> Source: https://fivemad.com/docs/txadmin/recipes > Section: txAdmin > Tags: txadmin, recipe, yaml, deployer, download_github, query_database, replace_string > Last updated: 2026-09-22 > Site map for assistants: https://fivemad.com/llms.txt # txAdmin recipes explained The anatomy of a txAdmin recipe: metadata, $engine and $onesync, context variables, every task action (download_github, unzip, move_path, query_database...) with examples. A **recipe** is a YAML file that tells txAdmin's deployer how to build a server: what to download, where to put it, which SQL to run and how to fill in `server.cfg`. Every server in the "Popular Recipes" list is just a recipe file on GitHub, and you can deploy any recipe by URL. This page is the reference, based on txAdmin's [recipe.md](https://github.com/citizenfx/txAdmin/blob/master/docs/recipe.md). To see what the listed recipes install, read [Popular recipes](/docs/txadmin/popular-recipes). To write one yourself, see [Writing your own recipe](/docs/txadmin/writing-recipes). ## A real recipe This is the official **FiveM Basic Server** recipe from [citizenfx/txAdmin-recipes](https://github.com/citizenfx/txAdmin-recipes/tree/main/default-fivem), exactly as published: ```yaml title="default-fivem/recipe.yaml" $engine: 3 $onesync: on name: FiveM Basic Server description: Recipe for the base resources required to run a minimal FiveM server. tasks: # Download default resources - action: download_github src: https://github.com/citizenfx/cfx-server-data ref: master subpath: resources dest: ./resources # Remove the old chat resource - action: remove_path path: ./resources/[gameplay]/chat # Download default server.cfg for FiveM - action: download_file url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/citizenfx/txAdmin-recipes/refs/heads/main/default-fivem/server.cfg path: ./server.cfg ``` Three tasks: copy the `resources` folder of `cfx-server-data`, delete its old chat resource (the artifact has a built in one, enabled with `set resources_useSystemChat true`), and download a `server.cfg` template. The template uses placeholders that the deployer fills in: ```cfg title="default-fivem/server.cfg (excerpt)" sv_hostname "{{serverName}} built with {{recipeName}}!" sets sv_projectName "[{{recipeName}}] {{serverName}}" sets sv_projectDesc "{{recipeDescription}}" sv_enforceGameBuild 3751 #mp2025_02 - A Safehouse in the Hills sv_licenseKey "{{svLicense}}" sv_maxclients {{maxClients}} {{serverEndpoints}} add_ace group.admin command allow add_ace group.admin command.quit deny {{addPrincipalsMaster}} ``` ## How the deployer runs a recipe 1. It reads the metadata and checks engine version and requirements. 2. It asks the user for inputs (license key, database, extra variables). 3. It runs the **tasks** one by one, in order. **Any failure stops the whole process.** 4. Every path is **jailed** to the target folder: a recipe can't write outside it (so it can't touch your `admins.json`). 5. At the end it checks that the target folder has a `server.cfg` and a `resources` folder, and replaces `{{svLicense}}` in `server.cfg`. ## Metadata | Key | Required | Meaning | | --- | --- | --- | | `name` | recommended | Short name, under 24 characters. | | `version` | recommended | Your recipe's version. | | `author` | recommended | Short author name, under 24 characters. | | `description` | recommended | Under 256 characters. YAML multiline strings work. | | `$engine` | optional | Recipe engine version the recipe targets. Current recipes use `3`. | | `$minFxVersion` | optional | Minimum FXServer build required. | | `$onesync` | optional | OneSync value to set after deploy: `off`, `legacy` or `on`. | | `$steamRequired` | optional | `true` if the `steam_webApiKey` variable must be provided. | ## Context variables The deployer keeps a shared **context** of variables. You use them as `{{varName}}` in `replace_string` tasks and in files processed with `all_vars`. | Variable | Filled from | | --- | --- | | `deploymentID` | Short recipe name plus a hex timestamp, like `PlumeESX_BBC957`. | | `serverName` | The name entered on the setup page. | | `recipeName`, `recipeAuthor`, `recipeVersion`, `recipeDescription` | Recipe metadata. | | `dbHost`, `dbPort`, `dbUsername`, `dbPassword`, `dbName`, `dbDelete`, `dbConnectionString` | The database inputs. | | `svLicense` | The license key input. Replaced in `server.cfg` automatically at the end. | | `serverEndpoints` | The `endpoint_add_tcp/udp` lines (default `0.0.0.0:30120`, or from `TXHOST_INTERFACE` / `TXHOST_FXS_PORT`). | | `maxClients` | 48 by default, or `TXHOST_MAX_SLOTS`. | | `addPrincipalsMaster` | `add_principal` lines for the master admin's identifiers (used in `server.cfg` templates). | Define your own under `variables:`: ```yaml variables: frameworkLocale: en dbName: null # null means "let txAdmin create a database" ``` ## Task actions Every task is a list item with an `action` and its options. Every task accepts `timeoutSeconds` to raise its default timeout. Indentation matters in YAML: use spaces, not tabs. ### `download_github` Downloads a GitHub repository, optionally at a ref and only a subpath. | Option | Meaning | | --- | --- | | `src` | Repo URL or `owner/repo`. | | `ref` | Optional