weaponanimations.meta: how a weapon is held and handled
weaponanimations.meta groups entries by animation set — Default, FirstPerson, FirstPersonAiming, FirstPersonRNG, FirstPersonScope, Ballistic, MP_F_Freemode, Female, Fat, SuperFat, GangFemale — and in each lists, per weapon name, the clip sets it uses. The easy and reliable approach is to copy the entries of the vanilla weapon your addon resembles and change only the weapon key.
When an addon rifle is held like a pistol, a first-person view shows arms floating in the air, or reloads look like another weapon’s, the cause is almost always weaponanimations.meta. The file does not contain animations — it points each weapon at existing GTA V animation sets for every situation: standing, moving, in cover, in first person, for different ped types.
#Animation sets
The file’s top level is a list of animation sets, each containing entries keyed by weapon name. A real addon rifle defines an entry for its weapon in each of these sets:
| Set | Used for |
|---|---|
Default | Standard third-person handling |
FirstPerson | First-person idle and movement |
FirstPersonAiming | First-person aiming |
FirstPersonRNG | First-person run-and-gun |
FirstPersonScope | First-person scoped aiming |
MP_F_Freemode | The female online character model |
Ballistic | Heavy armour (Juggernaut-style) movement |
Female, GangFemale, Fat, SuperFat | Other ped body types |
#What one entry contains
<Item key="WEAPON_MYRIFLE">
<CoverMovementClipSetHash>cover@move@base@2h</CoverMovementClipSetHash>
<CoverWeaponClipSetHash>Cover_Wpn_RifleLo</CoverWeaponClipSetHash>
<MotionClipSetHash>weapons@rifle@lo@carbine</MotionClipSetHash>
<MotionFilterHash>BothArms_filter</MotionFilterHash>
<WeaponClipSetHash>weapons@rifle@lo@carbine</WeaponClipSetHash>
<AnimFireRateModifier value="1.000000" />
<AnimBlindFireRateModifier value="1.000000" />
<UseFromStrafeUpperBodyAimNetwork value="true" />
<AimingDownTheBarrel value="true" />
<WeaponSwapData ref="SWAP_DEFAULT" />
</Item>MotionClipSetHash/WeaponClipSetHash— the core holding and handling animations (here the carbine’s).CoverMovementClipSetHash/CoverWeaponClipSetHash— behaviour in cover.AnimFireRateModifier— speeds up or slows the firing animation.WeaponSwapData— how switching to and from the weapon animates.
#The reliable method: copy a vanilla weapon
- Pick the vanilla weapon closest in shape and grip (carbine for AR-style rifles, SMG for compact guns, pistol for handguns).
- Extract the game’s weaponanimations.meta with OpenIV or CodeWalker and find that weapon’s entries in every set.
- Copy each entry into your file and change only the
keyto your weapon’s name. - Register the file with
data_file 'WEAPON_ANIMATIONS_FILE' '**/weaponanimations.meta'.
#Holstering animations
Drawing and holstering use clips defined in pedpersonality.meta rather than here. If the unholster animation looks wrong, check the weapon is listed in the right UNHOLSTER_* groups there. Scripted holster animations for roleplay are covered in holster and draw animations.
Questions
Why is my addon rifle held like a pistol?
Why is first person broken for my addon weapon?
Can weaponanimations.meta add new animations?
Which data_file loads weaponanimations.meta?
data_file 'WEAPON_ANIMATIONS_FILE' 'path/weaponanimations.meta'.Ready to pick a map?
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- All 860 ped model namesEvery model GetHashKey resolves, with its hash and how many clothing components and props it carries.