How to Add Clothing to a FiveM Server (Addon Packs and Limits)

To add custom clothing to a FiveM server, upload the clothing resource into resources with its .ymt, .ydd and .ytd files in a stream folder and its mp_m_freemode_01_<name>.meta (or mp_f_ for female) registered in fxmanifest.lua with data_file 'SHOP_PED_APPAREL_META_FILE'. Add ensure for it in server.cfg and restart. Combine clothing into as few packs as possible: each pack uses one of a small number of free slots per gender.

What you are working with

Addon clothing adds new items after the vanilla ones. Replace clothing overwrites a vanilla item and is rarely worth it on a server. This guide covers addon packs, which is what nearly every clothing resource and EUP style pack uses.

Before you start

• Back up the server. Clothing changes the item numbers your clothing menu saves, so removing a pack later can change people's outfits.
• Count your packs. List every clothing resource you already run, per gender. You will see why below.
• Check the game build in server.cfg (sv_enforceGameBuild). It affects how many packs you can add.

Step 1: Check the resource layout

A clothing resource looks like this, following the Cfx.re forum's addon clothing guide:

my_clothes/
  fxmanifest.lua
  mp_m_freemode_01_my_clothes.meta
  mp_f_freemode_01_my_clothes.meta
  stream/
    mp_m_freemode_01_my_clothes.ymt
    mp_m_freemode_01_my_clothes^jbib_000_u.ydd
    mp_m_freemode_01_my_clothes^jbib_diff_000_a_uni.ytd
    ...

All file names must be lower case, and the name in the .ymt, the .meta and every ^ file must match exactly.

Step 2: Check the manifest

fx_version 'cerulean'
game 'gta5'

files {
    'mp_m_freemode_01_my_clothes.meta',
    'mp_f_freemode_01_my_clothes.meta'
}

data_file 'SHOP_PED_APPAREL_META_FILE' 'mp_m_freemode_01_my_clothes.meta'
data_file 'SHOP_PED_APPAREL_META_FILE' 'mp_f_freemode_01_my_clothes.meta'

Packs built with a clothing tool come with this already. Only edit it if a .meta is listed under the wrong name.

Step 3: Upload and ensure

Upload the folder into resources, for example in a [clothing] category, and add it to server.cfg:

ensure my_clothes

Then restart the server. Clothing packs do not need a script of their own: your clothing menu (illenium-appearance, qb-clothing or the ESX skin menu) reads the new items from the game.

Step 4: Find the new items in game

Open your clothing menu and scroll to the end of the matching category. Addon items appear after the vanilla ones, so a new top is in Torso past the last vanilla number. If your menu has a blacklist or a price list, add the new items there too.

The clothing limit: free pack slots run out

This is the limit people hit after their third or fourth pack, and it is not about how many items you add. GTA V has a fixed budget for clothing collections, the .ymt files, per gender. Rockstar's own updates use that budget up, so each newer game build leaves fewer free slots for addon packs. According to the gta.clothing documentation on game limits, build 2612 left about 20 free .ymt slots per gender, build 3717 about 4, and build 3889 about 3.

Go past the free slots and you get crashes on join, invisible body parts, missing textures or a clothing menu that shows the wrong items. Moving to a newer game build for a new MLO can break clothing that worked yesterday, for the same reason.

How packs avoid it:

• Merge everything into one pack per gender. Clothing tools such as Durty Cloth Tool import several packs and build one combined resource, so ten packs use one slot instead of ten.
• Mind the per pack item limit. One collection holds up to 255 items of each type per gender on FiveM (128 on older setups), and tools split into a new collection when you pass it. That is why huge packs still end up as two or three collections.
• Test on your real game build with every resource running before you open the server.

Common problems

• Crash when joining after adding a pack: too many clothing collections for your game build. Merge packs, or remove the newest one.
• Item shows but the body part is invisible: the .ydd and .ytd names do not match, or the pack exceeds the slot limit.
• New clothes not in the menu: the resource is not started, the menu's blacklist or whitelist hides the new items, or the .meta is not registered with SHOP_PED_APPAREL_META_FILE.
• Players' saved outfits changed: a pack was removed or reordered, so item numbers shifted. Restore the backup or have players reselect.
• Textures look low quality or pink: a .ytd is missing, or a texture is too large and failed to stream. Keep textures sensible in size.

Adding clothing on GamezServers

On a GamezServers FiveM server, upload clothing packs as a zip in the Files tab and extract them there, or use the SFTP login in Settings for big packs, then add the ensure line to server.cfg in the browser. Press Backup before adding or merging packs so outfits can be restored. If you are building a full roleplay server, how to make a FiveM roleplay server covers the rest.

FAQ

Where do I put custom clothing on a FiveM server?

In its own resource folder in resources, with the .ymt, .ydd and .ytd files in stream and the .meta registered in fxmanifest.lua, then ensure it in server.cfg.

Why does adding clothing crash my FiveM server?

Usually too many clothing packs for your game build. Each pack uses a limited slot per gender, so merge packs into one with a clothing tool.

Do players need to download the clothing?

FiveM streams it to them automatically when they join. Big packs make the first join slower.

Can I add EUP to a FiveM server?

Yes, as an addon clothing resource like any other pack. Large EUP packs use several slots, so count them against your limit.