FiveM Artifacts and Fake Players: Compatibility Guide

FiveM artifacts are versioned server builds that include the game server runtime, resource loader, and connection handling code. Every time Rockstar pushes a GTA update or the FiveM team ships platform changes, the artifact build number increments. Fake player compatibility is tied to the artifact because the connection handshake behavior your server expects changes with each build generation. Keeping your build in a tested range is what lets our FiveM fake players service — the bot players that fill out your server population — connect reliably.

This post explains what artifacts are, which build ranges are stable for fake player connections, how to check your current build, how to pin your server to a tested version, and what to do when a game update changes the handshake. For the wider context, the complete FiveM fake players guide covers how the whole system fits together.

What FiveM artifacts are and why they matter

When you install a FiveM server, you download a server artifact: a compiled binary that includes the FiveM server executable (FXServer), the Lua runtime, the resource system, and the network layer that handles client connections. The artifact version number identifies which build of all this code you are running.

Artifact builds are released on a rolling basis. The FiveM team maintains three release channels: recommended, optional, and latest. Recommended builds are the most stable. Optional builds include newer features that have passed internal testing but not full operator testing. Latest builds are bleeding edge and include changes that may not be stable.

The reason artifacts matter for fake player compatibility is that the connection handshake is implemented inside the artifact. When the artifact changes how it validates incoming connections, our fake player connection layer must be updated to match. If you update your artifact before we update our connection layer, fake player handshakes fail.

How to check your current artifact build

There are three ways to find your current artifact build number.

1. txAdmin dashboard: The build number appears in the bottom left of the txAdmin overview page under server information.
2. Server console: Run the convar_print sv_fxdk_build command in the server console. The output includes the artifact build number.
3. FXServer executable: On Linux, run ./FXServer --version from your server directory. The output includes the build number.

Once you have your build number from the txAdmin dashboard or server console, check it against the compatibility table in your FiveFake dashboard. The table shows the minimum and maximum build numbers in each tested range, the status (fully compatible, limited compatibility, or incompatible), and the date each range was last tested.

Stable build ranges for fake player connections

We maintain a live compatibility table in the dashboard because build ranges change as new artifacts are released and tested. The general pattern across build generations is:

• Builds within the current recommended channel: fully tested, connection layer is calibrated to this range.
• Builds 100 to 200 versions behind the current recommended: typically compatible because handshake parameters change infrequently within a major game version.
• Builds more than 300 versions behind the current recommended: may have compatibility gaps depending on what changed in the intermediate builds.
• Builds on the latest channel more than 50 builds ahead of recommended: untested, connection behavior may have changed before we had time to update.

How to pin your artifact version

Pinning your artifact to a specific build number prevents accidental upgrades that break fake player compatibility. The approach differs based on how your server is hosted.

Pinning via txAdmin

txAdmin has a built-in artifact management feature. In the server settings section, you can set the artifact version to a specific build number. txAdmin will not auto-update the artifact beyond that build. When you want to update, you change the pinned version manually and apply the change.

Pinning via direct file management

If you are managing your server without txAdmin or with a custom setup, pinning is done by downloading the specific artifact build directly from the FiveM artifacts page and placing it in your server directory. Do not run automatic update scripts that fetch the latest artifact on startup.

The FiveM artifacts download page at runtime.fivem.net/artifacts/fivem/ lists all available builds for Windows and Linux. You can download any historical build by its build number. Save the build number of your current stable configuration so you can return to it if an update causes problems.

What happens when a game update breaks compatibility

When a major GTA update ships, it typically changes the client-side game version that FiveM clients must match to connect to servers. This propagates to the server artifact as a new build that includes updated connection validation for the new game version. If our connection layer has not been updated for the new game version, fake player handshakes fail because the client version our connections report is no longer accepted.

Our update process after a game version change:

1. We detect the new game version from public FiveM release channels within hours of the update shipping.
2. Our team validates which artifact builds are affected and what the handshake parameter changes are.
3. We update our connection layer to handle the new version parameters.
4. We test against servers running the new recommended artifact build.
5. We deploy the updated connection layer to our production nodes.
6. We announce the update in the Discord and dashboard status page.

This process typically takes 24 to 48 hours from the game update shipping to our connection layer update being live. During this window, fake player connections on servers that have updated their artifact to match the new game version may fail or have reduced reliability.

Handling artifact updates without disrupting your fake players

The safest approach to artifact updates when you are running fake players is a three-step process:

1. Wait for the FiveM team to designate a build as recommended after a game update.
2. Check the FiveFake dashboard compatibility table to confirm the recommended build is in our tested range.
3. Only then update your artifact and reconfigure your fake players if needed.

If you need to update your artifact immediately for other reasons (a critical server bug, a resource compatibility issue), pause your fake player schedule before updating. After the update, verify your fake players reconnect before resuming the schedule.

Anti-detection and artifact version interaction

Artifact version compatibility is directly connected to anti-detection effectiveness. The connection parameters that make our fake players look legitimate to anticheat systems are calibrated to specific artifact builds. Running our connection layer against an artifact version outside our tested range does not just risk connection failures. It also risks connections that behave correctly enough to connect but incorrectly enough to flag on anticheat validation.

This is the strongest argument for staying within our documented compatible artifact range: it is not just about whether your players connect, but whether they connect in a way that passes the checks your anticheat system runs.

Windows versus Linux artifact considerations

FiveM artifacts are available for both Windows and Linux. Most hosting providers that offer FiveM server plans run Linux. The artifact build numbers are the same across both platforms, but there are occasional platform-specific bugs where a build behaves differently on Windows versus Linux. Our compatibility testing covers both platforms, and the dashboard compatibility table notes platform-specific issues when they exist.

FiveFake fake player connections are platform-agnostic on our end because they are network connections to your server endpoint, not integrations with your server's operating system. What matters is the artifact build number and handshake behavior, not whether your host runs Windows or Linux.

How to report a compatibility issue

If you are running an artifact version that our dashboard shows as compatible but your fake players are not connecting, the most useful information you can provide when opening a support ticket is:

1. Your artifact build number (check the txAdmin overview or server console).
2. The error message or kick reason shown in your txAdmin console for the failed connections.
3. Whether the issue started after a specific artifact update or was present from your first activation.
4. Which anticheat systems are running on your server and their version numbers if available.
5. Whether the issue affects all fake players or only some (partial connection failures point to slot limits, full failures point to handshake issues).

Compatibility issues reported with this information are typically resolved within 24 hours because the diagnostic information allows us to reproduce the issue on our test infrastructure immediately. When the issue turns out to be slow activation rather than a compatibility failure, the activation speed guide covers the likely causes.

Next steps

If you are setting up a new server and want to make sure your txAdmin configuration is correct before activating fake players, the

covers the full connection setup process including artifact selection and txAdmin panel configuration.

Once you know which artifact version your server is running and have confirmed compatibility, the FiveFake files you need are on your server's page inside the FiveFake dashboard. Each server page has a download button. Click it, select the artifact version matching your FiveM server build, and drop the resulting files into your resources folder.