How to install a FiveM MLO on your server (complete guide)

Installing a Fiv3Devs MLO — or really any FiveM MLO — is the same five steps every time: download, extract, drop into resources/, add the ensure line to server.cfg, restart. This article walks through each step, points out where things go wrong, and tells you how to verify the install before your players try to use the map.

If you’ve never bought a FiveM MLO from us before, read First time buying a Fiv3Devs MLO first — it covers the Tebex → Keymaster flow this guide assumes you’ve already been through.

Step 1 — download from Keymaster

Every asset you’ve ever bought with your CFX account lives at:

portal.cfx.re → Granted Assets

You can also open the link from the Keymaster email that was sent when you purchased. Either way, click the asset to download a ZIP.

Step 2 — extract the ZIP

The ZIP can’t be started directly. Extract it with any archive tool — the result is a folder with a name like fiv3devs_pillbox, fiv3devs_bahamamamas, or fiv3devs_gunrange. Copy that folder name exactly. You’ll paste it into server.cfg in step 4, and a typo there is the single most common install failure.

Don’t rename, reorganize, or split up the files inside the folder. The MLO is ready to run as shipped.

Step 3 — place the folder in resources/

Where exactly depends on how your server is organized. Most FiveM servers have a folder structure like:

server/
├── server.cfg
├── resources/
│   ├── [standalone]/
│   ├── [maps]/
│   ├── [jobs]/
│   └── ...

Best practice is a [maps] folder under resources/. Drop the extracted folder there:

resources/
└── [maps]/
    └── fiv3devs_pillbox/

Any location inside resources/ works — FiveM will find it. The brackets in folder names like [maps] are a FiveM convention that lets you group resources without needing a manifest.

Step 4 — add the ensure line to server.cfg

Open server.cfg in a text editor (not Notepad in rich mode — use VS Code, Sublime, or any plain-text editor). Add a new line:

ensure fiv3devs_pillbox

Substitute your real folder name for fiv3devs_pillbox. The product page for every Fiv3Devs release lists the exact resource name to use in the “Resource name” spec row — match it character-for-character.

When you also need fiv3devs_mapdata

Some of our MLOs require our shared fiv3devs_mapdata companion resource. The product page tells you whether a given MLO needs it. When it does, fiv3devs_mapdata must be started before the MLO in server.cfg:

# server.cfg
ensure fiv3devs_mapdata        # required companion — loads first
ensure fiv3devs_pillbox

Load order matters here. If fiv3devs_mapdata starts after the MLO, the MLO will fail to stream correctly.

fiv3devs_mapdata is free on our Tebex store. Install it the same way as any other resource.

Optional: check the gamebuild

If your server is running on an older FiveM gamebuild than the one an MLO requires, the map might not render correctly. In server.cfg, look for:

sv_enforceGameBuild 3095

Update the number to the build the product page mentions. We keep our MLOs working on the current FiveM build by default.

Step 5 — restart the server

Changes to server.cfg do not take effect on a live refresh. You have to restart the server. MLOs are not scripts — they need the full restart cycle.

Verify the install

Watch the server console on startup. If everything is wired correctly, you’ll see a line like:

Started resource fiv3devs_pillbox

And no yellow warnings attached to that line. That’s it — the MLO is live and your players will see the new interior next time they connect.

When it doesn’t work

Three categories of failure, all visible in the server console:

1. “Couldn’t start resource fiv3devs_xxx — you lack the required entitlement.” The licence check failed. You’re either installing the asset on a server key that belongs to a different CFX account, or Keymaster hasn’t propagated your grant yet (wait 5–10 minutes after purchase). See License and entitlement troubleshooting for the deep dive.

2. “Constraint ‘assetpacks’ is unknown.” Your FiveM server artifact is too old. Update artifacts to a recent version.

3. No message at all about the resource. The server never found the folder. Either the folder name in server.cfg doesn’t match the actual folder name (typo, case mismatch, or missing underscore), or the folder isn’t inside resources/. Fix the path and restart.

If you see the Started resource line but the map isn’t visible in-game, check the F8 console inside FiveM for streaming errors, and verify you restarted the client after the server restarted. Some streaming changes require a client reconnect.

Quick reference

# Install flow
1. portal.cfx.re → Granted Assets → download ZIP
2. Extract → note folder name (e.g. fiv3devs_pillbox)
3. Move folder into server/resources/[maps]/
4. Add to server.cfg (mapdata first if required):
     ensure fiv3devs_mapdata
     ensure fiv3devs_pillbox
5. Restart server (not refresh)

# Verify
Console shows:  Started resource fiv3devs_pillbox   ← no yellow text

A matching video walkthrough is on our YouTube channel if you prefer to watch rather than read. If you get stuck on a step, open a ticket in our Discord with your Tebex Transaction ID and a copy of the relevant console lines — we’ll get you unstuck.