What is server.cfg, and what do ensure and start do?

endpoint_add_tcp "0.0.0.0:30120"
endpoint_add_udp "0.0.0.0:30120"

sv_hostname "My FiveM Server"
sv_maxclients 48
sv_licenseKey "changeme"

# Default resources
ensure mapmanager
ensure chat
ensure spawnmanager
ensure sessionmanager
ensure hardcap

# Vehicles
ensure mycar
ensure [cars]

Every line is a command the server console would also accept while running. set and sets define settings, exec runs another .cfg file, and add_ace and add_principal grant permissions. The licence key comes from the Cfx.re portal and is required for the server to start.

At boot nothing is running yet, so start and ensure do the same thing. The difference shows when a command is run again on a live server: ensure guarantees the resource ends up running with its current files. That is why ensure is the usual choice in configuration files.

The name is the name of the folder that contains the resource's fxmanifest.lua, not the vehicle's spawn name, although many car resources use the same word for both.

Resources live under the server's resources directory. A folder whose name is wrapped in square brackets, such as [cars], is a category: it is not a resource itself, and the resources inside it are found automatically. ensure [cars] starts every resource in that category in one line.

resources/
  [cars]/
    mycar/
      fxmanifest.lua
      stream/
    policepack/
      fxmanifest.lua
      stream/
  [scripts]/
    garage/

Lines run from top to bottom, so order matters for scripts that depend on one another: a framework has to be started before the resources that use it. Vehicle resources rarely depend on anything and can be started in any order.

• Could not find resource: the name after ensure does not match a folder name, the folder has no manifest, or it was added while the server was running and refresh has not been run.
• Car installed but cannot be spawned: the resource is in the folder but has no ensure line. See invalid model.
• Same resource name twice: two folders with the same name in different categories conflict. Resource names must be unique.
• Join times grow with every car: each car resource adds downloads and memory use. Merging cars into packs with the Car Pack Builder keeps the list short and makes conflicts visible.

The free Server.cfg Generator builds the file from a form, including hostname, tags, slots and resource order. On a txAdmin server the same ensure line is added in the CFG Editor; installing cars with txAdmin shows the whole sequence for a vehicle resource.