vehiclelayouts.meta Guide: FiveM Seats, IK Bones, Entry

Full vehiclelayouts.meta reference for FiveM: seat bones, door indices, IK hand and foot targets, stock layout profiles and entry animation fixes.

vehiclelayouts.meta: GTA 5 & FiveM Seating, Ped IK Bones, and Entry Animation Architecture

The car looks right, drives right, and then the ped climbs in through the roof. Or stands beside the door for a second before teleporting into the seat. Or drives with both hands hovering above the wheel.

None of that is a model problem. vehiclelayouts.meta is what maps a character onto a vehicle — which bone is the seat, which door index belongs to which entry point, and where the hands and feet are pinned once seated.

This guide covers seat and door bindings, the IK targets for wheel and pedals, the stock LAYOUT_ profiles worth inheriting instead of writing your own, and the fixes for the three entry bugs that show up most.

1. The Architectural Role of vehiclelayouts.meta

In Grand Theft Auto V and the FiveM framework, vehiclelayouts.meta is the master configuration file governing human-machine physical interfaces. While vehicles.meta establishes general seating counts and archetype flags, and handling.meta handles chassis dynamics, vehiclelayouts.meta maps how ped models (characters) physically enter, sit within, transition across, aim from, and exit vehicles.

This file controls door interaction arcs, inverse kinematics (IK) bone attachments (hands on steering wheels, feet on pedals, hands on grab rails), seat transition routes, drive-by aiming boundaries, and heavy turret seat positions.

2. Core XML Architecture (<CVehicleMetadataMgr>)

The root container is <CVehicleMetadataMgr>, which houses the <VehicleLayouts> array containing individual <Item type="CVehicleLayoutMetadata"> configurations:

<CVehicleMetadataMgr>
  <VehicleLayouts>
    <Item type="CVehicleLayoutMetadata">
      <Name>LAYOUT_TT_CUSTOM_SUPER</Name>
      <SeatConfigurations>
        <Item>
          <Name>SEAT_DRIVER</Name>
          <SeatBoneName>seat_dside_f</SeatBoneName>
          <EntryPoints>
            <Item>
              <EntryPointBoneName>door_dside_f</EntryPointBoneName>
              <DoorIndex value="0"/>
              <ActionFlags>VF_DRIVER_SEAT</ActionFlags>
            </Item>
          </EntryPoints>
          <IKSettings>
            <Item>
              <TargetBoneName>BONETAG_L_HAND</TargetBoneName>
              <WorldBoneName>steeringwheel</WorldBoneName>
              <IKType>IK_STEERING_WHEEL_LEFT</IKType>
            </Item>
            <Item>
              <TargetBoneName>BONETAG_R_HAND</TargetBoneName>
              <WorldBoneName>steeringwheel</WorldBoneName>
              <IKType>IK_STEERING_WHEEL_RIGHT</IKType>
            </Item>
            <Item>
              <TargetBoneName>BONETAG_R_FOOT</TargetBoneName>
              <WorldBoneName>pedal_gas</WorldBoneName>
              <IKType>IK_PEDAL_GAS</IKType>
            </Item>
            <Item>
              <TargetBoneName>BONETAG_L_FOOT</TargetBoneName>
              <WorldBoneName>seat_dside_f</WorldBoneName>
              <IKType>IK_FOOT_REST</IKType>
            </Item>
          </IKSettings>
          <AnimationEnums>
            <Item>VEH_ENTER_LOW_SPORTS</Item>
            <Item>VEH_EXIT_LOW_SPORTS</Item>
            <Item>VEH_SIT_LOW_SPORTS</Item>
          </AnimationEnums>
        </Item>
      </SeatConfigurations>
    </Item>
  </VehicleLayouts>
</CVehicleMetadataMgr>

3. Structural Node & Parameter Breakdown

A. Seat Hierarchy and Physical 3D Dummy Bindings

Each seat configuration links an abstract seating position directly to a structural bone/dummy located inside the vehicle’s .yft 3D model:

SEAT_DRIVER: Binds to dummy seat_dside_f (Front Driver Side).
SEAT_PASSENGER: Binds to dummy seat_pside_f (Front Passenger Side).
SEAT_REAR_LEFT / REAR_RIGHT: Binds to seat_dside_r and seat_pside_r (Rear Passenger Seats).
External / Hanging Steps: Used on tactical emergency SUVs and garbage trucks, binding to dummies such as step_left or step_right for hanging peds.

