Require

FiveM does not ship a working Lua require. ESX provides one so you can split a resource into modules and load them on demand, including from other resources. You get it automatically when your manifest loads @es_extended/imports.lua and/or @esx_lib/imports.lua.

OverviewCopy Anchor Link

fx_version 'cerulean'
game 'gta5'
lua54 'yes'

shared_scripts {
    '@esx_lib/imports.lua',
    '@es_extended/imports.lua',
}

client_scripts { 'client/main.lua' }
server_scripts { 'server/main.lua' }

files {
    'modules/**/*.lua',
    'data/*.json',
}

Module namesCopy Anchor Link

• A module name is a path relative to the resource root, without .lua.
• Use . (or /) to separate folders: modules.inventory.utils loads modules/inventory/utils.lua.
• If no file matches, modules/inventory/utils/init.lua is tried.
• @resource.path loads from another resource, for example @my_utils.shared.math.
• Results are cached per resource. The second require of the same name returns the cached value.
• Two modules that require each other raise a "circular-dependency" error.

FunctionsCopy Anchor Link

require / ESX.requireCopy Anchor Link

require(modName)

Returns: whatever the module file returns, or true if it returns nothing.

return {
    spots = {
        vector4(229.7, -800.1, 30.6, 160.0),
        vector4(233.3, -801.4, 30.6, 160.0),
    },
}

local garage = require 'modules.garage.config'

for i = 1, #garage.spots do
    print(garage.spots[i])
end

ESX.loadCopy Anchor Link

ESX.load(filePath, env)

Loads and runs a Lua file like require, but does not cache it. Each call runs the file again.

Returns: what the file returns. Raises an error when the file is not found.

ESX.loadJsonCopy Anchor Link

ESX.loadJson(filePath)

Reads <filePath>.json and decodes it.

Returns: table with the decoded JSON. Raises an error when the file is missing.

local prices = ESX.loadJson('data.prices')
print(prices.bread)

ESX.load and ESX.loadJson exist only when ox_lib is not running. With @esx_lib/imports.lua you can always use xLib.load and xLib.loadJson, which behave the same.

Other client importsCopy Anchor Link

@es_extended/imports.lua also loads client/imports/class.lua on the client and exposes it as ESX.Class.

ESX.Class(body, heritage)

Returns: the class. Create instances with MyClass:new(...). If constructor returns a table, that table is returned instead of the instance.

local Vehicle = ESX.Class({
    constructor = function(self, plate)
        self.plate = plate
    end,
    describe = function(self)
        return ('Vehicle %s'):format(self.plate)
    end,
})

local car = Vehicle:new('ESX 123')
print(car:describe())

RelatedCopy Anchor Link

• Points
• esx_lib
• Your first resource
• Coding practices

Frequently asked questions