GTA settings XML

This page documents the gta5_settings.xml format FiveLaunch manages.

FiveLaunch applies this file (on launch) to every location FiveM reads settings from:

%APPDATA%\\CitizenFX\\gta5_settings.xml (most common)
%LOCALAPPDATA%\\CitizenFX\\gta5_settings.xml (some installs)
FiveM.app/settings.xml (some launch flows)

Import from game

The Import from game button in the settings editor reads your existing GTA settings so a client starts from your real configuration. It reads the authoritative file first — the one GTA V itself writes:

Documents\\Rockstar Games\\GTA V\\settings.xml (preferred) — resolved through the Windows known-folder API, so OneDrive and custom Documents redirects are followed automatically. Steam, Rockstar, and Epic installs all write to this same location.
then the FiveM/CitizenFX copies listed above, as fallbacks

The Documents copy is preferred on purpose: it is the only file guaranteed to carry the full graphics config and <VideoCardDescription> — the name of your detected GPU. That value matters (see below).

Why settings sometimes “apply but don’t take effect” — the GPU name

GTA records your graphics card in <VideoCardDescription> and compares it against the hardware it detects at boot. If that element is missing or doesn’t match, GTA assumes your hardware changed, throws the graphics block away, and re-runs auto-detection — so the file on disk looks right, but the game runs on regenerated defaults.

FiveLaunch carries the real <VideoCardDescription> from your authoritative GTA settings into every file it saves and applies, so the graphics block is accepted instead of being discarded. Where that name comes from, in order:

your authoritative Documents\\Rockstar Games\\GTA V\\settings.xml;
the settings file currently applied to FiveM;
auto-detected from your hardware — as a last resort (e.g. a brand-new machine with no GTA settings yet), FiveLaunch queries the OS for your GPU and fills the name in. On a laptop/desktop with both an integrated and a discrete GPU it prefers the discrete card (the one GTA renders on).

Nothing is hardcoded — the value always reflects your actual graphics card.

Example file (template)

This is the template shipped in this repo at src/content/docs/reference/settings-template.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Settings>
  <configSource>SMC_USER</configSource>
  <version value="27"></version>
  <graphics>
    <Tessellation value="1"></Tessellation>
    <LodScale value="0.5"></LodScale>
    <PedLodBias value="0.200000"></PedLodBias>
    <VehicleLodBias value="0.000000"></VehicleLodBias>
    <ShadowQuality value="0"></ShadowQuality>
    <ReflectionQuality value="0"></ReflectionQuality>
    <ReflectionMSAA value="2"></ReflectionMSAA>
    <SSAO value="0"></SSAO>
    <AnisotropicFiltering value="0"></AnisotropicFiltering>
    <MSAA value="0"></MSAA>
    <MSAAFragments value="0"></MSAAFragments>
    <MSAAQuality value="0"></MSAAQuality>
    <SamplingMode value="0"></SamplingMode>
    <TextureQuality value="0"></TextureQuality>
    <ParticleQuality value="0"></ParticleQuality>
    <WaterQuality value="0"></WaterQuality>
    <GrassQuality value="0"></GrassQuality>
    <ShaderQuality value="0"></ShaderQuality>
    <Shadow_SoftShadows value="5"></Shadow_SoftShadows>
    <UltraShadows_Enabled value="false"></UltraShadows_Enabled>
    <Shadow_ParticleShadows value="false"></Shadow_ParticleShadows>
    <Shadow_Distance value="2.000000"></Shadow_Distance>
    <Shadow_LongShadows value="false"></Shadow_LongShadows>
    <Shadow_SplitZStart value="0.930000"></Shadow_SplitZStart>
    <Shadow_SplitZEnd value="0.890000"></Shadow_SplitZEnd>
    <Shadow_aircraftExpWeight value="0.990000"></Shadow_aircraftExpWeight>
    <Shadow_DisableScreenSizeCheck value="false"></Shadow_DisableScreenSizeCheck>
    <Reflection_MipBlur value="false"></Reflection_MipBlur>
    <FXAA_Enabled value="false"></FXAA_Enabled>
    <TXAA_Enabled value="false"></TXAA_Enabled>
    <Lighting_FogVolumes value="false"></Lighting_FogVolumes>
    <Shader_SSA value="false"></Shader_SSA>
    <DX_Version value="2"></DX_Version>
    <CityDensity value="1.000000"></CityDensity>
    <PedVarietyMultiplier value="1.000000"></PedVarietyMultiplier>
    <VehicleVarietyMultiplier value="1.000000"></VehicleVarietyMultiplier>
    <PostFX value="0"></PostFX>
    <DoF value="false"></DoF>
    <HdStreamingInFlight value="false"></HdStreamingInFlight>
    <MaxLodScale value="1.000000"></MaxLodScale>
    <MotionBlurStrength value="0.000000"></MotionBlurStrength>
  </graphics>
  <system>
    <numBytesPerReplayBlock value="9000000"></numBytesPerReplayBlock>
    <numReplayBlocks value="30"></numReplayBlocks>
    <maxSizeOfStreamingReplay value="1024"></maxSizeOfStreamingReplay>
    <maxFileStoreSize value="65536"></maxFileStoreSize>
  </system>
  <audio>
    <Audio3d value="false"></Audio3d>
  </audio>
  <video>
    <AdapterIndex value="0"></AdapterIndex>
    <OutputIndex value="0"></OutputIndex>
    <ScreenWidth value="2560"></ScreenWidth>
    <ScreenHeight value="1440"></ScreenHeight>
    <RefreshRate value="239"></RefreshRate>
    <Windowed value="2"></Windowed>
    <VSync value="0"></VSync>
    <Stereo value="0"></Stereo>
    <Convergence value="0.100000"></Convergence>
    <Separation value="1.000000"></Separation>
    <PauseOnFocusLoss value="1"></PauseOnFocusLoss>
    <AspectRatio value="5"></AspectRatio>
  </video>
</Settings>

