HUD & UI Modding Guide for GTA 5 2026

HUD & UI Modding Guide for GTA 5 in 2026

HUD and UI modding lets you redesign the visual interface of GTA 5, from the minimap and health bars to the weapon wheel, phone menu, and notification system. Whether you want a cleaner minimal HUD for immersive gameplay, a realistic police computer interface, or a completely custom UI theme, interface modding changes how you interact with every aspect of the game.

Understanding GTA 5 UI Architecture

The GTA 5 interface uses Scaleform GFx, a Flash-based UI framework that renders vector graphics and animations. UI elements are stored as GFx/SWF files within the game archives, each handling specific interface components — minimap, HUD elements, pause menu, phone, weapon wheel, and notifications. The hud.gfx file controls the main gameplay overlay while pause_menu.gfx manages the pause screen. Modifying these files requires Flash decompiling tools and understanding of ActionScript programming.

Modifying the Minimap and Radar

The minimap is one of the most commonly modded UI elements. Replace the default radar with higher-resolution satellite imagery, custom art styles, or themed designs. The minimap rendering uses radar textures stored in YTD files that tile across the game world. Adjust minimap size, position, opacity, and zoom level through the HUD configuration. You can also add custom blip icons for modded locations, mission markers, and points of interest by defining new blip sprite entries in the configuration files.

Custom Health Bars and Status Indicators

Health, armor, and stamina bars can be completely redesigned through Scaleform modifications or overlay scripts. Create custom bar shapes — circular gauges, segmented blocks, or gradient fills — using either Flash editing or NativeUI drawing functions that render shapes directly on screen. The native drawing API provides functions like DRAW_RECT, DRAW_SPRITE, and DRAW_TEXT for creating custom HUD overlays without modifying the original GFx files, making your mods more compatible with game updates.

Phone and Menu Customization

The in-game phone interface can be modded with custom wallpapers, app icons, contact photos, and even functional custom apps. Phone textures are stored in dedicated YTD archives. Menu modifications can change fonts, colors, layout, and add new menu entries for mod settings. For FiveM servers, custom NUI (New User Interface) panels built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript provide unlimited UI design freedom, enabling modern web-based interfaces for inventory systems, job menus, and player dashboards in GTA 5 in 2026.