Plugins

FiveLaunch can handle FiveM.app/plugins two ways per client. The choice matters because some injectors and config tools assume plugins live at one specific physical path.

The two plugin modes

junction (linked folder)

• FiveM.app/plugins becomes a junction to the client’s plugins folder.
• Nothing gets copied, so it’s fast.
• Some tools, ReShade tooling in particular, resolve the real path and end up reading or writing inside the client folder.

sync (copy mode)

• FiveM.app/plugins stays a real folder.
• At launch, FiveLaunch copies the client’s plugins into it.
• While the game runs, FiveLaunch syncs a short list of safe config files back to the client.
• When the game exits, FiveLaunch finishes syncing those files.

If a plugin is acting strange, switch the client’s pluginsMode to sync before anything else.

Plugins that break, and why

ReShade

ReShade is the main reason the mode matters. Three things go wrong in junction mode:

• Config paths point to the wrong place. ReShade.ini stores paths like PresetPath, EffectSearchPaths, and TextureSearchPaths. If ReShade wrote them against FiveM.app/plugins, a junction can make them resolve into the client folder instead.
• ReShade installs but doesn’t load. ReShade and its add-ons find resources relative to a physical path, and the junction’s real path confuses them.
• Edits end up in the wrong folder. Setups that expect presets to update next to FiveM.exe or inside FiveM.app/plugins save them into the client folder instead.

The fix is pluginsMode: sync. ReShade then sees its files inside FiveM.app/plugins like it expects.

With plugins on, FiveLaunch writes ReShade debug output for each client to %APPDATA%\FiveLaunch\clients\<clientId>\settings\reshade\diagnostics.log. Attach that file first when you open an issue.

To find your GTA V install for this check, FiveLaunch v2.7 and later reads CitizenFX.ini hints, Rockstar’s registry keys, and every Steam library listed in the Steam registry entries and libraryfolders.vdf. Installs on a second drive work, not only the default Program Files (x86)\Steam path.

ReShade add-ons

Shader packs and helper DLLs work better in sync mode when they do any of these:

• resolve paths with realpath
• assume a specific working directory
• read or write extra .ini or .log files at runtime

ENB

ENB isn’t a plugin-folder tool. It hooks the game’s graphics DLL chain and expects to sit next to the game executable. It fails in FiveM for three common reasons:

• Wrong injection target. FiveM’s launch flow and wrapper executables differ from a vanilla GTA install.
• Hook conflicts. Other overlays and injectors can keep ENB from attaching.
• File placement. ENB wants its files in the game root, not FiveM.app/plugins.

Treat ENB on FiveM as unsupported. If you try it anyway, keep a clean backup and use pluginsMode: sync for any parts that live in the plugins folder.

Troubleshooting checklist

1. Close FiveM and GTA V.
2. Switch the client’s pluginsMode to sync.
3. Launch once so FiveLaunch fills FiveM.app/plugins.
4. Check that ReShade loads and your preset paths still point somewhere real.
5. Still broken? Attach diagnostics.log from the client’s settings/reshade folder to a GitHub issue.