Set up a QBCore serverSetting up the modern roleplay framework

Published on September 2, 2026 · last updated on November 3, 2026

QBCore or ESX?

Both frameworks solve the same task: they turn an empty city into a roleplay game with characters, jobs, inventory and an economy. The differences lie in the structure and the ecosystem.

• QBCore is younger, more cleanly cut and works consistently with modules. Getting started with your own development is usually more pleasant.
• ESX has been around longer and therefore has the larger selection of ready-made scripts - especially among German-speaking communities.

What matters is less which one you choose than that you stick with it. Switching later practically means a rebuild, because the database structures differ.

Requirements

As with every framework, you need three things before you start: a MySQL database - included in every plan with us -, a license key and a tidy folder structure in the resources directory.

If you prefer the fast way: txAdmin offers deployer recipes that set up a QBCore server automatically and fill the database at the same time. For understanding, it is still worth having followed the process manually once.

The layered structure

QBCore is a stack of four layers that have to start in this order:

1. Database connector - usually oxmysql, the basis for everything else.
2. The core - manages players, characters, accounts and jobs.
3. Libraries and base modules - inventory, target system, menus and tools that other scripts access.
4. Job and additional scripts - police, emergency services, shops, vehicle dealers.

This is reproduced through the order of the ensure lines in the server.cfg. A category folder such as [qb] for the core components keeps the file tidy - how that works is explained in install resources.

Installation step by step

1. Upload the files. Core, libraries and modules into a category folder, the connector next to it. Via WebFTP or - faster with many files - via SFTP.
2. Prepare the database. QBCore comes with a .sql that creates all tables. Import it in phpMyAdmin before the server starts for the first time.
3. Enter the connection. The connection string belongs at the very top of the configuration, before any ensure line.
4. Set the load order. Connector, core, libraries, the rest - in exactly this order.
5. Start and read the console. On the first start, every resource reports whether it came up cleanly.

After the first successful start, you create your character in the game. If that works, the foundation is in place - everything else is modules.

Typical pitfalls

• Modules without their library. Many QBCore scripts require specific libraries. If one is missing, the script does not start - the console names it.
• ESX scripts on QBCore. They speak a different language. There are bridge resources, but a matching script is cleaner.
• Half-imported database. Characters cannot be created even though the server runs - typical of an aborted SQL import.
• Items without an image. New items need both an entry in the item list and an image in the inventory folder.

After the setup

Once the server is up, two things follow: permissions for your team - via the ACE system, described in grant admin permissions - and a regular database export as a backup. Especially in the build-up phase, when scripts are added every day, the export is the difference between losing an hour and losing a week.

As the server grows, so does the script load. Before you book the next larger package, it is worth looking at the actual consumers: improve server performance shows how to find them.

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