Template breakdown (line-by-line)

This table lists every <Setting value="…" /> entry that appears in the template, along with the allowed values from the mapping.

XML element	In-game name	Template value	Meaning / allowed values
`<version value="…" />`	version	`27`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<Tessellation value="…" />`	Tessellation	`1` Normal	`0`: Off `1`: Normal `2`: High `3`: Very High
`<LodScale value="…" />`	Distance Scaling	`0.5`	`0 … 1 (step 0.1)`
`<PedLodBias value="…" />`	Ped Lod Bias	`0.200000`	`0 … 1 (step 0.1)`
`<VehicleLodBias value="…" />`	Vehicle Lod Bias	`0.000000`	`0 … 1 (step 0.1)`
`<ShadowQuality value="…" />`	Shadow Quality	`0` Off	`0`: Off `1`: Normal `2`: High `3`: Very High
`<ReflectionQuality value="…" />`	Reflection Quality	`0` Normal	`0`: Normal `1`: High `2`: Very High `3`: Ultra
`<ReflectionMSAA value="…" />`	Reflection MSAA	`2` X2	`0`: Off `2`: X2 `4`: X4 `8`: X8
`<SSAO value="…" />`	Ambient Occlusion	`0` Off	`0`: Off `1`: Normal `2`: High
`<AnisotropicFiltering value="…" />`	Anisotropic Filtering	`0` Off	`0`: Off `2`: X2 `4`: X4 `8`: X8 `16`: X16
`<MSAA value="…" />`	MSAA	`0` Off	`0`: Off `2`: X2 `4`: X4 `8`: X8
`<MSAAFragments value="…" />`	MSAAFragments	`0`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<MSAAQuality value="…" />`	MSAAQuality	`0`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<SamplingMode value="…" />`	Frame Scaling Mode	`0` Off	`0`: Off `1`: x0.500 `2`: x0.667 `3`: x0.750 `4`: x0.833 `5`: x1.000 `6`: x1.250 `7`: x1.500 `8`: x2.000
`<TextureQuality value="…" />`	Texture Quality	`0` Normal	`0`: Normal `1`: High `2`: Very High
`<ParticleQuality value="…" />`	Particles Quality	`0` Normal	`0`: Normal `1`: High `2`: Very High
`<WaterQuality value="…" />`	Water Quality	`0` Normal	`0`: Normal `1`: High `2`: Very High
`<GrassQuality value="…" />`	Grass Quality	`0` Normal	`0`: Normal `1`: High `2`: Very High `3`: Ultra
`<ShaderQuality value="…" />`	Shader Quality	`0` Normal	`0`: Normal `1`: High `2`: Very High
`<Shadow_SoftShadows value="…" />`	Soft Shadows	`5` NVIDIA PCSS	`0`: Sharp `1`: Soft `2`: Softer `3`: Softest `4`: AMD CHS `5`: NVIDIA PCSS
`<UltraShadows_Enabled value="…" />`	High Resolution Shadows	`false` Off	`false`: Off `true`: On
`<Shadow_ParticleShadows value="…" />`	Particle Shadows	`false` Off	`false`: Off `true`: On
`<Shadow_Distance value="…" />`	Extended Shadows Distance	`2.000000`	`0 … 2 (step 0.1)`
`<Shadow_LongShadows value="…" />`	Long Shadows	`false` Off	`false`: Off `true`: On
`<Shadow_SplitZStart value="…" />`	Shadow Split ZStart	`0.930000`	`0.5 … 1 (step 0.01)`
`<Shadow_SplitZEnd value="…" />`	Shadow Split ZEnd	`0.890000`	`0.5 … 1 (step 0.01)`
`<Shadow_aircraftExpWeight value="…" />`	Shadow aircraft Exp Weight	`0.990000`	`0.9 … 1 (step 0.01)`
`<Shadow_DisableScreenSizeCheck value="…" />`	Shadow Disable Screen Size Check	`false` Off	`false`: Off `true`: On
