Most FiveM setup guides on Google were written for a version of txAdmin that no longer exists. This one is checked against the current docs, and covers the three-month artifact rule that quietly removes servers from the browser.
Most of the FiveM setup guides ranking on Google describe a version of txAdmin that has not existed for years, and several of them will hand you a server that quietly stops appearing in the browser after a few months. This walkthrough is checked against the current Cfx.re documentation as of July 2026, and it tells you the parts that actually go wrong.
What you are actually building
FiveM servers run on FXServer, the server software distributed by Cfx.re. txAdmin is the web control panel for it, and — this is the first thing most guides get wrong — you do not download it separately. txAdmin has been a component of FXServer since early 2020. It is already inside the artifact you are about to download.
You need four things: a machine, the server artifact, a free licence key, and a server.cfg. That is genuinely it.
Step 1: Get the artifact (and pick the right one)
Artifacts are the FXServer builds. Download from the official artifacts server:
Windows — runtime.fivem.net/artifacts/fivem/build_server_windows/master/ → server.7z
Linux — runtime.fivem.net/artifacts/fivem/build_proot_linux/master/ → fx.tar.xz
Each listing has two links at the top: LATEST RECOMMENDED and LATEST OPTIONAL. Take LATEST RECOMMENDED. It is not the newest build — at the time of writing, the recommended build is months older than the newest one — and that is deliberate. Recommended means it has been shaken out.
The median FiveM server peaked at two players. Not two hundred — two. We measured 31,334 of them. Here is what a server realistically needs to feel alive, and why your slot count is fiction.
Every FiveM server requirements table you have read was invented by a company selling servers. Cfx.re publishes no hardware spec at all. Here is what actually determines whether your server runs well.
The rule nobody tells you. Cfx.re's own support documentation states it plainly: "Unsupported server artifacts older than three months will not be joinable from the server browser." Outdated artifacts do not stop working, but they stop being supported — recommended builds are supported until six weeks after the next release, and latest builds only two weeks after. Let your artifact age past that window and your players start seeing "server artifact version is outdated" errors and end-of-support messages, and your server effectively drops off the list. Updating the artifact every few months is not optional maintenance. It is the difference between having a server and not.
Extract the artifact into its own folder, for example C:\FXServer\server\ on Windows, and keep it separate from where your server data will live.
Step 2: Get a licence key
Register a free key on the Cfx.re Portal (portal.cfx.re) — this is where the current official docs send you. The older keymaster.fivem.net is still up, and still titled "Cfx.re server key management", so if you have an existing key there it is not gone.
Hold on to that key. It goes into server.cfg as sv_licenseKey, and txAdmin will ask for it during setup.
Step 3: Start FXServer and let txAdmin take over
Here is the trick. Run the server executable without pointing it at a config:
FXServer.exe
If you pass +exec server.cfg, FXServer boots straight into being a game server. If you pass nothing, it starts txAdmin instead, and prints a local URL and a PIN to the console. Open the URL in a browser and enter the PIN.
From there the setup wizard walks you through it:
Link your Cfx.re account (the same forum.cfx.re login), then set an admin password.
Name your server.
Pick a template. The docs suggest the "CFX Default FiveM" template to get something running. If you want a roleplay framework instead, this is where you choose one — see the next step.
Enter your licence key from the Portal.
That is a working server. It will boot, it will appear in the browser, and you can connect to it.
Step 4: Install a framework (the recipe deployer)
A bare FXServer is an empty sandbox — no jobs, no inventory, no money, no characters. For roleplay you want a framework, and txAdmin can install one for you.
txAdmin's Server Deployer runs recipes: YAML documents that describe how to deploy a full server. On the setup page you can import a recipe by URL, or pick one of the recommended community ones. This system is alive and well maintained — both major frameworks keep official recipes current.
QBCore — its official recipe deploys roughly 73 resources in one go, including qb-inventory, qb-target, qb-multicharacter, qb-banking, jobs, garages and a phone. It is the most "batteries included" starting point.
Qbox — in txAdmin, choose Popular Recipes then QBox Framework. Its recipe also installs the ox stack (ox_lib, ox_inventory, ox_target, oxmysql).
