How to add custom props to FiveM

my_prop/
  fxmanifest.lua
  stream/
    my_prop.ydr
    my_prop.ytd
    my_prop.ytyp

fx_version 'cerulean'
game 'gta5'

files {
    'stream/**/*.ydr',
    'stream/**/*.ytd',
    'stream/**/*.ytyp',
}

-- Registers the archetype so the game knows this model exists.
data_file 'DLC_ITYP_REQUEST' 'stream/**/*.ytyp'

Without the data_file line the model streams, but CreateObject returns 0 or an invisible prop.

1. 1

   Copy the folder

   Put my_prop/ in your server's resources/ folder.

2. 2

   Start it

   Add ensure my_prop to server.cfg.

3. 3

   Restart

   Restart the server, or run refresh and then ensure my_prop in the server console.

local model = `my_prop`
RequestModel(model)
while not HasModelLoaded(model) do Wait(0) end
-- The 7th argument (dynamic) must be true for a prop that moves with physics.
local obj = CreateObject(model, x, y, z, true, false, true)
SetModelAsNoLongerNeeded(model)

The model name is what the hash resolves to, so keep it unique on your server.

Props converted with THE ORB Studio also carry a client.lua with a chat command named after the prop: stand where you want it and type /my_prop, and it is placed on the ground in front of you, facing your direction, and frozen in place. /my_prop undo removes the last one. Props placed this way are not saved to any file and are gone after a server restart. To place a prop permanently, add it to a map file (.ymap), for example with CodeWalker.

1. 1

   Install

   Blender and the free Sollumz add-on (from the Sollumz GitHub releases page).

2. 2

   Import and check the size

   GTA V works in metres. A model exported at the wrong scale shows up 100 times too big or too small.

3. 3

   Set up the materials

   Turn the model into a Sollumz drawable and give its materials GTA shaders, for example normal_spec, or emissive for parts that glow.

4. 4

   Convert the textures to DDS

   The game only uses DDS textures and Blender cannot write them. Microsoft's texconv converts them from the command line. A prop exported without DDS textures comes out untextured.

5. 5

   Build the collision

   Make a copy of the mesh into a bound composite and give it a collision material (wood, metal, concrete…). Parent it under the drawable so Sollumz exports it inside the .ydr.

6. 6

   Export

   Set Sollumz to export the native format for the legacy game (GEN8). It can also write CodeWalker XML and the Enhanced format (GEN9), and FiveM streams neither. Export the .ytyp too; if your Sollumz version writes it as .ytyp.xml, import it in CodeWalker to get the binary file.

7. 7

   Package

   Copy the .ydr, .ytd and .ytyp into stream/ with the fxmanifest.lua above.

The GLB to FiveM Converter does route 1 on our server, with Blender and Sollumz already set up, and shows you the model first:

1. 1

   Drop a .glb or .gltf

   That is what Meshy, Blender and Sketchfab export. You can also pick a model from Sketchfab after connecting your account.

2. 2

   Check the size

   The model stands next to a 1.80 m person on a metre grid, so a prop exported 100 times too big is obvious before it reaches your server.

3. 3

   Pick what it is

   Hand item, Furniture, Street prop or Hero piece. Each one sets a triangle and texture budget, and the converter scores how heavy the model is against it.

4. 4

   Pick what it is made of

   The collision surface: wood, metal, concrete, glass, rubber, cloth and more. It decides how the prop sounds and reacts when it is shot, hit or walked on.

5. 5

   Download

   A zip with fxmanifest.lua, the files in stream/ with the collision inside the .ydr, an INSTRUCTIONS.txt and the /command described above (you can leave it out).

Free to try with your Discord login: 10 exports the first month and 5 a month after on the Free plan, unlimited on any paid plan. Each conversion is one export.

The FiveM Prop Generator makes the model from a sentence ("a weathered wooden crate") or a reference photo, in about a minute. You preview it at real scale next to a 1.80 m figure, and one click sends it to the converter. Generating uses AI credits: paid plans include them every month, and on the Free plan it needs the Pro Pass or a credit pack. You only spend them if a model comes back. See pricing.

A prop that looks fine in a viewer can still cost the server. These are the budgets our converter uses:

It also warns about textures above 2048 px, textures or files over 8 MB, more than 4 materials, and a model longer than 20 m or shorter than 5 cm. A texture dictionary over about 16 MB is skipped by FiveM: see Streaming asset over the size limit.