How to Install fiveshield on Your FiveM Server in 5 Minutes

Before You Start

You'll need:

• A Discord account (used to log in to fiveshield)
• A FiveM server already running (any hosting provider)
• $10 CAD for the initial balance deposit
• Access to your server's file system (so you can drop in the resource and edit server.cfg)

That's it. No DNS changes, no Cloudflare setup, no complex networking. The whole process takes under 5 minutes.

Step 1 — Connect With Discord

Head to the fiveshield anti-DDoS dashboard and click Log in with Discord. We use Discord OAuth — we never see your password. Your Discord account becomes your fiveshield identity.

Once logged in, you'll land on the dashboard where you can manage your servers, monitor player counts, and control your balance.

Step 2 — Create Your Server and Fund Your Balance

Click Create Server from the dashboard. You'll need to:

• Name your server — this becomes your fiveshield subdomain (e.g. myserver.fiveshield.co)
• Choose a proxy location — pick the region closest to your player base (BHS5, DE1, GRA11, RBX-A, SBG5, UK1, WAW1, SGP1, or SYD1)
• Deposit $10 CAD — this is not a fee, it goes directly into your balance and is used to pay for your daily usage

The $10 deposit ensures your account has funds to cover the first days of protection. After that, billing is daily based on your peak player count — no contracts, no subscriptions.

Step 3 — Download and Place the Resource

From your server's dashboard, open the install guide and click Download fiveshield. You'll get a zip containing a single fiveshield folder with everything inside:

• The Lua resource files (server.lua, fxmanifest.lua, version.txt)
• A fiveshield.cfg file (your personal config, with your subdomain, API key, and proxy IP ranges already filled in)

Extract the zip and place the folder like this:

your-server/
├── server.cfg
└── resources/
    └── fiveshield/       ← place the resource folder HERE
        ├── fxmanifest.lua
        ├── server.lua
        ├── fiveshield.cfg   ← your personalized config (stays inside)
        └── version.txt

Note: fiveshield.cfg now lives inside the resource folder. You do not need to move it next to server.cfg anymore.

You don't need to edit fiveshield.cfg. The downloaded file already contains your subdomain, your API key, and the correct CDN and IP-range settings. The proxy IP ranges also stay up to date automatically at runtime — the resource refreshes sv_proxyIPRanges from our API on every server start.

Step 4 — Add exec resources/fiveshield/fiveshield.cfg to server.cfg

Open your server.cfg and add this as the very first line, before any other exec or ensure commands:

exec resources/fiveshield/fiveshield.cfg

That single line is everything. It loads fiveshield.cfg from inside the resource folder, which in turn:

• Sets your CDN endpoint and proxy IP ranges
• Forces indirect listing through your fiveshield subdomain
• Starts the fiveshield resource with ensure fiveshield

You do not need to add ensure fiveshield to server.cfg yourself — fiveshield.cfg already does it for you. Adding it twice will cause errors.

Why the first line? fiveshield needs to configure listing and file-server settings before FiveM reads the rest of your config. If the exec line comes after other commands, the protection may not load correctly.

Step 5 — Restart Your Server

Restart (or start) your FiveM server. When it boots, you should see the fiveshield banner in the console confirming:

DDoS Protection is now active

Behind the scenes, the resource:

1. Registers with our API using your API key
2. Checks for updates and auto-updates itself if a new version is available
3. Validates your configuration — ensuring all required settings are present
4. Starts routing player traffic — each connecting player is assigned a proxy instance in your chosen location

CDN caching is handled automatically through fiveshield.cfg — resource downloads are served via our 330+ global CDN edge locations with no extra setup.

Optional but Strongly Recommended — OVH Edge Firewall

If your origin server is hosted on OVH (bare metal, VPS, or Game), finish the install by locking down the Edge Network Firewall so nothing but fiveshield and your own IP can reach the box. This is what prevents attackers from bypassing the proxy and hitting your origin IP directly.

In the OVH Manager, go to Bare Metal Cloud → Network → IP, find your server's IP, open the ⋮ menu → Configure the Edge Network Firewall, and add:

Then flip the Active toggle on in the top-right.

Critical: The Allow rule at priority 1 must have an IP filled in. Leaving the Source IP empty allows all IPv4 traffic and defeats the whole firewall.

You can add more Allow rules (priorities 2, 3, …) for each IP you want to whitelist — your home IP, your admin's IP, etc. fiveshield's own proxy traffic is already handled at a different layer and does not need to be whitelisted here.

What Happens Next

Once your server is running with fiveshield:

• Dashboard monitoring — real-time player counts, bandwidth stats, and cache hit rates
• Daily billing — charged based on your peak concurrent players each day (minimum $2.25 CAD/day)
• Automatic protection — DDoS attacks are absorbed silently, no action needed from you
• Cache management — purge CDN cache with one click when you update resources

Common Questions

Can I change my proxy location later? Yes — you can switch locations anytime from the dashboard.

What if my balance runs out? Your server will be disabled — all active player sessions are closed and proxy forwarding stops. Top up your balance from the dashboard to re-enable protection.

Does this work with txAdmin? Yes. fiveshield includes txAdmin panel protection at no extra cost.

Do I need to change my server IP? No. Players connect through fiveshield's proxy — your origin IP stays hidden and unchanged (especially if you also set up the OVH firewall above).

Where do I find my API key if I need to reinstall? Open your server in the dashboard, click Install Guide, and download a fresh zip. The new fiveshield.cfg will contain your current API key ready to use.

Learn More

• How fiveshield protects your FiveM server from DDoS attacks — the multi-layer architecture behind the scenes
• Understanding XDP: the technology behind our L4 filtering — why same-location latency is < 0.5ms
• Why every FiveM server needs a CDN cache — 98% bandwidth reduction, explained
• Pay-per-player pricing explained — how daily billing and volume discounts work