`<Reflection_MipBlur value="…" />`	Reflection Mip Blur	`false` Off	`false`: Off `true`: On
`<FXAA_Enabled value="…" />`	FXAA	`false` Off	`false`: Off `true`: On
`<TXAA_Enabled value="…" />`	NVIDIA TXAA	`false` Off	`false`: Off `true`: On
`<Lighting_FogVolumes value="…" />`	Fog Volumes	`false` Off	`false`: Off `true`: On
`<Shader_SSA value="…" />`	Shader SSA	`false` Off	`false`: Off `true`: On
`<DX_Version value="…" />`	DirectX Version	`2` DirectX 11	`0`: DirectX 10 `1`: DirectX 10.1 `2`: DirectX 11
`<CityDensity value="…" />`	Population Density	`1.000000`	`0 … 1 (step 0.1)`
`<PedVarietyMultiplier value="…" />`	Population Variety (Peds)	`1.000000`	`0 … 1 (step 0.1)`
`<VehicleVarietyMultiplier value="…" />`	Population Variety (Vehicles)	`1.000000`	`0 … 1 (step 0.1)`
`<PostFX value="…" />`	Post FX	`0` Normal	`0`: Normal `1`: High `2`: Very High `3`: Ultra
`<DoF value="…" />`	In-Game Depth Of Field Effects	`false` Off	`false`: Off `true`: On
`<HdStreamingInFlight value="…" />`	High Detail Streaming While Flying	`false` Off	`false`: Off `true`: On
`<MaxLodScale value="…" />`	Extended Distance Scaling	`1.000000`	`0 … 1 (step 0.1)`
`<MotionBlurStrength value="…" />`	Motion Blur Strength	`0.000000`	`0 … 1 (step 0.1)`
`<numBytesPerReplayBlock value="…" />`	num Bytes Per Replay Block	`9000000`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<numReplayBlocks value="…" />`	num Replay Blocks	`30`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<maxSizeOfStreamingReplay value="…" />`	max Size Of Streaming Replay	`1024`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<maxFileStoreSize value="…" />`	max File Store Size	`65536`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<Audio3d value="…" />`	3D Audio	`false` Off	`false`: Off `true`: On
`<AdapterIndex value="…" />`	Adapter Index	`0`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<OutputIndex value="…" />`	Output Monitor	`0`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<ScreenWidth value="…" />`	Resolution Width	`2560`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<ScreenHeight value="…" />`	Resolution Height	`1440`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<RefreshRate value="…" />`	Refresh Rate	`239`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<Windowed value="…" />`	Screen Type	`2` Windowed Borderless	`0`: Fullscreen `1`: Windowed `2`: Windowed Borderless
`<VSync value="…" />`	VSync	`0` Off	`0`: Off `1`: On `2`: Half
`<Stereo value="…" />`	Stereoscopic 3D	`0` Off	`0`: Off `1`: On
`<Convergence value="…" />`	Convergence	`0.100000`	`0 … 1 (step 0.01)`
`<Separation value="…" />`	Separation	`1.000000`	`0 … 1 (step 0.01)`
`<PauseOnFocusLoss value="…" />`	Pause Game On Focus Loss	`1` On	`0`: Off `1`: On
`<AspectRatio value="…" />`	Aspect Ratio	`5` 16:9	`0`: Auto `1`: 3:2 `2`: 4:3 `3`: 5:3 `4`: 5:4 `5`: 16:9 `6`: 16:10

