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If your FiveM server banner is missing, edit the server.cfg that FXServer actually loads, enable the correct banner variable, use an image URL reachable from the public internet, and restart FXServer. The two settings are independent: banner_detail controls the server information page, while banner_connecting controls the connecting screen.
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sets banner_detail "https://your-host.example/banner-detail.png"
sets banner_connecting "https://your-host.example/banner-connecting.png"A leading #, an image URL that cannot be fetched, editing the wrong configuration file, or skipping the restart is enough to make a correctly written banner appear to do nothing. If the server itself is not listed, solve that visibility problem separately; a banner cannot appear in a listing entry that clients cannot see.
Use the correct banner setting
FiveM has two banner variables, and each appears in a different place in the client.
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| Setting | Where it appears | Value |
|---|---|---|
sets banner_detail |
The server detail or information view | A directly reachable image URL |
sets banner_connecting |
The screen shown while a player connects | A directly reachable image URL |
Use the exact spelling and capitalization shown above. The official vanilla-server example treats both options as optional server-information or connecting banner image URLs. It also says that size does not matter: any banner-sized image is acceptable. That means a missing image is usually a configuration, loading, or delivery problem rather than a rejected width or height.
Enable the line
In a configuration file, a line beginning with # is a comment. It is ignored by FXServer. Change this:
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
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| 2 |
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|
Grand Theft Auto V: Premium Edition - PC [Online Game Code] | $29.98 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
![Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced + Great White Shark Card - PC [Online Game Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51TkvnRYNOL._SL160_.jpg)
|
Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced + Great White Shark Card - PC [Online Game Code] | $44.97 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Grand Theft Auto V | $39.98 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Grand Theft Auto V (PC) | $79.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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#sets banner_detail "https://your-host.example/banner-detail.png"to this:
sets banner_detail "https://your-host.example/banner-detail.png"Do the same for banner_connecting if you want an image on the connecting screen. You can enable either setting or both; one does not automatically populate the other.
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- Stop or pause the server safely. Use your host panel’s stop control or the console method you normally use. This prevents a restart from racing with a file save.
- Open the active configuration. Find the file passed to FXServer through
+exec server.cfg, or the equivalent startup argument in your launch script or hosting panel. Many installations contain several files namedserver.cfg; changing an unused copy has no effect. - Search for both variables. Look for
banner_detailandbanner_connecting. Remove a leading#from the setting you need, or add a new line if it is absent. - Replace the placeholder URL. Put the complete image address between quotation marks. Do not use a path that only works on the server computer, such as
C:imagesbanner.png, a local network address, or a file-system path. - Save the file without changing its syntax. Keep the
setsprefix, the variable name, and the quoted URL on one line. - Restart FXServer. Configuration values are read when the server starts. A browser refresh or reconnecting a player does not reload a changed
server.cfg. - Check the correct client view. Test
banner_detailfrom the server’s information/detail page andbanner_connectingduring an actual connection attempt. Looking in the wrong view can make a working setting seem broken.
Make sure the image URL can be delivered
These settings accept URLs, so the image must be retrievable by the FiveM client, not merely visible to you while logged in to an image host. Test the address from a device or network outside the server machine.
Check the address itself
- Paste the complete URL into a private browser window. It should display the image without signing in, accepting a private invitation, or adding a temporary token.
- Prefer an HTTPS URL. If the address redirects, test the final destination as well as the original address.
- Confirm that the response is an image rather than an HTML error page, login form, expired-download message, or JSON response.
- Check that the file still exists and that its host permits direct or hotlinked image requests. A page containing an image is not necessarily the same as the image’s direct URL.
- Use a stable address. Temporary links, expiring query strings, and URLs tied to a personal session can stop working after a short period.
FiveM’s published settings specify image URLs but do not provide a complete host-by-host compatibility list. Redirects, authentication, hotlink protection, certificate problems, and non-image responses are therefore practical delivery checks rather than documented guarantees about any particular provider.
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Use a simple filename while testing
For diagnosis, choose a plain filename such as banner.png and place it at the root of the public image location. Avoid spaces and unusual characters until the banner appears. Once delivery is confirmed, you can replace it with the final artwork without changing the configuration procedure.
Confirm that FXServer loaded the file you edited
The most common “nothing changed” case is an edited file that FXServer never reads. A server can have a template configuration, a production configuration, and a panel-generated configuration with similar names.
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Inspect the command or panel field that launches FXServer. You should find an argument equivalent to:
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+exec server.cfgIf the argument names another file or includes a path, edit that referenced file instead. When a panel assembles the command automatically, open its startup-parameter or configuration-file selector and verify the selected filename.
Check for duplicate definitions
Search the active file and any files it includes for repeated banner variables. Keep one clear definition for each setting during testing. If a later included file overwrites an earlier value, the final value loaded by the server is the one that matters.
