# Choosing and updating FiveM server artifacts

> What FXServer artifacts are, the difference between latest and recommended, how to pin a build, how to update a live server without losing a night to it, and how to roll back when a new build breaks a resource.

Source: https://fam-tools.com/guides/fivem-artifacts-and-updates · FAM Tools · published 2026-02-19 · updated 2026-09-07 · about 9 min

**Short answer.** Run the current recommended artifact, pin it by keeping the exact folder, and test any new build on a copy before touching the live server. Rolling back is just pointing the start command at the previous folder.

An artifact is a build of FXServer — the server binary itself, not your resources. Cfx.re publishes new ones continuously, and the number in the folder name is a monotonically increasing build id. Which one you run decides which natives exist, which game builds you can enforce, and occasionally whether a popular resource works at all.

## latest vs recommended

The download page offers two moving targets and a list of pinned builds. "Latest" is the newest build that compiled and passed CI. "Recommended" is a build that has been running in the wild long enough that the obvious problems have surfaced.

On a live server, run recommended. The only good reason to run latest is that you need a native or a fix that only exists there, and in that case you should know exactly which one.

> **Never let a start script fetch "latest" automatically** — A server that silently updates itself is a server that will break at 2am on a Saturday with no obvious cause. Pin the build, and update deliberately.

## Where the artifact lives

Keep the artifact separate from your server data. The layout below survives updates, because updating means adding a new folder next to the old one and changing one line in the start script — not overwriting anything.

```text
C:\FXServer\
├─ artifacts\
│  ├─ 12053\        <- the build you are running
│  │  └─ FXServer.exe
│  └─ 11996\        <- the previous one, kept for rollback
├─ server-data\
│  ├─ resources\
│  ├─ cache\
│  └─ server.cfg
└─ start.bat
```

## A start script you can roll back in ten seconds

The entire point of this layout is that BUILD is one variable. To roll back, change the number and restart.

```bat
@echo off
set BUILD=12053
set ROOT=C:\FXServer

cd /d "%ROOT%\server-data"
"%ROOT%\artifacts\%BUILD%\FXServer.exe" +exec server.cfg
pause
```

#### The Linux equivalent

Same idea, and worth putting behind systemd or tmux so it survives your SSH session closing.

```bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash
BUILD=12053
ROOT=/opt/fxserver

cd "$ROOT/server-data" || exit 1
exec "$ROOT/artifacts/$BUILD/run.sh" +exec server.cfg
```

## Updating without breaking the night

1. **Read the changelog first** — Cfx.re publishes what changed. Breaking changes to natives and to the resource manifest schema are called out there, and that is usually the only warning you get.
2. **Copy, do not replace** — Download the new artifact into artifacts/<new build>/ next to the old one. Nothing about the live server changes yet.
3. **Point a test server at it** — Run the new build against a copy of server-data on a different port. Half an hour with three people on it finds more than any amount of reading.
4. **Clear the server cache** — Delete server-data/cache/ before the first start on a new build. Stale cached resource metadata produces errors that look like resource bugs.
5. **Switch and watch** — Change BUILD, restart, and read the first sixty seconds of console output properly. Most breakage announces itself immediately.

> **Keep exactly one previous build** — Two folders is enough for a rollback and does not fill the disk. Anything older can go — you are never rolling back three builds.

## Game build vs artifact build

These are different numbers and people mix them up constantly. The artifact build (five digits, e.g. 12053) is the server binary. The game build (four digits, e.g. 3258) is the GTA V DLC level the client runs at, and you set it with sv_enforceGameBuild.

A newer artifact lets you enforce a newer game build, but does not do it for you. If you stream content from a recent DLC and it does not appear, the game build is what you check.

*Higher builds include everything below them. Pin the newest one your content needs.*

| sv_enforceGameBuild | Unlocks roughly |
| --- | --- |
| 2189 | Cayo Perico |
| 2372 | Los Santos Tuners |
| 2545 | The Contract |
| 2699 | Criminal Enterprises |
| 2802 | Los Santos Drug Wars |
| 2944 | San Andreas Mercenaries |
| 3095 | The Chop Shop |
| 3258 | Bottom Dollar Bounties |

> **Raising the game build re-downloads content for every player** — The first join after a build change pulls the DLC data. Announce it, or your Discord fills with "the server is broken" while people wait on a loading screen.

## When a new build breaks a resource

It is almost always one of three things: a native that changed signature, an escrow-protected resource compiled against an older runtime, or a manifest field that is now rejected rather than ignored.

The console tells you which resource, and that is enough. Roll back, pin the old build, and update the resource before trying again — do not try to fix a live server forward.

- Read the first error, not the last. Later errors are usually consequences.
- Note the resource name and grep your resources folder for the native mentioned.
- Escrowed resources you cannot edit: the author has to ship a new build. Roll back and contact them.
- If everything breaks at once, it is not the resources — it is the cache. Delete server-data/cache/ and try again.

## Questions

### How often should I update artifacts?

When there is a reason: a security fix, a native you need, or a recommended build that has been out for a few weeks. Updating for its own sake on a live server has more downside than upside.

### Does updating the artifact touch my resources or database?

No. The artifact is only the server binary. Your resources, database and server.cfg are untouched, which is exactly why keeping them in a separate folder matters.

### Do players need to do anything after I update?

Not for an artifact update. They do if you change sv_enforceGameBuild, because that changes what game data their client has to have.

## Related

- https://fam-tools.com/guides/fivem-server-cfg
- https://fam-tools.com/guides/fivem-server-performance
- https://fam-tools.com/guides/fivem-crash-debugging