What each setting means (mapping)

The tables below are generated from gtaSettingsMap.ts. As of v2.7, every value label is the exact name the in-game menu shows (verified against files GTA V itself writes), and the “In-game name” column is the setting’s name in the GTA menus — so what you see in FiveLaunch matches the game’s own settings screen one-to-one. A few notable corrections from the older mapping:

SamplingMode is “Frame Scaling Mode” (Advanced Graphics), a render-resolution multiplier from x0.500 to x2.000 — not a DLSS/FSR selector.
Shadow_SoftShadows runs Sharp → Soft → Softer → Softest, then the vendor techniques AMD CHS and NVIDIA PCSS.
AnisotropicFiltering has no x1 step: the menu writes Off / X2 / X4 / X8 / X16 only.
Stereo is written by the game as 0/1, not true/false.
MSAAFragments and MSAAQuality are hidden tuning values the menu never exposes, so they’re treated as raw values instead of getting invented labels.

Advanced

XML element	In-game name	Type	Values
`<AsyncComputeEnabled value="…" />`	Async Compute Enabled	`select`	`false` - Off `true` - On
`<DX_Version value="…" />`	DirectX Version	`select`	`0` - DirectX 10 `1` - DirectX 10.1 `2` - DirectX 11
`<maxFileStoreSize value="…" />`	max File Store Size	`text`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<maxSizeOfStreamingReplay value="…" />`	max Size Of Streaming Replay	`text`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<MSAAFragments value="…" />`	MSAAFragments	`text`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<MSAAQuality value="…" />`	MSAAQuality	`text`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<numBytesPerReplayBlock value="…" />`	num Bytes Per Replay Block	`text`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<numReplayBlocks value="…" />`	num Replay Blocks	`text`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<Shader_SSA value="…" />`	Shader SSA	`select`	`false` - Off `true` - On

Anti-Aliasing

XML element	In-game name	Type	Values
`<FXAA_Enabled value="…" />`	FXAA	`select`	`false` - Off `true` - On
`<MSAA value="…" />`	MSAA	`select`	`0` - Off `2` - X2 `4` - X4 `8` - X8
`<SamplingMode value="…" />`	Frame Scaling Mode	`select`	`0` - Off `1` - x0.500 `2` - x0.667 `3` - x0.750 `4` - x0.833 `5` - x1.000 `6` - x1.250 `7` - x1.500 `8` - x2.000
`<TXAA_Enabled value="…" />`	NVIDIA TXAA	`select`	`false` - Off `true` - On

Audio

XML element	In-game name	Type	Values
`<Audio3d value="…" />`	3D Audio	`select`	`false` - Off `true` - On

