esx_pausemenu

esx_pausemenu replaces the GTA V pause screen with a branded NUI menu for ESX Legacy. When a loaded player presses ESC or P, it shows their character name, job, cash, bank, play time, ping, location, server time and online player count, plus buttons for the map, game settings, news, Discord, rules and leaving the server.

OverviewCopy Anchor Link

The menu is plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript in web/, so there is no build step. It uses xLib.colors from esx_lib, so it follows your ESX theme convars automatically.

InstallationCopy Anchor Link

ensure esx_lib
ensure es_extended
ensure esx_scoreboard  # optional
ensure esx_pausemenu

Then set your own links in config.lua (at least Config.Links.discord and Config.Links.rules) and restart the resource.

How it worksCopy Anchor Link

1. A client loop disables controls 200 and 199 (the two pause inputs) every frame while the player is loaded.
2. When one of them is released, the client calls the server callback esx_pausemenu:getData.
3. The server returns player data and the client opens the NUI with blur, the theme, the clock and the street name.
4. Map and Settings close the NUI and open the native FE_MENU_VERSION_MP_PAUSE frontend. Resume or ESC closes it.

The menu does not open before ESX.PlayerLoaded is true, so the character selection screen keeps the normal pause behavior. It closes automatically on esx:onPlayerLogout.

ConfigurationCopy Anchor Link

All keys in config.lua:

Config.News = {
    { title = "Police recruitment open", body = "Apply on our Discord.", date = "20 OCT 2026" },
    { title = "Server restart times", body = "Daily at 06:00 and 18:00.", date = "01 OCT 2026" },
}

News text is shown as plain text, and the UI shows up to 20 entries.

The server name in the header comes from the sv_projectName convar, then sv_hostname, then Config.Brand.title. GTA color codes like ^1 are stripped.

Callbacks, events and commandsCopy Anchor Link

esx_pausemenu:getData (server callback)Copy Anchor Link

ESX.TriggerServerCallback('esx_pausemenu:getData', function(data) end)

Returns nil if the player is not loaded or the rate limit is hit (2 requests burst, refilling 1 every 750 ms). Otherwise it returns:

The callback only returns the caller's own data, so it is safe to leave exposed.

esx_pausemenu:leaveServer (server net event)Copy Anchor Link

Drops the player who triggers it with the localized leave_reason. A client can only kick itself, so this is not a security concern.

/esx_pausemenu (client command)Copy Anchor Link

Toggles the menu. Use it to bind the menu to another key or to open it from another script with ExecuteCommand('esx_pausemenu').

Integration tipsCopy Anchor Link

• HUDs: the menu calls HideHudAndRadarThisFrame() while open, which only hides native GTA HUD elements. NUI HUDs such as esx_hud react to esx:pauseMenuActive, which es_extended fires for the native pause menu only, so they stay underneath the full-screen NUI.
• Theme: change colors with the esx:brand-color, esx:darkest-color and related setr convars that esx_lib reads; no file edits needed.
• Languages: UI strings are the ui_* keys in locales/*.lua (en, fr, de, es, it, nl, pl). Missing languages fall back to English.
• Other pause menus: do not run esx_pausemenu together with another resource that disables controls 199 and 200, or both will fight over ESC.

Common issuesCopy Anchor Link

• ESC opens the normal GTA menu: the player is not loaded yet, the resource failed to start (check that esx_lib is started first), or the callback returned nil.
• Menu flickers open and closed: another script also opens the pause menu on ESC. Remove one of them.
• Map closes immediately: a third-party script calls SetPauseMenuActive(false) every frame.

RelatedCopy Anchor Link

• esx_scoreboard
• esx_hud
• esx_lib
• Callbacks guide

Frequently asked questions