Read the startup console
After restarting, watch the FXServer console for the normal startup sequence and any configuration or URL-related errors. A clean restart does not prove that the image is reachable, but it confirms that the process was actually relaunched after the edit.
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Banner versus server icon
A banner is not the same asset as the server icon. The icon is configured separately with load_server_icon and uses a local PNG file. FiveM’s command reference specifies that the icon must be a 96×96 PNG.
| Asset | Configuration | Location or format | Typical symptom when confused |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detail banner | sets banner_detail "https://..." |
Public image URL | No image on the server information page |
| Connecting banner | sets banner_connecting "https://..." |
Public image URL | No image while joining |
| Server icon | load_server_icon filename.png |
Local 96×96 PNG | Icon missing or rejected even though a banner works |
Changing load_server_icon will not create a detail or connecting banner. Conversely, putting a banner URL into the icon setting does not satisfy the icon’s local-file and 96×96 requirements.
When the server is online by IP but missing from the list
A banner can be configured correctly while the public server-list entry is absent. In that case, players have no listing page on which to see the detail banner, and they may never reach the connecting screen through the normal browser.
Test a direct connection
In the FiveM client, use the direct-connect option and enter:
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Check forwarding and firewall rules
- Confirm that the configured game port is forwarded from the router to the machine running FXServer.
- Allow the required port through the host operating system’s firewall and any cloud or provider firewall.
- Verify that the public address points to the current machine and that no second server is answering on the same port.
A blocked or misdirected port can prevent listing and direct connection even though the console shows the server as running.
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Review the master-list setting
For normal listing, leave #sv_master1 "" commented. Uncommenting or changing that line can intentionally alter listing behavior. If you have modified it while troubleshooting, restore the commented form and restart before testing again.
Allow for listing delay
FiveM’s server-issues guidance says a server can take up to eight minutes to appear in the list after launch when no other heartbeats are sent. Wait through that interval after a clean restart before treating a temporary absence as a configuration failure.
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Set the project metadata used by the listing
Two metadata variables help identify the server in the public listing:
sets sv_projectName "Your Community Name"
sets sv_projectDesc "A sentence describing your project"sv_projectNameis the project or community name.sv_projectDescis a sentence describing the project.
These values do not replace either banner variable. They make the listing entry identifiable and help distinguish a listing problem from an image problem. Set them in the same active configuration file, restart FXServer, and then allow the listing refresh period.
Use a fault-isolation workflow
Work from the server process outward. Changing several unrelated settings at once makes it difficult to know which correction worked.
- Can you connect by IP and port? If no, investigate the server process, port forwarding, and firewalls first. A banner test is premature.
- Is the server listed after the waiting period? If no, check
#sv_master1 "", project metadata, network rules, and the eight-minute listing delay. - Is the intended line uncommented in the active file? Confirm the exact file loaded through
+exec server.cfg. - Does the URL open publicly as an image? Test it outside the server machine and without authentication. Follow redirects and check for hotlink blocking.
- Was FXServer restarted after the edit? Restart it, then test the matching client view.
- Are you testing the right asset? A detail banner, connecting banner, and 96×96 icon have separate settings and requirements.
Typical symptoms and targeted fixes
| Symptom | Likely cause | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Neither banner appears | Wrong file, commented lines, no restart, or inaccessible URL | Trace +exec, uncomment the settings, restart, and test the URL externally |
| Detail image appears but connecting image does not | Only banner_detail was configured, or the connecting URL is invalid |
Add or correct sets banner_connecting and restart |
| Connecting image appears but detail image does not | Only banner_connecting was configured, or the detail URL is invalid |
Add or correct sets banner_detail and restart |
| Icon is missing while a banner works | load_server_icon points to a missing, non-PNG, or incorrectly sized file |
Use a local PNG meeting the documented 96×96 requirement |
| Server works by IP but is absent from the browser | Listing delay, network rules, master-list setting, or missing metadata | Check direct-connect prerequisites, restore #sv_master1 "", set project name and description, and wait up to eight minutes |
| URL works in your browser but not in FiveM | Authentication, redirect, hotlink protection, certificate, or non-image response | Test from an external network and use a direct, stable image URL |
Configuration example for a clean test
The following minimal block lets you test both banner locations and the listing metadata together:
sets banner_detail "https://your-host.example/banner-detail.png"
sets banner_connecting "https://your-host.example/banner-connecting.png"
sets sv_projectName "Example Community"
sets sv_projectDesc "A sentence describing the project"
#sv_master1 ""Replace the two example image addresses with publicly reachable files, save this block in the configuration loaded by FXServer, restart, and test in this order: direct connection, listing visibility, detail view, then connecting screen. Keep load_server_icon as a separate setting if you also want an icon.
Quick Recap
What FiveM does not specify
There is no published banner failure-rate statistic or complete compatibility matrix for image hosts in the official material. Do not infer that a particular provider is universally supported or unsupported from one failed URL. Establish the cause on your server by checking the active configuration, restart state, public response, and the client view where the banner should appear.
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