't remove any original vehicles
• Replace vehicles — Swap out an existing GTA V vehicle model. The original vehicle is no longer available

Addon vehicles are recommended in most cases. They give you more variety without losing default content, and players can use both original and custom vehicles.

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File Structure

A custom vehicle resource typically contains:

my-custom-car/
├── fxmanifest.lua
├── stream/
│   ├── my_car.yft          (vehicle model)
│   ├── my_car_hi.yft       (high-detail model)
│   ├── my_car.ytd          (vehicle textures)
├── data/
│   ├── vehicles.meta       (vehicle definition)
│   ├── handling.meta       (physics and handling)
│   ├── carvariations.meta  (color/livery variations)
│   ├── carcols.meta        (lights, sirens, colors)

Understanding Each File Type

• .yft — The 3D model of the vehicle (body, chassis, doors, wheels)
• .ytd — Textures (paint, decals, interior materials)
• vehicles.meta — Defines the vehicle's name, type, class, and model reference
• handling.meta — Controls physics: speed, acceleration, braking, weight, suspension
• carvariations.meta — Defines available colors and livery options
• carcols.meta — Configures lights, sirens, and color palettes

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Creating fxmanifest.lua

The fxmanifest.lua file tells FiveM how to load the vehicle resource:

fx_version 'cerulean'
game 'gta5'

author 'Your Name'
description 'Custom Vehicle Pack'
version '1.0.0'

files {
    'data/vehicles.meta',
    'data/handling.meta',
    'data/carvariations.meta',
    'data/carcols.meta',
}

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'

Key points:

• fx_version 'cerulean' is the current standard manifest version
• files {} declares which data files should be sent to connecting clients
• data_file tells the game how to interpret each meta file
• Stream files (.yft, .ytd) in the stream/ folder are automatically detected and streamed to clients

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Installation Steps

1. Download the vehicle from a trusted source (verify it includes all required meta files)
2. Create a resource folder in your server's resources/ directory
3. Add the fxmanifest.lua with the correct file references
4. Place stream files (.yft, .ytd) in a stream/ subfolder
5. Place data files (.meta) in a data/ subfolder
6. Add to server.cfg: ensure my-custom-car
7. Restart the server

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Testing Your Vehicle

After installation, test the vehicle in-game:

• Use your framework's vehicle spawn command or admin menu
• The spawn name is defined in vehicles.meta under the modelName tag
• If using txAdmin, you can use the built-in vehicle spawn command

If the Vehicle Doesn't Appear

• Check the server console for errors during startup
• Verify the stream/ folder contains the .yft and .ytd files
• Confirm the model name matches what you're trying to spawn (case-sensitive)
• Make sure the resource is loaded (ensure line exists in server.cfg)

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Multiple Vehicles in One Resource

You can pack multiple vehicles into a single resource:

pd-vehicles/
├── fxmanifest.lua
├── stream/
│   ├── police_car1.yft
│   ├── police_car1_hi.yft
│   ├── police_car1.ytd
│   ├── police_car2.yft
│   ├── police_car2_hi.yft
│   ├── police_car2.ytd
├── data/
│   ├── vehicles.meta     (definitions for both vehicles)
│   ├── handling.meta     (handling for both vehicles)

Each meta file can contain definitions for multiple vehicles. This reduces the number of resources your server loads.

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Performance Considerations

• File size matters — High-poly models with 4K textures increase download times for connecting players. Aim for optimized models under 20 MB per vehicle
• Limit your vehicle count — 50-100 custom vehicles is reasonable; 500+ will cause very long client load times
• Use LOD models — Vehicles with proper level-of-detail models (_hi.yft for close-up, regular .yft for distance) perform better
• Organize into packs — Group related vehicles (police pack, civilian pack) to reduce total resource count

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Using Custom Vehicles with Job Garages

Once installed, you can assign custom vehicles to job garages in Jobs Creator. Open the tablet, edit a job's garage marker, and add the vehicle's spawn name. Players will see it when accessing the job garage.

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