Display

XML element	In-game name	Type	Values
`<AdapterIndex value="…" />`	Adapter Index	`text`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<AspectRatio value="…" />`	Aspect Ratio	`select`	`0` - Auto `1` - 3:2 `2` - 4:3 `3` - 5:3 `4` - 5:4 `5` - 16:9 `6` - 16:10
`<OutputIndex value="…" />`	Output Monitor	`text`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<PauseOnFocusLoss value="…" />`	Pause Game On Focus Loss	`select`	`0` - Off `1` - On
`<RefreshRate value="…" />`	Refresh Rate	`text`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<ScreenHeight value="…" />`	Resolution Height	`text`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<ScreenWidth value="…" />`	Resolution Width	`text`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<TripleBuffered value="…" />`	Triple Buffering	`select`	`false` - Off `true` - On
`<VSync value="…" />`	VSync	`select`	`0` - Off `1` - On `2` - Half
`<Windowed value="…" />`	Screen Type	`select`	`0` - Fullscreen `1` - Windowed `2` - Windowed Borderless

Effects

XML element	In-game name	Type	Values
`<DoF value="…" />`	In-Game Depth Of Field Effects	`select`	`false` - Off `true` - On
`<MotionBlurStrength value="…" />`	Motion Blur Strength	`slider`	`0 … 1 (step 0.1)`
`<ParticleQuality value="…" />`	Particles Quality	`select`	`0` - Normal `1` - High `2` - Very High
`<PostFX value="…" />`	Post FX	`select`	`0` - Normal `1` - High `2` - Very High `3` - Ultra

Graphics Quality

XML element	In-game name	Type	Values
`<AnisotropicFiltering value="…" />`	Anisotropic Filtering	`select`	`0` - Off `2` - X2 `4` - X4 `8` - X8 `16` - X16
`<GrassQuality value="…" />`	Grass Quality	`select`	`0` - Normal `1` - High `2` - Very High `3` - Ultra
`<Lighting_FogVolumes value="…" />`	Fog Volumes	`select`	`false` - Off `true` - On
`<Reflection_MipBlur value="…" />`	Reflection Mip Blur	`select`	`false` - Off `true` - On
`<ReflectionMSAA value="…" />`	Reflection MSAA	`select`	`0` - Off `2` - X2 `4` - X4 `8` - X8
`<ReflectionQuality value="…" />`	Reflection Quality	`select`	`0` - Normal `1` - High `2` - Very High `3` - Ultra
`<ShaderQuality value="…" />`	Shader Quality	`select`	`0` - Normal `1` - High `2` - Very High
`<ShadowQuality value="…" />`	Shadow Quality	`select`	`0` - Off `1` - Normal `2` - High `3` - Very High
`<SSAO value="…" />`	Ambient Occlusion	`select`	`0` - Off `1` - Normal `2` - High
`<Tessellation value="…" />`	Tessellation	`select`	`0` - Off `1` - Normal `2` - High `3` - Very High
`<WaterQuality value="…" />`	Water Quality	`select`	`0` - Normal `1` - High `2` - Very High

Performance

XML element	In-game name	Type	Values
`<HdStreamingInFlight value="…" />`	High Detail Streaming While Flying	`select`	`false` - Off `true` - On
`<LodScale value="…" />`	Distance Scaling	`slider`	`0 … 1 (step 0.1)`
`<MaxLodScale value="…" />`	Extended Distance Scaling	`slider`	`0 … 1 (step 0.1)`
`<PedLodBias value="…" />`	Ped Lod Bias	`slider`	`0 … 1 (step 0.1)`
`<VehicleLodBias value="…" />`	Vehicle Lod Bias	`slider`	`0 … 1 (step 0.1)`

Population

XML element	In-game name	Type	Values
`<CityDensity value="…" />`	Population Density	`slider`	`0 … 1 (step 0.1)`
`<PedVarietyMultiplier value="…" />`	Population Variety (Peds)	`slider`	`0 … 1 (step 0.1)`
`<VehicleVarietyMultiplier value="…" />`	Population Variety (Vehicles)	`slider`	`0 … 1 (step 0.1)`

