FiveM resource load order, and when it actually matters

#The rule that matters

When two resources stream an asset with the same name - a model, a texture dictionary, a meta file - the one that starts later wins. That is the whole rule, and it is the reason a texture override pack must be listed after the pack it overrides.

# base pack first
ensure weapons_base

# the override starts after it, so its textures win
ensure weapons_reskin

Reverse those two lines and the reskin loads first, the base pack overwrites it, and you are left wondering why your new textures did nothing.

#When order does not matter

Standalone weapon packs that stream uniquely named assets do not conflict with anything, so they can sit anywhere in the file. Scripts that talk to a framework matter less than people think too - the framework has usually finished loading long before a player connects.

Where script order does matter is exports called at startup. A resource that calls an export from a framework during its own start will fail if the framework has not started yet, which is why frameworks are conventionally listed first.

#A structure that stays predictable

1. Framework and core dependencies first - ox_lib, the framework, the inventory.
2. Shared assets and streamed content next: maps, vehicles, weapon packs.
3. Override packs immediately after whatever they override, never in a separate block far below.
4. Gameplay scripts last, since they depend on everything above.

#Diagnosing a suspected conflict

1. Comment out every resource that streams similar content except the broken one.
2. Restart fully and check whether the problem disappears. If it does, you have a name collision, not a broken file.
3. Re-enable the others one at a time until it breaks again. The one that breaks it owns the conflicting name.
4. Fix it by renaming the asset in one of the two packs, not by shuffling load order - order only decides which of two conflicting names wins, and the loser is still wrong.