FiveM Alchemist vs Mod Converters: Getting Cars Ready for GTA V Enhanced

Two different jobs are both called "converting a car for FiveM", and they are easy to confuse. One turns a single-player mod into a FiveM resource. The other turns a FiveM resource made for GTAV Legacy into one that works on FiveM for GTAV Enhanced. Alchemist does the second job only. This guide explains what each step does and the order to do them in. Everything said about Alchemist here comes from Cfx.re's own documentation and announcement, linked at the end.

What Alchemist is

Alchemist is a tool published by Cfx.re, announced on 20 November 2025. Its documentation describes it as a tool for players, server owners and asset creators who want to convert assets originally made for GTAV Legacy (Gen8) to be compatible with GTAV Enhanced (Gen9). According to the docs:

• It has two functions. Asset Conversion converts a folder and everything in it so that existing Legacy 3D assets work with FiveM Enhanced. Asset Refinement corrects existing Legacy assets that were created with older tools.
• The supported file types are YDR, YTD, YFT, YPT and YDD.
• It is a download from the Cfx Portal and requires Windows 11.
• It comes as a GUI and as a command-line version.
• It copies surrounding files such as scripts, interfaces and configuration files to the output, but does not alter them.
• Pointing it at a server's resources directory produces a drop-in replacement resources folder compatible with FiveM Enhanced.

What Alchemist is not

The same documentation makes the limits clear by what it lists and what it leaves out.

• It is not a single-player mod converter. Its input is a folder of assets in the five supported file types. .rpf archives and .oiv packages are not on the list, so a dlc.rpf from gta5-mods.com has to be unpacked into a resource before Alchemist has anything to work on.
• It does not build a resource. Scripts and configuration files are copied unaltered. It does not write an fxmanifest.lua, add data_file lines or create meta files.
• It does not fix a resource that is broken on Legacy. A car with a missing texture dictionary or a wrong manifest has the same problem after conversion. Refinement is described as correcting formatting and compatibility issues in the asset files themselves.
• The GUI does not process escrowed assets. The docs list this as a known issue: the GUI fails and stops when it hits one, while the CLI skips escrowed assets and notes them in its report.

The pipeline: download, resource, Enhanced

Step 1: Turn the gta5-mods.com download into a FiveM resource

This is the step Alchemist does not cover. Paste the vehicle's page link into the converter and download the zip: a resource with fxmanifest.lua, the meta files and a stream/ folder of .yft and .ytd files. The manual alternative with OpenIV is in converting a dlc.rpf to a FiveM resource.

Step 2: Make sure the resource is correct

Check the resource before converting it again, because Alchemist will carry mistakes over. Drop the zip into the Resource Inspector, fix what it reports, and add the display-name script from the NULL name fix. If a texture file is far too large, shrink it now with the Texture Optimizer.

Step 3: Run Alchemist on the resource

In the GUI, per the docs: choose Asset Conversion, select the input folder, select an output folder, click Convert Assets and wait. With the CLI the input and output folders are the two arguments:

C:\AlchemistCli.exe C:\input C:\output

Documented parameters include --refine (refine instead of convert), --relaxed (relaxed mode with automatic fixes and less strict checks), -f (overwrite files without a prompt) and --fail-on-error. Relaxed mode is described as importing assets that do not fully comply with strict validation, with the caveat that the result may differ slightly from the original.

Step 4: Install the output on the Enhanced server

The output folder holds the converted assets together with the untouched manifest and meta files, so it installs like any resource: copy it to resources/, add the ensure line, start it and spawn the car.

Which tool for which job

Common confusion

• "Alchemist converts GTA 5 mods to FiveM." It converts FiveM assets from one game generation to the other. Getting from a single-player download to a resource is a separate step.
• "I need Alchemist for every car." Only if the server runs FiveM for GTAV Enhanced. A Legacy server uses the converted resource as it is.
• "After Alchemist my car is invisible, so Alchemist broke it." Test the resource on Legacy first, or at least inspect it. If it never worked, start with the invisible car guide.
• "A web converter can replace Alchemist." Ours does not. The converter on this site produces a FiveM resource from a gta5-mods.com vehicle; it does not convert assets to the Enhanced format.
• "Alchemist will rewrite my manifest for Enhanced." Configuration files are copied without changes.

FAQ

Is Alchemist free?

The announcement says it is available to download for free on the Cfx Portal.

Does Alchemist work on Linux or macOS?

The documentation lists Windows 11 as the requirement and names no other platform.

Can Alchemist open a dlc.rpf or an .oiv?

Neither is among the supported file types (YDR, YTD, YFT, YPT, YDD). Unpack the mod into a resource first; converting without OpenIV shows the browser-only way for gta5-mods.com vehicles.

In which order do I use the converter and Alchemist?

Converter first, Alchemist second. The converter gives you the resource; Alchemist converts the asset files inside it for Enhanced.

Do I have to convert each resource separately?

No. The docs describe selecting a whole folder, including an entire resources directory, and converting everything in it in one run. Merging cars into one pack beforehand with the Car Pack Builder is optional.

Sources

• Cfx.re docs: Alchemist
• Cfx.re forum: Introducing Alchemist for FiveM (20 November 2025)
• Cfx.re docs: What's Changed in FiveM for GTAV Enhanced (stream_enhanced)
• Cfx.re docs: Onboarding Guide FiveM for GTAV Enhanced