Shadows

XML element	In-game name	Type	Values
`<Shadow_aircraftExpWeight value="…" />`	Shadow aircraft Exp Weight	`slider`	`0.9 … 1 (step 0.01)`
`<Shadow_DisableScreenSizeCheck value="…" />`	Shadow Disable Screen Size Check	`select`	`false` - Off `true` - On
`<Shadow_Distance value="…" />`	Extended Shadows Distance	`slider`	`0 … 2 (step 0.1)`
`<Shadow_LongShadows value="…" />`	Long Shadows	`select`	`false` - Off `true` - On
`<Shadow_ParticleShadows value="…" />`	Particle Shadows	`select`	`false` - Off `true` - On
`<Shadow_SoftShadows value="…" />`	Soft Shadows	`select`	`0` - Sharp `1` - Soft `2` - Softer `3` - Softest `4` - AMD CHS `5` - NVIDIA PCSS
`<Shadow_SplitZEnd value="…" />`	Shadow Split ZEnd	`slider`	`0.5 … 1 (step 0.01)`
`<Shadow_SplitZStart value="…" />`	Shadow Split ZStart	`slider`	`0.5 … 1 (step 0.01)`
`<UltraShadows_Enabled value="…" />`	High Resolution Shadows	`select`	`false` - Off `true` - On

Stereoscopic 3D

XML element	In-game name	Type	Values
`<Convergence value="…" />`	Convergence	`slider`	`0 … 1 (step 0.01)`
`<Separation value="…" />`	Separation	`slider`	`0 … 1 (step 0.01)`
`<Stereo value="…" />`	Stereoscopic 3D	`select`	`0` - Off `1` - On

System Info

XML element	In-game name	Type	Values
`<configSource value="…" />`	config Source	`text`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<version value="…" />`	version	`text`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)
`<VideoCardDescription value="…" />`	Video Card	`text`	Free text / numeric (depends on GTA)

Texture & Details

XML element	In-game name	Type	Values
`<TextureQuality value="…" />`	Texture Quality	`select`	`0` - Normal `1` - High `2` - Very High

Validation & repair

GTA discards its settings file and regenerates auto-detected defaults whenever the file is missing, truncated, structurally incomplete, or contains a value it doesn’t accept. To keep that from wiping your setup, FiveLaunch (v2.6+) validates and repairs the document both when you save it and again right before it is applied on launch:

Each value is checked against the schema in the mapping above. Booleans must be true/false, enums must be one of the values the in-game menu actually writes, and numbers/resolutions must parse; invalid values are replaced.
Hidden below-menu values are preserved: quality settings accept -1 (widely shared low-end “potato” configs rely on it), even though the menu itself only goes down to Normal. The settings editor shows such values as “(custom)” instead of discarding them.
Any missing settings are filled in so the file is always complete, including the version node, configSource=SMC_USER, and <VideoCardDescription> (your GPU, taken from your real settings or auto-detected from your hardware if none exists yet).
Replacement values are taken from your authoritative GTA settings (the real Documents\\Rockstar Games\\GTA V\\settings.xml) and current live game settings first, then the template, so nothing silently drops to a hardcoded default.
The file is written atomically and read back to verify, so the game never sees a partial write.

Fixes made while saving in the editor are reported back to you.

Notes

If you set an unknown value, GTA/FiveM may clamp it, ignore it, or rewrite it on launch.
If your graphics settings “apply but don’t take effect”, it’s almost always a missing or mismatched <VideoCardDescription>. FiveLaunch now carries your real GPU name into the applied file; Import from game (which reads the real Documents\\Rockstar Games\\GTA V\\settings.xml) is the most reliable way to seed it.
If your settings “keep resetting”, FiveLaunch now repairs the file before applying it; a reset after that usually means something else (an “optimizer” tool, fivem_sdk.cfg, or a read-only file) is overwriting it after launch.

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