B. Door Indices and Entry Point Mapping

Door Index	Associated 3D Dummy Node	Standard Architectural Usage
0	`door_dside_f`	Front Left (Driver) Door
1	`door_pside_f`	Front Right (Passenger) Door
2	`door_dside_r`	Rear Left Passenger Door
3	`door_pside_r`	Rear Right Passenger Door
4	`bonnet`	Front Engine Hood / Bonnet
5	`boot`	Rear Trunk Lid / Tailgate / Rear Cargo Doors

C. Inverse Kinematics (IK) Target Constraints

Inverse Kinematics ensure that the character's limbs adhere strictly to physical moving parts inside the vehicle rather than clipping through them:

BONETAG_L_HAND & BONETAG_R_HAND: Anchors ped hands to the steeringwheel bone. As the steering wheel rotates according to handling inputs, the ped’s arms naturally track the rotational vector.
BONETAG_R_FOOT: Pins the right foot to the throttle or floorboard plane.
BONETAG_L_FOOT: Pins the left foot to the footrest or clutch rest position.
Motorcycle IK Bindings: Directs hand grips to handlebar_l and handlebar_r, and feet to lower foot pegs (footpeg_l, footpeg_r).

4. Common Standard RAGE Layout Profiles

Instead of writing full layout blocks from scratch for standard vehicles, developers typically inherit or reference Rockstar's pre-compiled base layouts inside vehicles.meta <layout>:

Layout Identifier	Intended Vehicle Category	Entry & Seating Behavior
`LAYOUT_LOW_SUPER`	Supercars, Hypercars	Low ride height, reclining seated stance, ducked-head entry animation.
`LAYOUT_STANDARD`	Sedans, Coupes, Compacts	Standard upright posture, standard 90-degree door swing entry.
`LAYOUT_SUV`	SUVs, Light Pickups	Elevated hip-point, upward stepping entry movement.
`LAYOUT_VAN`	Vans, Delivery Trucks	High vertical climb, upright bus/van steering posture.
`LAYOUT_BIKE_SPORT`	Sportbikes, Superbikes	Forward-leaning aggressive rider crouch, knee grip against tank.
`LAYOUT_BIKE_CHOPPER`	Cruisers, Choppers	Feet forward, extended arms, relaxed upright spine.
`LAYOUT_HELI_STANDARD`	Civilian / Tactical Helicopters	Flight stick hand IK, dual cockpit seat navigation.
`LAYOUT_POLICE_TACTICAL`	Armored Emergency Vehicles	Supports side-step hanging peds firing two-handed weapons.

5. Metadata Integration: Linking Layouts to Vehicles

To activate a custom or stock layout profile, assign its exact identifier inside vehicles.meta:

vehiclelayouts.meta Node	Target File	Target XML Node	Technical Function
`<Name>LAYOUT_TT_CUSTOM_SUPER</Name>`	`vehicles.meta`	`<layout>LAYOUT_TT_CUSTOM_SUPER</layout>`	Applies physical seating and door animation logic to the vehicle.

6. Resource Manifest Configuration (fxmanifest.lua)

When shipping custom vehiclelayouts.meta files in a FiveM vehicle resource pack, define the file correctly under the VEHICLE_LAYOUTS_FILE data type:

fx_version 'cerulean'
game 'gta5'

files {
    'carcols.meta',
    'carvariations.meta',
    'handling.meta',
    'vehicles.meta',
    'vehiclelayouts.meta'
}

data_file 'CARCOLS_FILE' 'carcols.meta'
data_file 'VEHICLE_VARIATION_FILE' 'carvariations.meta'
data_file 'HANDLING_FILE' 'handling.meta'
data_file 'VEHICLE_METADATA_FILE' 'vehicles.meta'
data_file 'VEHICLE_LAYOUTS_FILE' 'vehiclelayouts.meta'

client_script 'vehicle_names.lua'

7. Developer Troubleshooting & Animation Fixes

Ped Clips Through the Roof on Entry: The assigned <layout> has a higher hip entry trajectory than the 3D model roofline. Switch to a lower profile layout (e.g., LAYOUT_LOW_SUPER) or adjust the 3D dummy position of seat_dside_f downward in Blender/ZModeler.
Hands Floating Above or Inside the Steering Wheel: The steeringwheel 3D bone pivot is misaligned or missing in the .yft model hierarchy, causing the IK constraint to snap to the model origin (0,0,0).
Character Walks Into the Side of the Car Before Entering: The door_dside_f dummy or door entry marker is placed too far inboard. Adjust the entry collision point outward along the X-axis.
Ped Teleports Into Seat Instantly: The animation set specified in the layout is incompatible with the vehicle class, or the door dummy index is missing from the 3D hierarchy.