How to track playtime on a FiveM roleplay server

How playtime is recorded on FiveM

FiveM doesn't keep an easy-to-query record of hours per player on its own. The piece that does is txAdmin, the admin panel that ships with virtually every modern server. txAdmin identifies each player by their identifiers (license, Discord, Steam, etc.) and accumulates the time they spend connected.

That information is stored in a file called playersDB.json, inside your server's txData folder. The real playtime record lives there, but raw: it's not convenient to read or to show to your team.

Where FiveMonitor fits in

FiveMonitor reads that playersDB.json directly and turns the hours into something useful inside the panel: next to each connected player you'll see their accumulated playtime, with no need to open files or set up external databases. It's the same data txAdmin records, presented clearly and in real time.

The big advantage is that you don't need to install any extra tracking resource or touch your framework database (ESX, QBCore, etc.). If you already use txAdmin, the hours are already being recorded; FiveMonitor just makes them visible.

Steps to start tracking playtime

1. Make sure you use txAdmin. If you start your server with the standard FiveM installer, you already have it. It's what accumulates each player's time.
2. Create your FiveMonitor account and install the script preconfigured with your API Key in your server's resources folder.
3. Grant FXServer read permission. FiveM blocks filesystem access by default, so you'll need to start the server with --allow-fs-read. We cover it step by step in the allow-fs-read setup guide.
4. Set the txAdmin path in the panel. On the API Key page, configure the path to your txData folder so FiveMonitor knows where to read the hours from.
5. Open the monitor. Within a few minutes you'll see each connected player's playtime, refreshing periodically.

What you can do with playtime data

• Sort your players by playtime to spot who is most active in your community.
• Back staff decisions: see at a glance whether a moderator candidate actually spends time on the server.
• Detect inactivity among team members or factions.
• Combine hours with live monitoring to understand not just how much, but how your users play.

If playtime shows up as 0

The most common reason is that FXServer doesn't have permission to read txAdmin's file. If every player shows 0 hours, review the allow-fs-read guide: in 90% of cases the problem is solved by adding --allow-fs-read and restarting the server process. Also check that the path configured in the panel matches the real location of your txData folder.

Take the next step

Tracking hours is just one part. With FiveMonitor you can also watch your players live with no impact on your server FPS. Create your account and start the 7-day free trial with no card, or check out the available plans.