What a FiveM resource is, and how the server loads it

On FiveM everything is a resource: a script, a car, a map, a clothing pack, an inventory, a loading screen. Understanding what a resource is — a folder plus a manifest that tells the server what to do with each file — removes most of the confusion beginners have about why something does not start, does not download or does not run where they expected.

resources/
└── [jobs]/                  <- a category folder (brackets), just for organisation
    └── my_job/               <- the resource; its name is "my_job"
        ├── fxmanifest.lua
        ├── config.lua
        ├── client/
        │   └── main.lua
        ├── server/
        │   └── main.lua
        ├── html/             <- NUI (optional)
        │   ├── index.html
        │   └── app.js
        └── stream/           <- models and textures (optional)

• Folders in square brackets like [jobs] are categories, not resources. The server looks inside them.
• The resource name is the folder name. ensure my_job starts the folder my_job, wherever it sits under resources/.
• Names should be lowercase with no spaces; many scripts assume their exact folder name.

Deciding what goes in client_script versus server_script is the most important design decision in any resource. Client scripts can draw, read input and move the player; server scripts own the database, money and anything that must not be faked. A shared_script is simply loaded twice — once on each side — which suits configuration.

The full split, with examples, is in client vs server scripts.

Game assets — models (.ydr, .yft), textures (.ytd), collisions and maps — are not listed in the manifest. Put them in a folder called stream and FiveM streams them to clients automatically. Metadata files such as vehicles.meta are listed under files and registered with data_file lines.

fx_version 'cerulean'
game 'gta5'

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

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

Streaming in depth — sizes, formats and why assets fail — is in custom assets and streaming.

Order in server.cfg matters: a resource that uses oxmysql must start after oxmysql, and a framework before the scripts that use it. dependencies in the manifest enforces the most important cases. Restarting a single script while the server runs is fine for development; restarting a framework while players are online usually breaks everything that depends on it.

Reading those messages is covered in F8 and server console errors.