Starting a FiveM roleplay server can feel overwhelming but the process is straightforward once you know the steps. This guide covers everything from choosing a host to getting QBCore running with your first custom scripts.
You need a server to run FiveM. The most popular options for beginners are ZAP-Hosting and GTXGaming — both have one-click FiveM installs and reasonable pricing around £10-20/month.
For a serious server with 50+ players you'll want at least 8GB RAM and an NVMe drive. Start small and upgrade as your player count grows.
You need a server licence key from the Cfx.re keymaster. Go to keymaster.fivem.net, link your Steam account and generate a key. This is free and takes a few minutes.
QBCore is the most popular FiveM roleplay framework. Download it from the official QBCore GitHub organisation. The easiest way is to use the QBCore installer script which downloads all required resources automatically.
qb-core, oxmysql, ox_lib, qb-multicharacter, qb-spawn, qb-hud, qb-inventory, qb-phone
QBCore uses MariaDB/MySQL for data storage. Your host should provide a database — create one and note the credentials. Then update your server.cfg with the connection string.
Your server.cfg controls what resources load and in what order. The order matters — always ensure dependencies before the resources that need them.
Once the base framework is running you can start adding custom scripts — police jobs, drug systems, housing, jobs and more. Each script goes in its own folder in the resources directory with an ensure line in server.cfg.
Describe what you need and Stellar AI writes the complete script — fxmanifest, client, server and config — ready to drop into your resources folder.
Generate your first script free →