Convert Assets with Alchemist

Your Legacy (Gen8) 3D assets — vehicles, props, maps, MLOs, clothing — won't load on FiveM Enhanced as-is. Alchemist is the official Cfx.re tool that converts them to the Enhanced (Gen9) format. This page covers what it converts, GUI vs CLI, the flags, and the one thing that trips everyone up: escrow.

What Alchemist does

Alchemist has two functions:

Asset Conversion — convert Legacy 3D assets to the Enhanced format.
Asset Refinement — fix formatting / compatibility issues in Legacy assets made by older tools.

When you point it at a folder, it:

Recursively finds every Legacy asset in all subfolders.
Converts them into a separate output/target directory.
Copies surrounding non-asset files (your scripts, UI, config) through unchanged.

Point it at your server's resources directory and you get a drop-in replacement resources folder, compatible with FiveM Enhanced, in the output directory.

Input and output must be different folders. You select your existing (Legacy) folder as input; Alchemist writes the converted copy to a new output folder. Your originals are never modified.

Supported filetypes

Alchemist converts exactly five asset filetypes:

Extension	Asset type
YDR	Drawable (props, static models)
YTD	Texture dictionary
YFT	Fragment (vehicles, breakables)
YPT	Particle effect
YDD	Drawable dictionary (clothing, component models)

Anything else (Lua, JS, XML, JSON, audio, fxmanifest.lua, etc.) is copied through untouched.

Requirements

Windows 11 is the stated supported OS.
Download Alchemist from the Cfx Portal (it's a free, official Cfx.re tool).

GUI vs CLI — pick based on escrow

There are two versions, and the only functional difference that matters is how they handle escrowed (Tebex-protected / encrypted) assets:

	Alchemist (GUI)	AlchemistCli.exe (CLI)
Selection	Browse dialogs	Folder paths as arguments
On an escrowed asset	Fails and stops the whole process	Skips it and notes it in the report
Batch / automation	—	Multi-threaded, scriptable
Best for	Small, unencrypted folders	Anything with escrowed assets

Neither version can decrypt escrow. Escrow-protected assets are never converted — the GUI aborts on the first one, the CLI skips and reports them. Protected/paid content stays on Legacy until Asset Escrow support ships for Enhanced. Only the original creator can de-escrow their asset.

Using the GUI

Launch Alchemist.
Remove any escrowed assets from the input tree first (or the process will abort).
Select your input folder (e.g. your resources directory).
Select a separate output/target folder.
Run the conversion and wait for it to finish.

Using the CLI

The CLI is recommended for batch jobs and for any tree that contains escrowed assets (it won't crash on them). Syntax:

AlchemistCli.exe [input_path] [output_path] [parameters]

Basic example:

C:\AlchemistCli.exe C:\input C:\output

Example with flags (5 threads, overwrite, stop on first error):

C:\AlchemistCli.exe C:\input C:\output -j5 -f --fail-on-error

CLI flags

Flag	Effect
`--refine`	Refine assets instead of converting (fix Legacy assets made by older tools)
`--relaxed`	Relaxed mode — auto-fixes and less strict checks (can alter the asset; verify in-game)
`-f`	Overwrite output files without prompting
`-jN`	Number of threads (default 10), e.g. `-j8`
`--fail-on-error`	Stop on the first error

Recommended workflow

Work on a copy of your resources folder.
Use the CLI so escrowed assets are skipped, not fatal.
Read the output report — it lists what was skipped (escrowed) so you know what stays on Legacy.
Test converted assets in-game on your Enhanced test server before deploying. Pay extra attention to anything converted with --relaxed.

Troubleshooting

Alchemist GUI stops partway through a folder

It hit an escrowed asset — the GUI fails and stops on the first one. Either remove escrowed assets before running, or switch to AlchemistCli.exe, which skips them automatically and lists them in the output report.

A converted vehicle/prop looks wrong or won't spawn

Try converting it without --relaxed (relaxed mode applies auto-fixes that can alter the asset). If it still fails, the source asset may have been built with an old/broken tool — try --refine to correct formatting first. Always test converted assets in-game.

My paid Tebex script's models didn't convert

That's expected — they're escrow-protected, and escrow can't be decrypted by Alchemist. Keep those resources on Legacy until Asset Escrow ships for Enhanced, or ask the creator whether they'll provide an Enhanced-compatible build.

Full official reference: docs.fivem.net/docs/alchemist. Building your own props? See our prop-creation workflow in the HZ-Scripts Discord.