# Install a custom FiveM-compatible minimap in under five minutes

> Install a custom FiveM minimap in five minutes: where the resource folder goes, the one ensure line server.cfg needs, and the cache clear that applies it.

Source: https://fam-tools.com/guides/install-fivem-minimap · FAM Tools · published 2026-01-14 · updated 2026-09-07 · about 8 min

**Short answer.** Copy the resource folder into resources/, add one ensure line to server.cfg, stop any other minimap resource, then clear the FiveM client cache and reconnect.

Installing a custom FiveM minimap means four things: drop the resource folder into `resources/`, add one `ensure` line to `server.cfg`, stop any other minimap resource, and clear the client cache. The resource itself is stream-only — it replaces the twelve texture dictionaries the game uses to draw the pause map and the radar, plus the geometry they are drawn onto. There is no framework dependency and no runtime cost, so the same folder works identically on QBCore, ESX, QBox, vRP or a standalone server.

## What is inside the resource

Every map is a complete, self-contained FiveM resource. It contains a manifest, a small client script that sets the radar zoom levels so the new texture resolution lines up, and a stream folder with the textures and geometry the game expects to find.

*78 stream files in total, around 22 MB on disk and roughly 113 MB of VRAM in game — the same as the stock map.*

| File | Count | What it is |
| --- | --- | --- |
| fxmanifest.lua | 1 | Declares the resource and the client script |
| client.lua | 1 | SetMapZoomDataLevel calls so the radar matches the new art |
| stream/minimap_*.ytd | 6 | The land textures, DXT5 compressed |
| stream/minimap_sea_*.ytd | 6 | The ocean textures |
| stream/minimap_lod.ytd | 1 | Used when the pause map is fully zoomed out |
| stream/*.ydd | 65 | The geometry the textures are drawn onto |

## Step 1 — copy the folder

Drop the unzipped folder into your resources directory. Putting it in a [standalone] or [maps] bracket folder is tidy but not required. Do not rename the folder: the manifest and the ensure line have to match.

```text
resources/
└─ [standalone]/
   └─ pityus_minimap_orange_google/
      ├─ fxmanifest.lua
      ├─ client.lua
      └─ stream/          78 files
```

> **note** — Linux is case sensitive and Windows is not. If the resource works on your local test server and not on the VPS, check the capitalisation of the folder name against the ensure line first.

## Step 2 — ensure it in server.cfg

One line. Put it reasonably early — before your HUD resource — so the textures have been streamed by the time the radar first draws.

```cfg
ensure pityus_minimap_orange_google
```

## Step 3 — remove any other minimap

This is the step people skip, and it is the single most common reason a new map does not appear. Streamed file names are global across the whole server: if two resources both ship minimap_0_0.ytd, one of them wins and which one is undefined.

Search your resources folder for the file names below and stop whatever else provides them.

```bash
# Linux / git bash
find resources -name 'minimap*.ytd' -o -name 'minimap_sea*.ytd'

# Windows PowerShell
Get-ChildItem .\resources -Recurse -Filter 'minimap*.ytd' | Select-Object FullName
```

> **Map packs often include a minimap you did not ask for** — Large map add-ons and "server base" packs frequently bundle their own minimap textures. If the search above finds a .ytd inside a resource that is not a minimap resource, that is your conflict.

## Step 4 — clear the client cache

FiveM caches streamed textures aggressively and will happily keep serving the old minimap after you have replaced it. Every client that has already connected needs the cache cleared once.

- Close FiveM completely first — the folder is locked while it runs.
- Delete the whole cache folder, not just parts of it.
- Players who have never joined your server do not need to do this.
- On a live server, announce it: without a cache clear, half your players will report the map as unchanged.

```text
%localappdata%\FiveM\FiveM.app\data\cache
```

## Step 5 — verify it actually loaded

There are two separate surfaces and they fail independently, which makes the check useful for diagnosis rather than just reassurance.

1. **Open the pause map** — If the pause map shows the new art, the textures streamed correctly and the resource is running.
2. **Look at the radar** — If the pause map changed but the radar did not, the client cache was not cleared on that machine.
3. **If neither changed** — The resource is not running. Check the server console at start for the resource name, and check for the name collision from step 3.

| What you see | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| Both changed | Installed correctly. |
| Pause map only | Client cache not cleared on that client. |
| Neither changed | Resource not started, or another minimap is winning the name collision. |
| Checkerboard pattern | A .ytd is missing from the stream folder — re-extract the zip. |
| Old map after a restart | Server cache. Delete server-data/cache/ and restart. |

## Installing through txAdmin

txAdmin does not change any of the above, it just moves where the files go. Upload the folder into the resources directory of the deployment txAdmin is managing, add the ensure line to the server.cfg txAdmin is using — which may not be the one you expect — and restart from the txAdmin panel.

> **tip** — txAdmin shows the exact cfg path it is executing on the Settings page. On a server you inherited, check it before editing a file that is not being read.

## Updating to a different map later

Swapping palettes is the same four steps with one difference: stop the old minimap resource before starting the new one, or you have created exactly the name collision described above.

```cfg
# in server.cfg, replace the line rather than adding a second one
# ensure pityus_minimap_blue_postal      <- old
ensure pityus_minimap_orange_google      # <- new
```

## Questions

### Do I need QBCore or ESX for this?

No. A minimap resource replaces textures and radar zoom data only. It has no framework dependency, no exports and no database use, so it behaves identically on QBCore, ESX, QBox, vRP and standalone servers.

### The map changed but the radar still looks the same.

The client cache was not cleared on that machine. Close FiveM completely, delete %localappdata%/FiveM/FiveM.app/data/cache and reconnect.

### Will this conflict with my MLOs or my custom map?

No. MLOs, map edits and vehicle packs use entirely different file names. The only thing a minimap can collide with is another minimap.

### Does it cost performance?

No. The textures replace ones the game already loads, so VRAM use is unchanged, and the client script runs once at start rather than per frame.

### Can I put my server logo on the map?

Yes — the studio places text and logos anywhere on the island and builds the finished resource for you. The map is $8.00 and each element you add is $1.00.

## Related

- https://fam-tools.com/guides/postal-codes-explained
- https://fam-tools.com/guides/minimap-technical-specification
- https://fam-tools.com/guides/brand-your-server-map