Getting Started

NextVM is a TypeScript-first framework for FiveM. It replaces ESX, QBCore, and ox_core with a layered, type-safe, test-driven architecture and the build pipeline you'd expect from a modern Node.js project.

This page is a 5-minute tour. After it you'll know:

• What NextVM gives you out of the box
• How a NextVM project is laid out
• Where to go next depending on what you want to build

What's in the box

NextVM ships as a monorepo of 18 packages, grouped by layer:

Layer	Packages
Layer 2 — Natives	@nextvm/natives
Layer 3 — Core	@nextvm/core, @nextvm/db, @nextvm/i18n, @nextvm/test-utils
Layer 3 — Tooling	@nextvm/build, @nextvm/cli
Layer 3 — Integrations	@nextvm/discord, @nextvm/compat, @nextvm/tebex, @nextvm/registry, @nextvm/migration
Layer 4 — First-party Modules	@nextvm/player, @nextvm/vehicle, @nextvm/inventory, @nextvm/banking, @nextvm/jobs, @nextvm/housing

The layer model is enforced by Layer 4 modules cannot call FiveM natives directly — they go through @nextvm/natives. Layer 3 services cannot import each other across modules — they go through DI.

Project layout

A NextVM server looks like this:

my-server/
├── nextvm.config.ts          # Server name, DB connection, modules to load
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── modules/
    ├── banking/              # @nextvm/banking
    ├── jobs/                 # @nextvm/jobs
    └── my-custom-module/     # Your code

Every module under modules/* is a workspace package with its own src/, __tests__/, and package.json. The framework discovers them automatically when you run nextvm build or nextvm dev.

Three commands to a running server

pnpm create nextvm@latest my-server --template starter
cd my-server && pnpm install
pnpm nextvm dev --serve

The scaffold downloads FXServer automatically. No manual setup needed — just Node.js and pnpm. Connect with FiveM on localhost:30120.

What happens behind the scenes:

• FXServer binary + cfx-server-data are downloaded into .fxserver/
• Every module under modules/* gets built to dist/
• The runner links them into resources/[nextvm]/
• A fresh server.cfg.nextvm is generated from nextvm.config.ts
• FXServer spawns as a subprocess and streams logs into your terminal
• File changes trigger a rebuild + ensure <module> inside FXServer
• Ctrl+C shuts everything down cleanly

The full setup walkthrough is on the Installation page. For FiveM concepts (resources, convars, ACL, OneSync) see FiveM Server Basics.

Where to go next

Depending on what you want to do:

• Set up a real FXServer with NextVM → Installation
• Wire nextvm dev --serve against your local FXServer → Local FXServer
• Build your first module from scratch → Your First Module
• Understand how modules are structured → Module Authoring
• Migrate an existing ESX server → Migration from ESX
• Sell items to players → PLA Compliance
• Look up a specific package → Packages
• Look up a CLI command → CLI Reference
• Understand the architecture → Concept Overview

How NextVM compares

	ESX	QBCore	NextVM
Language	Lua	Lua	TypeScript
Type safety	❌	❌	✅
Build pipeline	Manual	Manual	✅ tsup + tree-shaking
Generated fxmanifest	❌	❌	✅ from defineModule
Config validation	❌	❌	✅ Zod at startup
RPC system	string events	string events	✅ tRPC-style
Inter-module deps	direct imports	direct imports	✅ DI / events
Tests	rare	rare	✅ 213 in framework
i18n	bolt-on	bolt-on	✅ first-class
Tick budget	manual	manual	✅ HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW priority
Migration toolkit	n/a	n/a	✅ ESX + QBCore
PLA compliance	unclear	unclear	✅ explicit + Tebex bridge