Create a Cfx.re license keyThe free key without which no FXServer starts

Published on September 2, 2026 · last updated on November 4, 2026

What the key is for

The license key connects your server to the Cfx.re network. It allows your server to appear in the official server list and identifies it to the platform. Without a valid key, FXServer does not start - that is the most common reason for a server that seems to abort for no reason.

Good to know: the key is free and tied to your Cfx.re account, not to us. If you switch providers later, you simply take it with you - see move a FiveM server.

Create the key in the Cfx.re Portal

1. Create an account. You need a Cfx.re account - the same one you use in the community forum.
2. Open the portal. At portal.cfx.re, sign in with this account and choose Servers → Registration Keys. That is where you manage all your keys in one place.
3. Generate a new key. The only thing requested is a display name of your choice, by which you recognize the key later - for example "RP live" or "Test server".
4. Copy the key. It is a long string that you enter in the configuration right away.

This used to run via the Cfx.re Keymaster, which also asked for the server's IP address. Cfx.re shut down the Keymaster at the end of 2025; since then, the keys live in the portal, which you sign into with the same account. An IP address is no longer requested when you create a key, so the key is no longer tied to a specific server address. Older guides that still ask for one describe the old way.

Enter it in the server.cfg

In the server.cfg, the key goes into a single line - usually at the very end of the file:

sv_licenseKey yourlongkeyhere

You can edit the file in the config editor of our web interface or via FTP. After a restart, the server checks the key; if there is no license message in the live console any more, it worked.

If you use txAdmin, the setup wizard asks for the key on the first run and enters it itself.

Treat it like a password

The key identifies your server. Anyone who has it can run a server under your identity - and violations of the terms of use then fall back on your account. Since the key is no longer tied to any address after the switch to the portal, this matters all the more.

• Do not share screenshots of the server.cfg on Discord - besides the key, it usually also contains the database connection.
• Do not upload configuration files to public code repositories.
• If you suspect it has been passed on: regenerate the key in the portal so the old one becomes invalid, and enter the new one in the server.cfg.

When the server does not start because of the license

License problems show up clearly in the console. The three most common cases:

• No entry or a duplicate entry. The sv_licenseKey line is missing, appears several times in the configuration or is overwritten by an included file.
• Key copied incompletely. A character went missing while copying, or a line break slipped in.
• Key deactivated or regenerated. Check under Registration Keys in the portal whether it is still active - a newly generated key invalidates the old one.

If the server then starts but nobody can reach it, the cause is usually not the license but the address - see ports and firewall.

Several servers, several keys

Every server needs its own key. If you run a test server alongside to try out new scripts - which is highly recommended for a grown RP project - you generate a second one for it. In the portal, you manage both side by side; the number of keys active at the same time per account is limited, but it is enough for a live and a test server.

The test server does not have to be the same package: to check whether a script starts cleanly, a small plan is enough. What that costs is shown in how much does a FiveM server cost?.

Frequently asked questions