FiveM streaming, properly explained

#What each file type is

GTA V asset files all start with "y" and are RAGE containers. Knowing which is which turns "the car is invisible" from a mystery into a two-minute check.

#The stream folder

A resource declares a stream folder in its manifest, or simply has a folder called stream/ which modern manifests pick up automatically. Every file in it, at any depth, is offered to clients by its filename.

Sub-folders are purely for your own sanity — the game does not see them. Two files called vehicle.ytd in different sub-folders are still a name collision.

my_cars/
├─ fxmanifest.lua
├─ vehicles.meta          <- declared with data_file
└─ stream/
   ├─ police2024/
   │  ├─ police2024.yft
   │  ├─ police2024_hi.yft   <- high detail LOD
   │  └─ police2024.ytd
   └─ ambulance2024/
      ├─ ambulance2024.yft
      └─ ambulance2024.ytd

#Finding a name collision

Before installing anything large, check whether it collides with what you already have. On Linux this is one command; on Windows, one PowerShell line.

# Linux / git bash
find resources -path '*/stream/*' -type f -printf '%f\n' \
  | sort | uniq -d

Get-ChildItem -Path .\resources -Recurse -File |
  Where-Object { $_.FullName -match '\\stream\\' } |
  Group-Object Name |
  Where-Object { $_.Count -gt 1 } |
  Select-Object Name, Count

#Add-on vehicles

A vehicle is not just a model. The game needs the model files, a vehicles.meta describing it, a carvariations.meta for colours and mods, a carcols.meta for liveries, and a handling.meta. Missing any of those gives a different, specific failure.

fx_version 'cerulean'
game 'gta5'

files {
  'vehicles.meta',
  'carvariations.meta',
  'carcols.meta',
  'handling.meta',
  'vehiclelayouts.meta',
}

data_file 'VEHICLE_METADATA_FILE' 'vehicles.meta'
data_file 'VEHICLE_VARIATION_FILE' 'carvariations.meta'
data_file 'CARCOLS_FILE'           'carcols.meta'
data_file 'HANDLING_FILE'          'handling.meta'
data_file 'VEHICLE_LAYOUTS_FILE'   'vehiclelayouts.meta'

#MLO interiors

An MLO is an interior placed into the world. It needs the .ytyp registered so the game knows the archetype exists, and the .ymap to place it. The order and the manifest lines matter.

• this_is_a_map tells the game to load the .ymap files in the resource. Without it the interior exists but is never placed.
• DLC_ITYP_REQUEST registers the archetypes. Without it you get an interior shell with missing props.
• Two MLOs at the same coordinates will z-fight and the result is undefined. Check the coordinates before installing.
• An MLO usually needs an interior-proxy removal .ymap to delete the vanilla building first. If the old building is still there, that file is missing.

fx_version 'cerulean'
game 'gta5'

this_is_a_map 'yes'

files { 'custom_interior.ytyp' }
data_file 'DLC_ITYP_REQUEST' 'custom_interior.ytyp'

#Textures: the .ytd rules

A texture dictionary contains named textures. The model asks for a texture by name; if the name inside the .ytd does not match what the model expects, you get the checker pattern even though the file is present and loading correctly.

• Use DXT compression. DXT1 for opaque, DXT5 when you need alpha. Uncompressed textures cost several times the VRAM for no visible benefit.
• Dimensions must be powers of two — 512, 1024, 2048. Anything else is either rejected or silently rescaled.
• Generate mipmaps. Without them, distant surfaces shimmer badly.
• 1024 is enough for almost everything. 4096 on a vehicle dirt map is pure waste and a common cause of stutter.
• The dictionary name and the texture names inside it both matter, and they are checked separately.

#Pool sizes

When you stream a lot, you will eventually see a console message saying a pool is full. Raise that pool, and only that pool. Raising everything "to be safe" wastes memory and hides the next real problem.

set sv_poolSizesIncrease "{ \"TxdStore\": 25000, \"DrawableStore\": 5000 }"

#A checklist that finds it every time

1. 01 Is the resource started?

   Console at start. An unstarted resource streams nothing and logs one line you probably scrolled past.

2. 02 Is there a name collision?

   Run the duplicate check above. This is the answer more often than anything else.

3. 03 Did the client cache?

   FiveM caches streamed files hard. Delete FiveM Application Data/data/cache and reconnect before concluding anything.

4. 04 Is the game build high enough?

   Content from a DLC newer than sv_enforceGameBuild does not appear and does not warn.

5. 05 Are the .meta files declared twice?

   Both files and data_file, spelled exactly.

6. 06 Only then, suspect the asset

   Open it in CodeWalker. A file that will not open there will not load in game either.