branch, tag or commit. Without it, txAdmin asks the GitHub API for the default branch. | | `subpath` | Optional folder inside the repo to copy. | | `dest` | Destination folder. Created if missing. | ```yaml - action: download_github src: https://github.com/citizenfx/cfx-server-data ref: 6eaa3525a6858a83546dc9c4ce621e59eae7085c subpath: resources dest: ./resources - action: download_github src: esx-framework/es_extended dest: ./resources/[esx]/es_extended ``` > [!NOTE] > Without `ref`, each download makes an extra GitHub API call. With more than ~30 downloads, users hit rate limits (401/403 errors). Set `ref` on every task in big recipes, ideally to a **commit hash** (tags can move). ### `download_file` ```yaml - action: download_file url: https://github.com/overextended/ox_lib/releases/latest/download/ox_lib.zip path: ./tmp/ox_lib.zip ``` `path` must be a file name, not a folder. ### `unzip` ```yaml - action: unzip src: ./tmp/ox_lib.zip dest: ./resources/[ox] ``` ZIP only, no `.tar` files. ### `move_path`, `copy_path`, `remove_path`, `ensure_dir` ```yaml - action: move_path src: ./tmp/cfx-server-data-master/resources dest: ./resources overwrite: true # replace dest if it exists - action: copy_path src: ./tmp/configs/ dest: ./resources/[local]/myconfig # copies the CONTENTS of a src folder; overwrite defaults to true # errorOnExist: true makes it fail instead of silently skipping when overwrite is false - action: remove_path path: ./tmp # does nothing if the path doesn't exist - action: ensure_dir path: ./resources/[local] ``` None of these accept the root path `./` as source or target. ### `write_file` ```yaml - action: write_file file: ./server.cfg append: true data: | ensure my_resource ensure another_one - action: write_file file: ./resources/[local]/myres/config.json data: | { "enabled": true } ``` Without `append`, the file is overwritten and missing folders are created. ### `replace_string` Search and replace in one file or a list of files. | `mode` | Behaviour | | --- | --- | | `template` (default) | Replaces `search` with `replace`, and `replace` can contain `{{vars}}`. | | `all_vars` | Replaces every `{{var}}` in the file(s). `search` and `replace` are ignored. | | `literal` | Plain search and replace, no variables. | ```yaml - action: replace_string file: ./server.cfg search: 'FXServer, but unconfigured' replace: '{{serverName}} built with {{recipeName}} by {{recipeAuthor}}!' - action: replace_string mode: all_vars file: - ./server.cfg - ./resources/[local]/myres/config.json ``` ### `connect_database` and `query_database` `connect_database` has no options. It uses the database inputs, and **creates the database** if `dbName` is null. It must run before any `query_database`. ```yaml - action: connect_database - action: query_database file: ./tmp/qbcore/qbcore.sql - action: query_database query: | CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `my_table` ( `id` INT UNSIGNED NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY, `name` VARCHAR(64) NOT NULL ); ``` Use `file` **or** `query`, never both. ### `load_vars` Loads extra context variables from a JSON file (for example one shipped in a repo you downloaded): ```yaml - action: load_vars src: ./tmp/recipe-vars.json ``` ### `waste_time` The txAdmin-recipes guidelines ask big recipes to pause with a `waste_time` task of 10 seconds every 25 `download_github` actions (50 if you set `ref`), so GitHub doesn't rate limit users. It isn't in the main recipe reference, but the official QBCore and Qbox recipes use it like this: ```yaml - action: waste_time # prevent github throttling seconds: 10 ``` ## How big recipes are organised Open the [QBCore](https://github.com/qbcore-framework/txAdminRecipe), [Qbox](https://github.com/Qbox-project/txAdminRecipe) or [ESX](https://github.com/esx-framework/ESX-recipes) recipe and you'll see the same pattern: 1. **Database first** (`connect_database`, then `query_database` with the framework SQL). It's the step most likely to fail, so failing early saves time. 2. **Download the recipe repo** itself into `./tmp`, which holds `server.cfg`, extra `.cfg` files, a logo and the SQL. 3. **Move** those files into place (`move_path` from `./tmp/...` to `./server.cfg`). 4. **Default Cfx resources** from `cfx-server-data` into `./resources/[cfx-default]`. 5. **Libraries** as release zips (`download_file` + `unzip`): oxmysql, ox_lib, ox_target, ox_inventory... 6. **Framework resources** with `download_github` into category folders like `[qb]` or `[qbx]`. 7. `remove_path` on `./tmp`. 8. `replace_string` with `all_vars` on `server.cfg` so `{{dbConnectionString}}` and friends are filled in. ## Where recipes come from - The "Popular Recipes" list comes from the index files (`indexv4.json`, `indexv5.json`...) in the [txAdmin-recipes](https://github.com/citizenfx/txAdmin-recipes) repository. [Popular recipes](/docs/txadmin/popular-recipes) walks through every recipe in it. - Any public raw URL to a `.yaml` works with **Remote URL Template**. - You can paste YAML directly with **Custom Template**. > [!WARNING] > A recipe runs downloads and SQL on your machine. Only deploy recipes from sources you trust, and read the YAML on the deployer screen before clicking Next.