Setting up a FiveM server on Windows

#Step 1: folders

#Step 2: download and extract

1. Open the Server Download page on docs.fivem.net and download the recommended Windows build (server.7z).
2. Open it with 7-Zip or WinRAR and extract into C:\FXServer\server.
3. The folder should now contain FXServer.exe and many DLLs.

#Step 3: first start with txAdmin

1. Double-click FXServer.exe. A browser tab opens on txAdmin.
2. Check the PIN and click Link Account, then log in with your Cfx.re account.
3. Create a password for the admin panel.
4. Name the server, choose Popular Recipes (or your existing server data) and run the recipe deployer.
5. Enter your licence key when asked — see the licence key guide.
6. Save & Run Server.

Everything after this happens in txAdmin — see the txAdmin setup guide.

#Alternative: vanilla FXServer without txAdmin

cd /d C:\FXServer\server-data
C:\FXServer\server\FXServer.exe +exec server.cfg

Run it from the server-data folder: if the server says it found no resources, you started it from the wrong directory; if nothing starts and players time out, +exec server.cfg is missing.

#Step 4: Windows Firewall

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "FiveM TCP" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 30120 -Action Allow
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "FiveM UDP" -Direction Inbound -Protocol UDP -LocalPort 30120 -Action Allow
# txAdmin only from your own IP:
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "txAdmin" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 40120 -RemoteAddress <your.home.ip> -Action Allow

Your hosting provider may have its own firewall in front of the machine — open the same ports there. Details: ports and firewall.

#Step 5: start on boot

1. Open Task Scheduler → Create Task.
2. General: “Run whether user is logged on or not”, “Run with highest privileges”.
3. Triggers: At startup (add a 30-second delay so the network and database are up).
4. Actions: start C:\FXServer\server\FXServer.exe with “Start in” set to C:\FXServer\server.
5. Settings: “If the task fails, restart every 1 minute”.

txAdmin then restarts the game server on crashes and on your schedule — see scheduled restarts.

#Common startup errors