A hosted FiveM roleplay framework, built on QBox
Picking a FiveM roleplay framework means picking the foundation of a whole city: characters, money, jobs, inventory. Nova Studio made that choice, QBox, and adds what a framework alone does not give you: 67 modules shipped together, an in-game admin panel, hosting and updates.
01What a FiveM framework actually does
FiveM lets you run a modded GTA V server; it does not give you roleplay. The framework is the missing layer: it knows the players and their characters, keeps track of their money and job, and gives every other script a shared language to talk about them.
A framework is not a city yet. You still have to add dozens of resources (inventory, phone, police, banking, vehicles, housing), tune each of them, and keep up with their updates. That is the part that takes weeks, and often a developer.
02Which is the best FiveM framework?
There is no single winner: there are three major open-source frameworks, and each one has a reason to exist.
- ESX, the oldest of the three, has the largest script library. That is its real strength, and the reason so many servers stay on it.
- QBCore came later, spread quickly and built up a large catalogue of resources of its own.
- QBox grew out of QBCore. It is built on the ox_lib library and can answer many scripts written for QBCore, so you do not start from scratch.
Nova chose QBox: a recent foundation that keeps access to the QBCore ecosystem. The full reasoning, with the strengths of each, is in our ESX vs QBCore vs QBox comparison.
03What Nova adds on top of QBox
- 67 modules written to work together: jobs, economy, banking, inventory, phone, police and justice, medical, vehicles, properties, gangs, radio.
- A 40-screen in-game admin panel, opened with /admin, where jobs, salaries, items, properties and permissions are set.
- Configuration stored in the database and pushed to every player: a saved setting applies without restarting the module.
- A preview before any change that affects players: who is concerned, online or not, and the value before and after.
- Staff ranks that follow the roles of your Discord server: remove the role and the rank goes with it. Logs reach your channels through the Nova bot.
- A short reference shown to the player when an error occurs: they pass it to your staff, who can find the exact error.
04A roleplay framework where the server decides
On an RP server, the client lies: a cheat menu can send any value it likes. So Nova only trusts the server. Money, items, permissions and shared entities are decided and checked server-side, and a server-side anticheat watches the rest.
Under the hood, nothing exotic: Lua 5.4, the ox_lib API, a MariaDB database, React and TypeScript interfaces, and OneSync Infinity. A developer who knows QBox feels at home straight away.
05ESX, QBCore, QBox or Nova: what is left to do
| ESX | QBCore | QBox | Nova | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licence | open source, free | open source, free | open source, free | subscription, all included |
| Available scripts | the largest library | very large | many QBCore scripts | those of QBox and QBCore |
| City resources | to pick and assemble | to complete | to complete | 67 modules shipped together |
| Hosting | to find | to find | to find | included |
| Settings | in files | in files | in files | in game, with /admin |
| Updates | to follow yourself | to follow yourself | to follow yourself | at the next restart |
A free framework is not a free server: the machine, the setup and the hours of tuning come on top. The cost of a FiveM server over twelve months adds them up line by line.
06Your scripts on the Nova framework
Your own resources go into the resources/[client] folder from your account area (adding your own scripts). Nova also answers to the names many scripts expect, such as qb-core, ox_target, qtarget or xsound: their calls reach the right module.
07How much the Nova framework costs
The framework is not sold on its own: it comes with its hosting, its updates and support. NOVA costs €99 a month for 64 players, NOVA+ €149 for 128 players, NOVA INFINITY €229 for 256 players, which grows up to 1,024 players with extra slots. Yearly billing charges ten months for twelve.
Before the first stable version, only the plans that include beta channel access can be bought: the pricing page shows which ones are open today and starts your server. You will also need your own Cfx key, created on the Cfx.re portal: Nova does not sell it.
Frequently asked questions
What is a FiveM framework?
It is the layer of code that turns a FiveM server into a roleplay server: it handles characters, money, jobs and inventory, and gives other scripts a common foundation. ESX, QBCore and QBox are the three most widely used.
Which is the best FiveM framework for an RP server?
None wins on everything. ESX has the largest script library, QBCore is very widespread, QBox is the most recent and runs many QBCore scripts. Nova is built on QBox and adds 67 modules, hosting and updates.
Will my QBCore or ESX scripts work on Nova?
Upload them into resources/[client], turn them on and test them in game. Most recent scripts written for QBCore or QBox load ox_lib. ox_lib is provided by nova_lib, and no ox_lib folder exists on disk: in the fxmanifest of a script, the @ox_lib/init.lua line must be replaced with @nova_lib/shared/lib_init.lua, or the console shows "Failed to load script". Scripts written for ESX need to be adapted.
Can I install Nova with another host or change its code?
No. Nova only exists hosted by Nova Studio, and the framework is delivered read-only so that every server gets the same updates. Your own scripts, on the other hand, stay entirely yours.
Do I need to know how to code to use the Nova framework?
No. Jobs, economy, items, properties and permissions are set in game with /admin, and every change that affects players shows its impact before it is applied.
Is the Nova framework available in English?
The website and the account area are in French and English. In game, the language is a server setting, French by default, and the English translation of the modules is not complete yet.