ESX — the most widely deployed framework on the live fleet by a distance. ESX is now distributed as the esx_core monorepo (current version 1.13.5); the old standalone es_extended repository no longer exists, and es_extended lives inside esx_core as one of its bundled resources.
If you have not decided yet, read our framework comparison built from live server data first — the short version is that you should pick whichever framework the scripts you actually want already support.
Every framework needs a MySQL/MariaDB database, and all three depend on oxmysql to talk to it. Create the database and import the framework's SQL before you start the server, or it will boot and immediately fall over.
Step 5: Understand server.cfg
txAdmin writes and edits this for you, but you should know what is in it, because this is where servers get broken.
# Where players connect
endpoint_add_tcp "0.0.0.0:30120"
endpoint_add_udp "0.0.0.0:30120"
# Slots. 1-2048. 32+ requires onesync; above 64 requires onesync on.
sv_maxclients 32
set onesync on
# Identity
sv_hostname "My Roleplay Server"
sets locale "en-US"
sets tags "roleplay, esx"
# Start resources
ensure mapmanager
ensure chat
ensure spawnmanager
ensure sessionmanager
# Your licence key from the Portal
sv_licenseKey "your_key_here"
Two things worth knowing precisely, straight from the Cfx.re command reference:
sv_maxclients accepts 1 to 2048. Values starting at 32 require onesync set to on or legacy, and values above 64 require onesync on.
Resources are started with ensure resourcename, which starts a resource and restarts it cleanly if it is already running. Use ensure, not start.
On slots: set a number you can realistically fill. We measured every public server, and of the 9,102 running 33 to 48 slots, only 41 ever reached even half capacity. A server showing 3/48 looks abandoned; the same three players on a 3/16 server look like a small community. It is one line, and you can raise it the day you need to.
Step 6: Ports
Forward 30120 on both TCP and UDP. That is the endpoint the game connects on, and it is the single most common reason a new server is unreachable. txAdmin's own web panel runs on a separate port (40120 by default) — do not expose that to the internet unless you have secured it, because it has total control of your server.
What to do next
Once it boots and you can connect, the work actually starts:
Update your artifact on a schedule. Three months is the cliff. Put a reminder in your calendar.
Add resources deliberately. Drop each one into resources/, add ensure name to server.cfg, run its SQL, restart. One at a time — when you add six scripts at once and the server will not boot, you have six suspects.
Secure txAdmin. It can start, stop, and wipe your server. Strong password, do not share admin accounts, do not leave the panel open to the world.
Watch performance early. A server that runs fine empty can fall apart at 20 players. Our guide to finding what is eating your frames covers how to profile it.
The software costs nothing. FXServer, txAdmin, ESX, QBCore and Qbox are all free and open source — your only real costs are the machine and any paid scripts you choose to buy. You can browse framework-compatible resources on the FiveM scripts marketplace, and see what the servers that made it look like on the live server list.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to download txAdmin separately?
No. txAdmin has shipped as a component of FXServer since early 2020, so it is already inside the server artifact you download. You start it by running FXServer without an +exec server.cfg argument, and it prints a local URL and a PIN to the console.
Where do I get a FiveM server licence key?
The official docs send you to the Cfx.re Portal at portal.cfx.re to register a free key. The older keymaster.fivem.net is still online. The key goes into server.cfg as sv_licenseKey.
Which FXServer artifact should I use?
Use the LATEST RECOMMENDED build from the artifacts server, not necessarily the newest one — they are not the same thing, and recommended often lags the newest build by months. Just do not let it get old: Cfx.re states that unsupported artifacts more than three months old will not be joinable from the server browser.
How much does it cost to run a FiveM server?
The software is free — FXServer, txAdmin, ESX, QBCore and Qbox all cost nothing. Your real costs are the machine it runs on and any paid scripts you buy. A small server can run on a modest VPS; what matters most is single-core CPU speed rather than core count.
Do I need to know how to code to run a FiveM server?
Not to get one running — txAdmin's recipe deployer will install a full framework for you without touching code. You will need to be comfortable editing configuration files, and eventually reading Lua, if you want to customise anything meaningfully.
Your server boots, you can join by IP, and it is nowhere in the browser. There is a specific list of causes, and one of them — an artifact rule Cfx.re enforces — is the one nobody mentions.
