Module A1 · Server setup from zero

Organize your server folders

Most broken servers are not broken by bad code. They are broken by mess. A resource loads before the library it needs. A script lands in the wrong folder. A server.cfg nobody can read. This lesson builds the layout that stops all three. By the end you know where every file goes and why. You will also start a whole category of resources with one line.

You'll build: A clean server-data layout with bracketed category folders and a server.cfg that starts a whole group with one ensure line.
Time: ~16 minutes
You need: A local FiveM server you can restart, a text editor like VS Code, and the ability to read your txAdmin Live Console.
You'll learn: Artifacts vs data -> why [bracket] folders auto-start everything inside -> how folder order becomes load order -> a tidy resources layout you can grow into.

BEFORE YOU START

The two folders that are not the same

There is one split you lock in before anything else. A FiveM server has two top-level folders. They do completely different jobs.

code

C:\FXServer\
├── server/ # the ARTIFACTS: FXServer.exe / run.sh, the engine. Update freely.
└── server-data/ # YOUR content: resources/ + server.cfg. This is what you back up.

The server/ folder holds the artifacts: the FiveM server program files you downloaded from the artifacts page. Think of it as the engine. You replace its contents every time you update the server. You never edit anything inside it by hand.

The server-data/ folder holds your content. That is the resources/ folder full of scripts, plus the server.cfg that decides what runs. This is the folder you back up. The two folders are kept separate on purpose, so updating the engine never touches your scripts.

For the full launch and boot instructions, see A complete server.cfg, annotated.

Keep reading the full lesson

Still ahead in this lesson

Build it
How it works
Common mistakes
What you can do now
Try it yourself