Ports and networking

Most “my friends can’t join” and “my server isn’t in the list” problems are network problems, not FiveM problems. This page covers the ports, home port forwarding, the server list and the more advanced proxy options.

How To Port Forward A FiveM Server! (HTNetwork)

The ports

Both TCP and UDP must be open on 30120. Opening only TCP gives the classic symptom: the server shows up and players can see the player count, but joining hangs or times out.

You can change the game port with the endpoint_add_tcp / endpoint_add_udp lines in server.cfg, and the txAdmin port with the TXHOST_TXA_PORT environment variable. txAdmin refuses to use 30120 for its panel, and the game port cannot be 40120, to avoid mixing them up.

Hosting from home: port forwarding

If the server runs on a PC at home, your router must forward the port to that PC.

1. Give the server PC a fixed local IP (a DHCP reservation in the router, or a static IP in Windows), for example 192.168.1.50.
2. In the router’s admin page, find Port Forwarding (sometimes “Virtual Server” or “NAT”).
3. Add a rule: external port 30120, internal port 30120, protocol TCP and UDP (or two rules), target 192.168.1.50.
4. Allow FXServer in Windows Defender Firewall (Windows asks the first time you run it, allow both private and public if you’re unsure, or add inbound rules for port 30120 TCP and UDP).
5. Test from outside: ask a friend to connect YOUR_PUBLIC_IP:30120 in the F8 console, or use a port checker like canyouseeme.org while the server runs.

Don’t forward 40120 at home unless you really need remote access, and if you do, use strong passwords and 2FA.

Why isn’t my server in the list?

Straight from the official server FAQ, plus experience:

1. Ports. Bad port forwarding or firewall rules are the usual cause. Test with direct connect first: connect IP:30120 in F8. If that fails, it’s the network.
2. Private mode. Make sure sv_master1 "" is commented out (#sv_master1 "") or not present.
3. Project info. Set sets sv_projectName and sets sv_projectDesc.
4. Time. It can take up to 8 minutes after start for a server to appear.
5. Blacklisted IP. Some hosting ranges are blocked from the platform. Check with the Cfx Blacklist Checker.
6. Outdated artifact. Very old builds are refused. Update, see Updating artifacts safely.

To see what the world sees, enter your IP:port or join code in the Server Status Checker. It shows players, build, resources and map as reported by your server.

Join links

Every listed server gets a cfx.re/join/xxxxxx code tied to its license key. You can share it instead of an IP, and it keeps working if the IP changes. Find it in the server browser details, in txAdmin, or in the Discord status embed ({{serverJoinUrl}}). To show your live status on a website or Discord, use a Server Status Badge.

Running more than one server on one machine

Give each server its own:

• game port: endpoint_add_tcp "0.0.0.0:30121" and endpoint_add_udp "0.0.0.0:30121",
• license key (one key per server),
• txData (TXHOST_DATA_PATH) and txAdmin port (TXHOST_TXA_PORT=40121),
• database.

txAdmin’s docs strongly recommend separate txData folders per server, otherwise admins.json conflicts.

@echo off
set TXHOST_DATA_PATH=C:\FXServer\txData-dev
set TXHOST_TXA_PORT=40121
set TXHOST_FXS_PORT=30121
set TXHOST_MAX_SLOTS=8
C:\FXServer\server\FXServer.exe

OneSync and networking

OneSync (set onesync on) is the server side sync model: the server tracks all entities and decides which client sees what, culling entities to a radius (424 units by default) around each player. It lowers bandwidth per client compared to the old peer to peer model, allows up to 2048 slots with the right tier, and enables routing buckets and entity state bags. Every modern framework expects it. See State bags and OneSync for what it means for scripts.

Proxies, DDoS protection and Cloudflare

Large servers often put a proxy or DDoS filter in front of FXServer so the real IP stays hidden. This is advanced and easy to get wrong. The relevant convars (from the official server commands reference):

Some things to know before you try:

• Cloudflare’s normal (orange cloud) proxy only handles HTTP(S) traffic, not the UDP game traffic, so you can’t just point a proxied DNS record at FXServer. Setups that proxy FiveM traffic use a proxy that supports both TCP and UDP (Cloudflare Spectrum on paid plans, or a dedicated game DDoS provider), or a separate file server/CDN for downloads.
• If you set up a proxy without sv_proxyIPRanges, every player appears to come from the proxy’s IP, which breaks IP bans and some anticheats.
• Test with a small group first. A broken proxy config makes the server invisible or unjoinable.

For the txAdmin panel, the txAdmin team’s advice is not to expose it with SSL inside txAdmin but to put a reverse proxy (nginx, Caddy) or a Cloudflare Tunnel in front of it if you want HTTPS.

Quick diagnosis