FiveM Troubleshooting Checklists

Start with the first meaningful error in the active FXServer or txAdmin Live Console. Paths vary with your hosting provider and txAdmin profile; the /opt/fivem paths below are examples, not universal locations.

Server fails to start

Use a current supported FXServer artifact for the selected Legacy or Enhanced platform.
For txAdmin first setup, start FXServer WITHOUT +exec server.cfg; for a manual server, verify +exec points at the correct config.
Check the active sv_licenseKey from Cfx.re Portal, without publishing its secret value.
Identify which process already uses the configured game/admin ports; stop only a verified conflicting service.
Check that each ensured resource exists and its fxmanifest.lua is valid.
Check permissions, free disk and RAM; use your actual server-data directory.
Find the first startup failure in txAdmin Live Console or the host service logs.

Check port owners on Linux:


sudo ss -lntup | grep -E ':30120|:40120'

If a port is in use, inspect the process and service before stopping it. Don’t blindly use kill -9 or fuser -k, which can terminate an unrelated service.

Check the active license key: Open Cfx.re Portal → Server Registration Keys . Verify the key exists and is configured in the active txAdmin profile. A manual server can instead use sv_licenseKey in its loaded server.cfg. An exported FIVEM_LICENSE_KEY variable alone does not configure FXServer. See License Key Setup.

Check resources and disk: Compare the actual ensure directives against the directories in your server data folder, not your artifact binaries folder. On Linux, df -h and free -h show capacity. Fixed “at least 2 GB free RAM” rules are not universal for every resource set.

Players cannot join

Confirm FXServer itself is running; an accessible txAdmin panel alone is not enough.
Test a FiveM client connection and spawn locally before diagnosing the public network.
Confirm both TCP and UDP on the configured game port (default 30120) are allowed.
Check the VPS/cloud security group, host firewall and home-router port forwarding as applicable.
Confirm the public address/port and any connection proxy point to the intended server.
Check license validation and client authentication errors in the active logs.
From an external FiveM client, press F8 and enter connect YOUR_SERVER_IP:30120; verify spawn.

On the Linux game host, check listening sockets:


sudo ss -lntup | grep ':30120'

On a remote network, a TCP probe such as nc -zv YOUR_SERVER_IP 30120 helps test only TCP. It does not prove UDP, server-list visibility, resource downloads or successful joining. The acceptance test is a real client joining and spawning.

The default txAdmin port 40120 is administrative; keep it private. See Server Networking and txAdmin Security.

Database errors (framework servers only)

Determine whether the selected framework recipe actually requires SQL; CFX Basic does not.
Confirm MariaDB/MySQL is running and reachable from FXServer.
Test the dedicated application database user with the configured hostname and database.
Confirm the correct recipe SQL imports and expected tables exist.
Check the active oxmysql connection string without exposing its password.
Find the first specific SQL error, not just the last restart message.
Keep the database listener private to the server/application network; do not open 3306 publicly.

A local MariaDB check, if you have a database administrator account:


sudo systemctl status mariadb
mariadb --user=YOUR_DB_USER --password --host=127.0.0.1 YOUR_DB_NAME -e "SELECT 1"

The SQL client prompts for a password. If your database runs in a container or on another host, use the correct service and address. The current oxmysql connection-string format and the recipe’s actual requirements take precedence over an example password/hostname. Never insert plaintext production passwords into shared logs or issue reports.

Resource fails to start

Check that the correct resource directory contains fxmanifest.lua and is under the configured resources path.
Read fxmanifest.lua dependencies and ensure those resources start successfully first.
Read the first Lua/JS/C# stack trace for the resource in Live Console.
Check the resource version against the active framework and FXServer track.
Check referenced config files, SQL migrations, permissions and export names.
Reproduce against a backed-up staging profile before editing production files.

For a syntax-only check of a standalone Lua file, if Lua is installed on your workstation:


luac -p path/to/script.lua

The old command lua -l path/to/script.lua is not a syntax-check command: -l loads a module by name. A FiveM fxmanifest.lua also runs in an environment with special manifest functions and may not execute meaningfully as a standalone Lua file. Check its structure in the actual FXServer log.

When you need more help

Share the exact first error, tested artifact/platform (Legacy or Enhanced), affected framework/resource version and a minimal reproduction. Redact registration keys, SQL passwords, tokens, player identifiers and other secrets. Avoid posting whole txData folders or production server.cfg files without redaction.