What is carcols.meta?
The carcols.meta file is the master color and lighting configuration for all vehicles in GTA 5. It defines the color palette available for each vehicle, siren light setups for emergency vehicles, headlight configurations, and livery assignments. Essential for anyone modding police vehicles or creating addon cars with custom lighting in 2026.
File location: common.rpf/data/ or dlc.rpf/common/data/
Main Sections
| Section | Purpose | Key Parameters |
|---|---|---|
<Lights> |
Siren and emergency light configurations | Color, flash pattern, rotation speed, corona size |
<Sirens> |
Individual siren light definitions | Position, direction, intensity, delta rotation |
<Colors> |
Custom color definitions for vehicles | RGB values, material type (metallic/matte/chrome) |
<Liveries> |
Vehicle paint/decal overlays | Livery name, texture dictionary reference |
Emergency Light Configuration
The most popular use of carcols.meta is creating custom siren patterns for police/EMS vehicles:
- Define light positions on the vehicle (roof, grille, rear)
- Set flash sequences using
sequencervalues (binary patterns) - Configure light colors:
color value="0xFF0000FF"for red,"0xFF0000FF"for blue - Set corona size and intensity for glow effects
- Link the siren ID to the vehicle in
vehicles.meta
Custom Color Setup
- Adding new colors: Define RGB + material type in the colors section
- Pearlescent: Set base color + pearlescent overlay color separately
-
Custom chrome: Use material type
CHROMEwith custom RGB tint - Color indexing: Colors are numbered 0-255, custom colors start after vanilla entries
Livery System
Liveries are texture overlays applied to vehicle models:
- Each vehicle can support up to 16 liveries (index 0-15)
- Livery textures stored in the vehicle's
.ytdfile - Named as
vehicle_livery1,vehicle_livery2, etc. - Assigned in carcols.meta and referenced by
carvariations.meta
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