server.cfg for ESX Legacy

server.cfg is the file FXServer executes on startup. For ESX Legacy it must do four things: enable OneSync, tell oxmysql how to reach the database, start the resources in the right order and grant admin permissions. This page walks through a complete ESX server.cfg and lists every convar that ESX actually reads.

Complete exampleCopy Anchor Link

This is a cleaned-up version of the file the official recipe generates. Replace the placeholder values.

## Network
endpoint_add_tcp "0.0.0.0:30120"
endpoint_add_udp "0.0.0.0:30120"
sv_endpointPrivacy true

## Server identity
sv_licenseKey "your-license-key"
sv_hostname "My Server | ESX Legacy"
sets sv_projectName "My Server"
sets sv_projectDesc "Serious roleplay on ESX Legacy"
sets tags "esx, esx legacy, roleplay"
sets locale "en-US"
load_server_icon esxLogo.png
sv_maxclients 48
sv_enforceGameBuild 3258

## Required by ESX
set onesync on
set mysql_connection_string "mysql://esx:change-me@localhost:3306/es_extended?charset=utf8mb4"
set resources_useSystemChat true

## ESX options
setr esx:locale "en"
#setr esx:identifier "license"

## Security convars from the recipe
sv_enableNetworkedSounds false
sv_enableNetworkedScriptEntityStates false
sv_enableNetworkedPhoneExplosions false
sv_filterRequestControl 2

## Admin permissions
add_principal group.admin group.user
add_ace group.admin command allow
add_ace group.admin command.quit deny
add_ace resource.es_extended command.add_ace allow
add_ace resource.es_extended command.add_principal allow
add_ace resource.es_extended command.remove_principal allow
add_ace resource.es_extended command.stop allow
add_principal identifier.license:0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef01234567 group.admin

## pma-voice
setr voice_useNativeAudio true
setr voice_useSendingRangeOnly true
setr voice_enableRadioAnim 1
setr voice_enableUi 0

## esx_whitelist (only if you use it)
set discord:botToken ""
set whitelist:webhook ""

## Start order
ensure chat
ensure oxmysql
ensure esx_lib
ensure es_extended
ensure [core]
ensure [standalone]
ensure [esx_addons]
## your own resources below

OneSyncCopy Anchor Link

set onesync on

ESX Legacy needs OneSync Infinity, which is what on means. When a player connects, es_extended checks the onesync convar and rejects the connection with ESX Requires Onesync Infinity to work if it is off or legacy. The server-side helpers in ESX.OneSync also depend on it.

If you run the server through txAdmin, OneSync is controlled in Settings > FXServer (the recipe enables it). A value set by txAdmin on the command line overrides server.cfg.

Database connectionCopy Anchor Link

oxmysql reads mysql_connection_string. Two formats work:

# URI format (recommended)
set mysql_connection_string "mysql://esx:change-me@localhost:3306/es_extended?charset=utf8mb4"

# Key-value format
set mysql_connection_string "user=esx;password=change-me;host=localhost;port=3306;database=es_extended"

esx_multicharacter also reads this convar to find the database name (it parses the path of the URI or the database= key). If the convar is empty, it stops with unable to determine database from mysql_connection_string.

Useful oxmysql convars such as mysql_ui (in-game query viewer for admins) and mysql_slow_query_warning are documented by overextended. See also our oxmysql guide.

Start orderCopy Anchor Link

ensure chat
ensure oxmysql
ensure esx_lib
ensure es_extended
ensure [core]
ensure [standalone]
ensure [esx_addons]

• oxmysql and esx_lib must run before es_extended, which loads files from both.
• es_extended must run before every resource that uses ESX.
• [core] is a category folder. FiveM starts all resources inside it and respects their declared dependencies.
• Put your own resources after the core and addons.

chat refers to the chat that is built into recent server builds; set resources_useSystemChat true tells FXServer to use it. The recipe deletes the old chat resource from [cfx-default] for that reason, and esx_chat_theme in [core] styles it.

Admin permissions (ACE)Copy Anchor Link

ESX has two permission layers that work together:

1. FiveM ACE principals decide who may run which command. ESX.RegisterCommand adds add_ace group.<name> command.<command> allow for every group a command allows.
2. The ESX group (user, admin and any you add) is stored in the group column of users and returned by xPlayer.getGroup(). When a group is set, ESX also runs add_principal identifier.<license> group.<group> for that player, so the ACE layer follows the ESX group.

The lines from the recipe:

add_principal group.admin group.user          # admins inherit everything users can do
add_ace group.admin command allow             # admins may run every command
add_ace group.admin command.quit deny         # ...except shutting down the server
add_ace resource.es_extended command.add_ace allow
add_ace resource.es_extended command.add_principal allow
add_ace resource.es_extended command.remove_principal allow
add_ace resource.es_extended command.stop allow

The four resource.es_extended lines are required. ESX runs add_ace and add_principal itself to grant command permissions to groups and to link each player to their ESX group. Without these lines those calls are denied, so a player whose ESX group is admin (set with /setgroup or in the database) gets no command permissions unless you also listed them in server.cfg.

To make yourself admin, add your license as a principal of group.admin:

add_principal identifier.license:0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef01234567 group.admin

Players who have the command ACE get the admin group when their character is created. For an existing character, run setgroup <id> admin in the server console once. Details and custom groups: Admin permissions.

Convars read by ESXCopy Anchor Link

These are all the convars read by es_extended and the [core] resources in 1.16.4.

es_extendedCopy Anchor Link

esx_libCopy Anchor Link

Other core resourcesCopy Anchor Link

Common mistakesCopy Anchor Link

• Wrong quotes. Windows editors sometimes insert smart quotes. Use plain ".
• Editing the wrong file. txAdmin may be configured to use a server.cfg in another folder. Check Settings > FXServer > CFG Path.
• Your resource above es_extended. It starts before ESX exists. Move it below ensure [esx_addons].
• Two ensure lines for different copies of the same resource. FiveM loads the first folder it finds; delete old copies like es_extended_old.

RelatedCopy Anchor Link

• Admin permissions
• es_extended config
• Manual installation
• Troubleshooting

Frequently asked questions