Script Helpers

helpers.lua

This utility module provides functions for resource checks, debugging, formatting, coordinate math, vector calculations, progress bars, and drawing tools.

isStarted(script)

• Returns true if a resource is started.

Example:

if isStarted("myResource") then print("Resource is running") end

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getScript()

Caches and returns the name of the current resource.

Easier than typing GetCurrentResourceName() over and over

Example:

print("Current script:", getScript())

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isServer()

Returns true if running on the server.

This was mainly made becuase IsDuplicityVersion() kept confusing me

Example:

if isServer() then print("Server-side!") end

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debugPrint(...) / eventPrint(...)

Prints messages with debug context if debugMode is enabled.

Example:

debugPrint("Loaded object:", objName)

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jsonPrint(table)

Pretty-prints a table with colorized JSON if debugMode is enabled.

Example:

jsonPrint(myData)

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keyGen()

Generates a 3-character unique ID.

Good grabbing randomly generated strings

Example:

print("Generated Key:", keyGen())

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cv(amount)

Comma-separates a number (e.g., 1000000 to 1,000,000).

Example:

print(cv(1000000)) -- "1,000,000"

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formatCoord(vec)

Outputs a formatted string from vector types.

Compacts and adds console colours to the vector to be printed

Example:

print(formatCoord(vector3(123.45, 678.9, 10.0)))

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getCenterOfZones(coords)

Returns average center position of a vector3 list.

A few use cases, but I used it to see how well spaced blips were together

Example:

local center = getCenterOfZones({vector3(0,0,0), vector3(10,10,0)})

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countTable(tbl)

Returns the number of entries in a table.

Simple function to print how many "entires" are in a table

Example:

print(countTable({a=1,b=2,c=3})) -- 3

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pairsByKeys(tbl)

Iterator for sorted keys.

Example:

for k, v in pairsByKeys(myTable) do print(k, v) end

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concatenateText(tbl)

Joins string table entries with newlines.

Example:

print(concatenateText({"Line 1", "Line 2"}))

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RotationToDirection(rot)

Converts a heading vector to a directional vector.

Example:

local dir = RotationToDirection(rotation)

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basicBar(percent)

Returns a bar like ████░░░░░ at 50%.

Basically a progress bar but as a string, I use this in drawTexts when progressbars aren't able to be used

Example:

print(basicBar(50))

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normalizeVector(vec)

Returns a normalized version of a vector3.

Example:

local norm = normalizeVector(vector3(3,4,0))

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drawLine(start, end, color) / drawSphere(pos, color)

Debug drawing helpers.

Stays visible for more than one frame

Example:

drawLine(vector3(0,0,0), vector3(10,10,10), vector4(255,0,0,255))
drawSphere(vector3(5,5,5), vector4(0,255,0,255))

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PerformRaycast(start, end, entity?, flags?)

Raycast with material detection. Returns ray hit data.

If debugMode is on it will draw a line ti visualise the raycast being done

Example:

local hit, hitPos, material = PerformRaycast(startVec, endVec, playerPed, 1)
if hit == 1 then
    print("Hit at position:", hitPos)
    print("Material:", material)
end

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adjustForGround(coords)

Adjusts a z-coordinate to ground height.

Example:

coords = adjustForGround(vector3(100, 200, 300))

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ensureNetToVeh(id) / ensureNetToEnt(id)

Resolves net ID to entity safely.

Delays the checking of netID to local ID but stops FiveM network entity warnings

Example:

local veh = ensureNetToVeh(netId)

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sendLog(text) / sendServerLog(data)

Logging helpers, includes player name, coords, script source.

Example:

sendLog("Suspicious activity detected")

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GetGroundMaterialAtPosition(coords)

Returns the material hash + readable name from the surface below coords.

Example:

local hash, name = GetGroundMaterialAtPosition(vector3(0,0,0))

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GetPropDimensions(model)

Loads a model and returns width, depth, height.

I use this to parse a model to create a box target instead of entity target when creating distProps/distPeds

Example:

local w,d,h = GetPropDimensions("prop_barrel_01a")

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GetEntityForwardVector(entity)

Returns the forward direction vector based on entity heading.

Example:

local fwd = GetEntityForwardVector(PlayerPedId())

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