Installation

From zero to a running server in three commands:

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

The scaffold automatically downloads the FXServer binary and baseline resources. You just need Node.js, pnpm, and optionally a Cfx.re license key.

Prerequisites

Tool	Version	How to get it
Node.js	22+	nodejs.org — pick the LTS version
pnpm	9+	npm install -g pnpm
Git	any	git-scm.com

That's it. FXServer and cfx-server-data are downloaded automatically during the scaffold step.

Step 1 — Create your project

pnpm create nextvm@latest my-server --template starter

This:

1. Scaffolds your project files (modules, config, tsconfig)
2. Downloads the latest recommended FXServer build (~85 MB) from the Cfx.re artifact API
3. Downloads the cfx-server-data baseline (mapmanager, sessionmanager, spawnmanager, etc.) from GitHub
4. Asks for your Cfx.re license key (press Enter to skip for offline/LAN mode)

Everything lands in a single folder:

my-server/
├── .fxserver/                   ← auto-downloaded, gitignored
│   ├── artifacts/               ← FXServer.exe + DLLs
│   ├── data/                    ← cfx-server-data (resources/)
│   └── .build                   ← build number (e.g. "25770")
├── modules/
│   ├── core/                    ← Bootstrap module
│   └── shop/                    ← Demo shop with service + router + tests
├── nextvm.config.ts             ← Server config (relative .fxserver/ paths)
├── .env                         ← CFX_LICENSE_KEY only
├── .gitignore                   ← .fxserver/ excluded
└── package.json

License key

Get yours at keymaster.fivem.net. Without a key the server runs in offline mode — you can still connect via localhost:30120 but it won't appear in the public server list. You can add the key to .env later at any time.

Step 2 — Install dependencies

cd my-server
pnpm install

Step 3 — Start the dev loop

pnpm nextvm dev --serve

You should see:

▲ NextVM v0.1.0
dev — watching modules for changes

  › Initial build of 2 module(s)…
  ✓ Initial build completed in 64ms

  [runner] Resolved FXServer binary: .fxserver/artifacts/FXServer.exe
  [runner] Linked 2 module(s) (symlinks)
  [runner] FXServer started (PID 12345)
  ✓ FXServer running (PID 12345)
  ✓ Watching 2 modules for changes
  Press Ctrl+C to stop.

  [fx] [resources] Found 27 resources.
  [fx] [svadhesive] Server license key authentication succeeded.
  [fx] [resources] Started resource core
  [fx] [resources] Started resource shop

Step 4 — Join your server

1. Open FiveM (not GTA V directly)
2. Click Direct Connect in the top bar
3. Type localhost:30120 and click Connect
4. You're in

Step 5 — Edit and hot-reload

While connected in-game:

1. Open modules/shop/src/server/service.ts in your editor
2. Change something (a price, a log message)
3. Save the file
4. In your terminal:

   ● Rebuilding shop…
   ✓ shop rebuilt in 26ms
   [runner] ensure shop (via stdin)
   [fx] Stopping resource shop
   [fx] Started resource shop

5. Module reloaded — you stay connected

Ctrl+C in the terminal stops everything cleanly.

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Next steps

• Add a custom module: pnpm nextvm add my-feature --full
• Add first-party modules: pnpm add @nextvm/banking @nextvm/jobs
• Set up a database: optional database setup
• Understand FiveM: FiveM Server Basics
• Understand NextVM: Architecture Overview

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Flags and alternatives

Already have FXServer installed?

Point the scaffold at your existing installation instead of downloading:

pnpm create nextvm@latest my-server --template starter \
  --fxserver-path C:\fivem\server \
  --fxserver-data C:\fivem\server-data

Don't want the FXServer download?

pnpm create nextvm@latest my-server --template starter --no-fxserver

Then configure FXSERVER_PATH and FXSERVER_DATA_PATH in .env manually. See Local FXServer for details.

Blank template (no starter modules)

pnpm create nextvm@latest my-server --template blank

CI / non-interactive

pnpm create nextvm@latest my-server --template starter --yes

Skips prompts, accepts all defaults (no license key).

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(Optional) Set up the database

If your modules use @nextvm/db (banking, jobs, housing, inventory, player all do), you need a MySQL/MariaDB instance:

docker run -d --name nextvm-mariadb \
  -e MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD= \
  -e MARIADB_ALLOW_EMPTY_ROOT_PASSWORD=1 \
  -e MARIADB_DATABASE=nextvm \
  -p 3306:3306 mariadb:11

Then run framework migrations:

pnpm nextvm db:migrate

Without a database, the runtime uses an in-memory character repository — fine for testing but data won't survive a restart.

(Alternative) Manual deploy

For production or when managing FXServer externally (txAdmin, remote box), use the build-and-copy flow:

pnpm nextvm build
pnpm nextvm deploy --target /path/to/fxserver/resources

See Local FXServer → CLI flags.

(Alternative) txAdmin Recipe

Point txAdmin's setup wizard at:

https://github.com/nextvm-official/nextvm/raw/main/recipes/nextvm.yaml

Verifying your install

pnpm nextvm validate

ℹ Validating NextVM project
✓ nextvm.config.ts found
✓ Found 6 module(s)
✓ Validation passed